Smith Haven Mall facts for kids
Outdoor lifestyle center at Smith Haven Mall
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| Location | Lake Grove, New York |
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| Opening date | March 12, 1969 |
| Developer | Macy's |
| Owner | Simon Property Group |
| Architect | Copeland, Novak, & Israel |
| No. of stores and services | 170 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 (2 open, 2 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,301,459 square feet (120,909.5 m2) |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in Dick's Sporting Goods, former JCPenney, and former Sears, 3 in Macy's) |
| Parking | Lighted lot |
| Public transit access |  Suffolk County Transit: 3D, 6B, S56, S57, S58, S59, S60, S62, S63, S69 |
The Smith Haven Mall is a big shopping mall located in Lake Grove, New York. Part of it is also in St. James. It's a major shopping spot for the middle part of Long Island. It's also the mall farthest to the east on Long Island, so people from places like The Hamptons and the North Fork often visit.
This mall is huge, covering about 1.3 million square feet of space! The main building opened in 1969 and has one floor. Inside, you can find 148 different shops and restaurants. Since 1995, the mall has been managed by Simon Property Group. This company is one of the biggest mall developers in the United States. They also own Roosevelt Field, which is the largest mall on Long Island. The name "Smith Haven Mall" is a mix of the names of two towns: Smithtown and Brookhaven. This is because the mall sits right on the border between these two towns.
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Mall History: How It Started
Plans for the mall were first announced in October 1965 by a company called Macy's. They originally called it the "Nesconset Shopping Center." The mall officially opened its doors on March 12, 1969. When it first opened, it had two main department stores: Macy's and Abraham & Straus. Later, other big stores like Martin's (which became JCPenney) and Sears joined the mall.
Cool Art at the Mall
Smith Haven Mall was once famous for the amazing art it had. One special piece was a giant mobile called Janey Waney by a famous artist named Alexander Calder. He made it just for the mall's opening in 1969! There was also a 40-foot-long painting by Larry Rivers.
Calder's mobile was taken down in the early 1970s. But don't worry, it was fixed up and moved to the new food court in 1987. The food court was even named Calder Court after him! Later, a car company called Saturn Corporation sponsored the food court, and it was renamed Saturn Court. Sadly, the Calder art piece was sold in 2002.
Larry Rivers' painting, called "40 Feet Of Fashion," was very unique. It was 40 feet long and 20 feet tall! It was made from giant Plexiglas pieces, including big lips, a clock, bathing suits, and huge women's legs. When the art was taken apart, the leg sculpture ended up outside a home in Sag Harbor, New York. It was so tall that people in the town talked about whether it was too high for the area!
Mall Upgrades and New Stores
The Smith Haven Mall got a huge makeover between 2006 and 2007. They built a new outdoor area called a "lifestyle village." This new section was built where the old Stern's store used to be. Some of the popular stores that opened there include Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Dick's Sporting Goods, and California Pizza Kitchen.
Other exciting stores and restaurants also opened around the mall. An Apple Store opened on September 9, 2006, which was a big event! On November 16, 2006, the popular Cheesecake Factory restaurant opened its doors. In July 2008, famous chef Bobby Flay opened his first Bobby's Burger Palace at the mall. More recently, on June 23, 2017, L.L.Bean opened its first Long Island store at Smith Haven Mall.
Changes and Closures
Like many malls, Smith Haven Mall has seen some stores close over the years. On February 28, 2019, it was announced that the JCPenney store would close. It officially closed on July 5, 2019.
Then, on February 12, 2020, the Sears store announced it would close. Sears had faced financial problems for a while. The store was supposed to close in May, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it closed earlier, on April 11, 2020. The entire mall also closed temporarily at that time. After these closures, Dick's Sporting Goods and Macy's became the only main department stores left at the mall.
