Paramus Park facts for kids
The west main entrance of Paramus Park Mall
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| Location | 700 Paramus Park Paramus, New Jersey |
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| Coordinates | 40°57′28″N 74°04′13″W / 40.957656°N 74.070214°W |
| Opening date | March 14, 1974 |
| Developer | The Rouse Company |
| Management | Brookfield Properties |
| Owner | Brookfield Properties |
| No. of stores and services | 107 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 |
| Total retail floor area | 770,941 sq ft (71,622.8 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1, with a food court located on a second floor (3 in Macy's) |
| Parking | 4,500 parking spaces (2016) |
| Public transit access |   NJ Transit bus: 168, 722, 752, 758, 762 |
Paramus Park is a popular shopping mall located in Paramus, New Jersey. It first opened its doors in 1974. The mall is owned by Brookfield Properties and has a large shopping area of about 770,941 sq ft (71,622.8 m2). You can find five main stores here: Macy's Backstage, Stew Leonard's, Old Navy, L.L.Bean, and Macy's.
About Paramus Park
Paramus Park is easy to find, located between two major highways: Route 17 and the Garden State Parkway. You can get to it from different exits on the Parkway. There are also special roads from Route 17 that lead right to the mall.
This mall is smaller than some others nearby, like Westfield Garden State Plaza. But it's known for attracting shoppers looking for quality stores. It's a favorite spot for many people in the area.
Paramus Park is one of several big shopping areas in Paramus. This town is famous for having a lot of retail sales, more than almost any other place in the United States! About 6 million people visit Paramus Park's 107 stores every year.
Because it's in Bergen County, the mall has to follow special rules called Blue laws. This means the mall is closed on Sundays. However, some stores with their own separate entrances, like Stew Leonard's, can still open on Sundays.
History of the Mall
Paramus Park was one of the first enclosed malls in Paramus when it was built. Other malls in the area, like the Fashion Center and Bergen Mall, were also opening or being enclosed around that time.
The mall was built by The Rouse Company and opened on March 14, 1974. It started with two main stores, Abraham & Straus (which later became Macy's) and Sears. It also had space for about 120 smaller shops. The Paramus High School Marching Band even played at the grand opening!
One cool thing about Paramus Park was its second-floor food court. This was a new idea at the time and is now seen as the first really successful mall food court.
The mall has a unique zigzag shape. In the middle, there used to be a large, 30-foot (9.1 m) waterfall surrounded by plants. There were also escalators and an elevator to reach the food court. This garden-like design was all over the mall, with trees, benches, and skylights.
There were also two smaller areas with special features. One had a carousel, which was removed in 2013. The other had a lowered seating area with a bronze statue of a turkey. The turkey statue is a nod to the town's name, "Paramus," which comes from a Native American word meaning "land of the wild turkey."
The mall is even mentioned in a song! The 1977 song "Ariel" by Dean Friedman talks about characters "standing by the waterfall at Paramus Park."
In 1986, the McDonald's in the food court was special. It had a fancy design with oak wood and marble, looking more like an upscale restaurant than a typical McDonald's. This McDonald's later closed and was replaced by a Burger King.
Music fans might know that the band Hanson filmed part of their 1997 video "Tulsa, Tokyo & the Middle of Nowhere" at Paramus Park. They performed in the food court in front of over 6,000 screaming fans! This was their first public show after their hit song "MMMBop" came out.
In 2001, the mall got a big makeover. The waterfall and gardens in the center were removed to create more open space. New elevators and escalators were added. The turkey statue was moved, and the area where it used to be became a children's play area.
In 2011, the L.L. Bean store opened, taking over the space where a Foot Locker complex used to be.
Recent Changes and Future Plans
The mall continues to change and add new stores. In 2018, Uniqlo opened a store at Paramus Park, moving from another nearby mall.
A big change happened when the Sears store closed in 2018. This space was then used to open a new Stew Leonard's grocery store, which opened in September 2019. There were plans for a movie theater to open in the mall, but those plans were later canceled as Stew Leonard's took up more space.
Images for kids
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The Stew Leonard's location at the mall's south wing, which replaced Sears after it closed in 2018
