Eastland Mall (Bloomington, Illinois) facts for kids

Eastland Mall is a popular shopping mall located in Bloomington, Illinois. It first opened its doors in 1967 and has grown quite a bit over the years. Today, it has more than 90 stores and a special area for food called a food court.

The main stores, also known as "anchor stores," at Eastland Mall are Ulta Beauty, Planet Fitness, H&M, and Kohl's. Anchor stores are usually large department stores or popular brands that attract many shoppers to the mall. In the past, some of the big anchor stores included Macy's, Bergner's, and Sears, but these locations are now empty. The mall is currently owned and managed by a company called CBL & Associates Properties.

The History of Eastland Mall

Eastland Mall first opened on February 16, 1967. Back then, its main stores were JCPenney and Sears. Both of these stores moved from downtown Bloomington to be part of the new mall. The mall was built on the east side of town, near the corner of East Empire Street (Illinois Route 9) and Veterans Parkway. At that time, this area was mostly empty, with just a gas station nearby.

Early Stores and Growth

When it first opened, Eastland Mall was home to many different kinds of stores. You could find places like Woolworth, Kirlin's Hallmark Gold Crown, and a Walgreens drugstore. Some stores, like Singer Sewing Center and Chadband's Diamond and Gold Center, also moved from downtown to the mall. The mall even had a grocery store and a movie theater for people to enjoy.

Mall Expansions and Changes

Eastland Mall has grown and changed many times since it opened.

• In 1973, a Bergner's department store was added. This was the first new department store in the city in over 30 years!
• About ten years later, a Kohl's store joined the mall.
• In 1989, the mall added a food court, which is a place with many different restaurants where you can grab a quick meal.
• The entire mall was updated in 1990.
• Sears made its store bigger in 1997.
• In 1999, a store called Famous-Barr opened, which later became Macy's in 2006.

Recent Changes to Anchor Stores

Over the years, some of the big anchor stores have changed:

• Macy's closed its store in March 2017.
• JCPenney also closed its store in August 2017.
• In 2018, it was announced that Planet Fitness (a gym) and H&M (a clothing store) would move into the old JCPenney space. They both opened in the fall of 2018.
• An Outback Steakhouse restaurant was built on the mall property and opened in December 2018.
• Bergner's closed in August 2018 because its parent company went out of business.
• Sears closed its store in November 2018. After this, Kohl's was the only original anchor store left.
• A new store called Hibbett Sports opened in 2018.
• H&M officially opened its doors on October 4, 2018.
• The old Woolworth store space was later taken over by an Old Navy store.

In November 2005, CBL & Associates Properties, a company from Chattanooga, Tennessee, bought Eastland Mall. They also bought two other malls at the same time.

Eastland Mall's Impact on the Community

Eastland Mall has been an important shopping spot for the community. Another mall, College Hills Mall, opened in nearby Normal in 1980. However, this mall was smaller and didn't have as many big stores as Eastland. Because of this, many stores, like MC Sports, eventually moved from College Hills to Eastland. College Hills Mall was later torn down in 2005 to make way for a new shopping area called The Shoppes at College Hills. This shows how Eastland Mall has remained a central place for shopping in the area.