Swansea Mall facts for kids
Swansea Mall Logo
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| Location | Swansea, Massachusetts |
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| Coordinates | 41°45′19″N 71°13′06″W / 41.755261°N 71.218296°W |
| Address | 262 Swansea Mall Drive, Swansea, MA 02777 |
| Opening date | 1975 |
| Closing date | March 31, 2019 |
| Developer | Arlen Shopping Centers |
| Management | Jones Lang Lasalle |
| Architect | Robert W. Kahn |
| No. of stores and services | 90 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 |
| No. of floors | 1 |
| Website | None |
| Closed | |
The Swansea Mall was a large shopping mall located in Swansea, Massachusetts. It served as a popular shopping spot for people in Southeastern Massachusetts. The mall was easy to reach, located near a major highway, I-195, and at the crossing of U.S. Route 6 and Massachusetts Route 118.
Around the mall, there were other stores like a Walmart building, a former Toys "R" Us, and a building shared by PriceRite and Dollar Tree. Across the street, there was another big shopping area called Swansea Crossings, which had a Big Lots and a Regal Cinemas movie theater. The Swansea Mall officially closed its doors for good on March 31, 2019.
Contents
History of Swansea Mall
The Swansea Mall first opened in 1975. It started with two main stores, called "anchor" stores, which were Sears and Edgar Department Stores. These big stores helped attract shoppers to the mall. There was also a small movie theater inside with four screens.
Around 1980, the mall got bigger. Two more anchor stores were added: Caldor, a national discount store, and Apex, a department store from Rhode Island. Outside the mall, two separate buildings were built for Toys "R" Us and Service Merchandise.
Changes and Updates
In 1989, the mall got a big makeover inside. The movie theater, Swansea 4 Cinemas, was removed. The original anchor store, Edgar's, had closed down and was replaced by Jordan Marsh. The mall's hallways were updated with new lighting and floor tiles, and water fountains were taken out. The mall also got a new logo.
In 1996, the Jordan Marsh store was sold and became a Macy's. A year later, in 1997, the Caldor store was damaged by a fire. It was closed for a year to be fixed, but then the company went out of business in 1999, so the store closed permanently. Some restaurants, like Roman Delight pizzeria and Newport Creamery, also left the mall in the late 1990s. In 1995, a food court was opened, offering different places to eat.
New Stores and Closures
In 2001, a Walmart store opened in the spot where Caldor used to be. The Apex store also closed that same year.
In September 2013, Walmart moved out of the mall and into its own new building nearby. The part of the mall where Walmart used to be was then torn down. In December 2013, the mall's owner sold the two separate buildings that housed Toys "R" Us and Dollar Tree. The owner also announced that Swansea Mall was for sale.
Final Years and Closure
On December 28, 2016, it was announced that the Sears store would be closing. This was part of a plan by Sears to close many of its stores across the country. The Sears store at Swansea Mall closed in March 2017. After Sears closed, Macy's was the only remaining anchor store in the mall.
On June 29, 2018, the Toys "R" Us store outside the mall closed. This happened because the Toys "R" Us company went out of business and closed all its stores in the United States.
On January 9, 2019, Macy's announced that its store in Swansea Mall would close on March 31, 2019. This was also part of a plan by Macy's to close several of its stores.
Finally, on January 31, 2019, the mall's owner announced that the entire Swansea Mall would close by March 31, 2019. On that date, the mall stopped all business and closed its doors for good.
