Scottsdale Fashion Square facts for kids
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"Story. Style. Spirit."
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| Location | Goldwater Blvd and Camelback Rd |
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| Coordinates | 33°30′13.50″N 111°55′46.50″W / 33.5037500°N 111.9295833°W |
| Address | 7014-590 East Camelback Road Scottsdale, Arizona 85251 United States |
| Opening date | 1923 |
| Developer | Westcor |
| Management | Macerich |
| Owner | Macerich |
| Architect | Edward L. Varney 1961 |
| No. of stores and services | 225+ |
| No. of anchor tenants | 6 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,858,371 sq ft (172,648.3 m2) |
| No. of floors | 3 |
| Parking | Outdoor & Garage |
Scottsdale Fashion Square is a very large and fancy shopping mall. It is located in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona. This mall is the biggest shopping mall in Arizona. It has about 2 million square feet of space for stores.
Scottsdale Fashion Square is also one of the largest malls in the whole country. It has always been a very successful mall. In 2016, it was ranked as one of the top malls where people spend a lot of money. It was also listed as one of the most visited malls in the country. The mall is owned by Macerich.
Contents
How Scottsdale Fashion Square Started
Early Days of the Mall
Back in the 1930s and 1940s, the land where the mall now stands was not very busy. It was far from the main parts of Scottsdale and Phoenix. There was only one small drug store there.
In the 1940s, a man named Harry Lenart bought the land. He planned to build a small shopping center. In 1959, this center opened with a few stores. These included a grocery store, a barber shop, and a camera store. A steakhouse was added in 1960.
Building the First Mall
Scottsdale Fashion Square first opened in 1961. It was an open-air mall, meaning it did not have a roof over all the walkways. It had three floors. The main stores were Goldwater's (a department store) and AJ Bayless (a supermarket).
At that time, another mall called Los Arcos Mall was built nearby. It was fully enclosed, which was new and popular. Scottsdale Fashion Square did well, so it was made bigger in 1974. This added more space and another big store called Diamond's.
Joining Two Malls Together
In 1977, a new enclosed mall called Camelview Plaza opened next to Scottsdale Fashion Square. It had its own big stores like Bullock's. For a few years, these two malls competed with each other.
In 1982, the owners decided to connect the two malls. They built a two-story bridge over the street that separated them. The street itself was lowered and made wider. The two malls were updated and made much nicer. New stores like Dillard's and Neiman Marcus joined. A food court and a movie theater were also added.
Growing Even Bigger
Over the years, some of the main stores changed names or were replaced. In 1996, the company Westcor bought Camelview Plaza. They then called the entire large shopping area Scottsdale Fashion Square.
This led to huge changes. A new part of the mall was built. It included Arizona's first Nordstrom store and many other fancy shops. Dillard's also moved into a bigger space, becoming one of the largest Dillard's stores. These changes made Scottsdale Fashion Square one of the biggest enclosed malls in the country.
Later, Macy's opened in 2002. More updates happened in 2009, adding stores like Barneys New York and H&M. The first ever Microsoft Store also opened here.
Recent Changes and Updates
In 2015, a new building was added. It had a Dick's Sporting Goods store and a new, larger Harkins Theatres movie cinema. In 2016, the mall's owner, Macerich, announced big plans. They would spend over $100 million to make the mall even better. This included new luxury areas and a new entrance. The renovation was finished in 2018.
A local theater group called Desert Stages Theater also moved into the mall. They put on plays for people of all ages.
Images for kids
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Scottsdale Fashion Square
