Golf Mill Shopping Center
Coordinates: 42°3′0″N 87°50′14″W / 42.05000°N 87.83722°W
 Mall Entrance | |
| Location | Niles, Illinois, USA |
|---|---|
| Address | 239 Golf Mill Center |
| Opening date | October 13, 1960 |
| Management | Milwaukee Golf Management Corporation |
| No. of stores and services | 120[1] |
| No. of anchor tenants | 6 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,057,000 sq ft (98,200 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
| Parking | 5,500 |
| Website | Golf Mill Shopping Center |
Golf Mill Shopping Center is a super-regional shopping mall located on 239 Golf Mill Center in Niles, IL, United States. The mall has a gross leasable area of 1,057,000 square feet (98,200 m²). It is managed by Milwaukee Golf Management Corporation. It borders the intersections of Golf Road (Illinois Route 58), Milwaukee Avenue (Illinois Route 21) and Greenwood Avenue. The mall has a mixture of 120 specialty shops and five department stores including Sears and Target as anchors.
Opening Day
Golf Mill opened to the public in October 1960[2] as an open-air mall and featured an office tower (designed by Chicago architect Edo Belli to look like the top of a golf ball) and Sears. It featured a full "mill" theme, complete with ponds, bridges, and a working waterwheel.[3] Soon after opening, a Lord's department store was built,[4] but closed after a few years and was replaced by JCPenney. Around that time, the Mill Run Playhouse was built at the north end of the complex. It wasn't connected to the mall corridors proper.
Competitors
Due to competition from other malls, such as Old Orchard Shopping Center, Randhurst Mall, and Woodfield Mall, Golf Mill underwent a major remodel in 1986. It involved razing the north end of the mall (the strip mall portion and the playhouse) to build a new enclosed mall portion anchored by MainStreet, and enclosing the mall between Sears and JCPenney, adding a food court in the process. Sears became a "walk-through" anchor.
In 1989, MainStreet became Kohl's. In 1998, a Target was built near Kohl's. General Growth Properties took over management of Golf Mill Shopping Center in 1994. Value City Furniture was added in 2005. In 2006, GGP remodeled the mall, installing new flooring, a new facade, lighting, and entrances, but only in part of the mall. The remodel brought a 12-screen Kerasotes movie theater. In 2010, Kerasotes ShowPlace 12 was acquired by AMC.[5] After a turn of events with General Growth Properties, Milwaukee Golf Management Corporation took over management of Golf Mill Shopping Center in 2009. Ross Dress for Less opened in 2012.
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Sign Along Roadside
References
- ↑
- ↑ "Golf-Mill Shopping Center Opened", Chicago Daily Tribune, October 13, 1960
- ↑ Malls of America - Vintage photos of lost Shopping Malls of the '50s, '60s & '70s
- ↑ Editing Golf Mill review
- ↑