Dayton Mall facts for kids
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| Location | Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, United States |
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| Coordinates | 39°38′02″N 84°13′14″W / 39.63395°N 84.22060°W |
| Opening date | February 12, 1970 |
| Developer | Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation |
| Owner | Washington Prime Group |
| No. of stores and services | 158 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 13 (11 open, 2 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,416,846 square feet (131,629 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
The Dayton Mall is a large shopping mall located in Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. This area is a suburb of Dayton. The mall has many popular stores, including H&M, Macy's, Morris Home Furniture, Guitar Center, Dick's Sporting Goods, JCPenney, Ross Dress for Less, LensCrafters, Kirkland's, Ulta Beauty, and DSW.
Two big stores, once called Elder-Beerman and Sears, are now empty. The mall is about 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Dayton. It's located near where two major highways, Interstate 75 and Interstate 675, meet. Since it opened in 1970, millions of people have visited the Dayton Mall. The Washington Prime Group, a company from Columbus, owns the mall. They also own another mall nearby called The Mall at Fairfield Commons.
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How Did Dayton Mall Start?
The Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation announced plans to build the Dayton Mall in 1969. At that time, developers said it was the biggest mall being built between New York City and Chicago.
More than 100 stores were planned for the mall. This included three main "anchor stores": J. C. Penney, Sears, and Rike's. Anchor stores are usually large department stores that attract many shoppers. Other well-known stores like J.G. McCrory, Orange Julius, and Kinney Shoes were also part of the original plan.
The Dayton Mall officially opened in 1970. Some stores, like Rike's and the Dayton Mall Cinema, were already open before the grand opening.
Changes to Anchor Stores Over Time
The Rike's department store, which was owned by Federated Department Stores, changed its name several times. First, it became Shillito–Rike's in 1982. Then, in 1986, it changed to Lazarus. Finally, in 2005, it fully became a Macy's store.
In the mid-1990s, a fourth anchor store was added. J. C. Penney moved into this new spot. Its old location then became a store called McAlpin's in 1996, and later an Elder-Beerman in 1998. After these updates, the Dayton Mall had almost 150 stores.
Mall Renovations and New Features
The Dayton Mall was the largest shopping center in southwestern Ohio for many years. It had two levels and covered over 1 million square feet (92,903 square meters).
The mall had two big updates in 1984 and 1995-1996. During the first update, the inside of the mall was redesigned. A food court was also added, which is a place where many different restaurants share a seating area.
In 2006, a new shopping area called The Greene Town Center opened nearby. To stay competitive, the Dayton Mall added a new outdoor section in its north parking lot. This area, called "The Village At Dayton Mall," opened in 2007. It added about 25 new stores and made the mall even bigger.
More Recent Store Changes
In 2012, a store called DSW (Designer Shoe Warehouse) moved to a different spot in the mall. Also in 2012, Dick's Sporting Goods announced it would move into the mall, becoming another major anchor store. This helped the mall stay very busy.
In 2014, a unique store called Doppelganger Laboratories opened. It had a special "Shapify Booth" that could take a 3D scan of a person. Then, it would 3D print a small, colorful model of that person! This was the first time such a booth was used in a retail store in the United States.
In 2018, Macy's opened a special discount section called Macy's Backstage inside its main store. Later that year, Ross Dress for Less opened in a space that used to be an H. H. Gregg store.
Also in 2018, The RoomPlace, a home furniture store, planned to open at the mall. However, in 2020, a local company called Morris Home Furniture opened in that space instead.
Closures of Long-Time Stores
Sadly, some big stores at the mall have closed. Elder-Beerman closed on August 29, 2018, because its parent company went out of business.
The Sears store also closed on November 25, 2018. This was part of a plan to close many Sears locations across the country. The mall's owner later bought the old Elder-Beerman space, planning to make new developments there.
Dayton Mall's Internet Fame
In December 2017, the Dayton Mall became famous on the internet. A fun video went viral showing a teenager sliding down an escalator. It was a prank that many people found amusing online.
