Tri-County Mall facts for kids
A wing of Tri-County Mall in 2018.
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| Location | Springdale, Ohio, U.S. |
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| Coordinates | 39°17′24″N 84°27′52″W / 39.29°N 84.4644444°W |
| Address | 11700 Princeton Pike |
| Opening date | September 26, 1960 |
| Developer | Joseph Meyerhoff |
| Management | Tri-County Mall, LLC |
| Owner | Singhaiyi Group |
| Architect | Kenneth C. Miller |
| No. of stores and services | 130 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 (3 vacant, 1 closing by April 2021) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 (3 in former Dillard's, 4 in Macy's, 4th floor is closed off) |
| Website | tricountymall.com |
Tri-County Mall was a large shopping mall in Springdale, Ohio. This city is a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. The mall first opened in 1960. It was known as Tri-County Shopping Center back then. Over the years, it grew much bigger.
The mall started as an open-air place. It had two main department stores: Pogue's and Shillito's. Later, a new section with Sears was added. This new part was enclosed, meaning it was indoors. Soon after, the rest of the mall was also covered.
Over time, the names of the main stores changed. Shillito's became Shillito-Rike's, then Lazarus, then Lazarus-Macy's, and finally just Macy's. Pogue's changed to L. S. Ayres and then to J. C. Penney. In the early 1990s, the mall got a second floor and a fourth main store, McAlpin's. This store later became Dillard's.
In the 2000s, the mall started to lose stores. Many shops left because the mall was getting old. Also, new shopping centers opened nearby. J. C. Penney and Dillard's moved to these newer places. Sears closed in 2018. The mall is owned by SingHaiyi Group. The last main store, Macy's, closed in April 2021. Now, all the main store spots are empty.
Contents
Tri-County Mall's Early Days
In 1959, a businessman named Joseph Meyerhoff planned the Tri-County Center. He wanted to build a big shopping area. It would have two major department stores from Cincinnati. These were Shillito's and Pogue's. They would be at opposite ends of an open-air shopping area.
Other stores planned for the center included a S. S. Kresge dime store and a Kroger supermarket. The mall's architect was Kenneth C. Miller. Experts chose the location in Springdale, Ohio. It was near the new Interstate 275 highway. They thought this area would grow a lot. Building started in July 1959.
The mall opened on September 26, 1960. There were opening parties with the Princeton High School band. Meyerhoff and the mayor of Springdale cut the ribbon. When it opened, the mall had 51 stores. It covered about 500,000 square feet. There was parking for 4,000 cars. A newspaper article from 1960 said the mall looked like a park. It was the biggest center Meyerhoff had built.
In 1962, Shillito's added a fourth floor. This allowed them to have a special area for discounted items.
Growing Bigger and Enclosed
Sears opened as the mall's third main store in May 1967. This Sears store was very modern. It had two floors and covered 142,300 square feet. It offered many different products and services. It even had car repair and a restaurant.
The new Sears store was built to the east of the mall. A new section of stores connected it to the rest of the mall. This new part was different because it was indoors. It had palm trees, tropical plants, and fountains. It also had old-style lights and skylights. Stores like Casual Corner and Waldenbooks opened here. In early 1968, the rest of the mall was also enclosed. It was decorated like the new Sears wing.
Mall Life in the 1970s and 1980s
For many years, the mall hosted fun events. These included the Outdoor Living Show, where people could see campers and patio furniture. There was also Safety Town, a program for kids about traffic safety. Symphony concerts were held every August. These events were part of the mall's tenth anniversary in 1970.
In 1971, the Pogue's store was updated. It got new designs and colors in each section. A third floor was added for home goods and a beauty salon. In 1976, the main mall entrance was redecorated. It got new fountains and small kiosk shops.
In 1982, two department store chains, John Shillito Company and Rike's, joined together. They became Shillito-Rike's. Four years later, all Shillito-Rike's stores became Lazarus. Another change happened in 1984. Pogue's joined with L. S. Ayres.
A food court opened in 1985. It had nine restaurants, including Baskin-Robbins and Pizza Hut. This was part of the mall's 25th anniversary. The mall had over 94 stores and covered more than 983,862 square feet. The mall helped bring more businesses to Springdale. Many other shopping centers were built nearby in the 1980s.
Big Changes in the Late 1980s and 1990s
In 1987, there were plans for another mall nearby. It would have had J. C. Penney and McAlpin's as main stores. But the city said no because of traffic worries. However, J. C. Penney still came to Springdale. In 1988, it bought the L. S. Ayres store at Tri-County Mall. This J. C. Penney store opened in mid-1988.
The mall had a big expansion in 1990. A second floor was added on top of the existing mall. This doubled the number of shops. The new floor had staircases and a glass elevator. A fountain was added in the center of the mall. The food court moved to a bigger spot on the new upper level. This new food court was special. It was one of the first in the U.S. to take food orders by fax.
Lazarus also updated its store in 1991. They made the store more open with wider aisles. The last part of the expansion opened a year later. This was a two-story McAlpin's department store. It became the mall's fourth main store.
The Mall's Decline and Closing
In 1998, Dillard's bought McAlpin's. So, all McAlpin's stores, including the one at Tri-County Mall, became Dillard's. In the early 2000s, the mall faced more competition. Another mall nearby was updated. Tri-County Mall had not been updated much on the outside. This made its value go down.
More changes happened with the main stores. Lazarus became Lazarus-Macy's in 2003, and then just Macy's in 2005. Also, J. C. Penney closed its Tri-County location in 2005. The old J. C. Penney building was renovated. A new mall hallway was built through it.
After J. C. Penney left, the mall continued to struggle. The Great Recession in the late 2000s hurt many stores. Many retailers like Borders Books & Music and Circuit City closed. Also, people were moving to areas north of the mall. Newer shopping centers opened there, taking away shoppers and stores.
In 2010, the mall started a rule. People under 18 had to leave by 4 PM on Fridays and Saturdays. This was another factor in the mall's decline.
In 2013, SingHaiyi Group bought the mall. Dillard's changed its store to an outlet store in 2013. Then it closed completely in 2015. It moved to a new mall called Liberty Center. To try and help the mall, SingHaiyi announced renovations in 2015. New restaurants like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Outback Steakhouse were added outside the mall.
On June 4, 2018, Sears announced its Tri-County store would close. It shut down in September 2018. Even though other main stores closed, Macy's opened a discount section called Backstage in its Tri-County store in 2018. However, by 2017, the mall had many empty stores. Experts thought the mall was "vulnerable" because of this. Many big chains like The Limited and Victoria's Secret left in the 2010s.
Finally, on January 5, 2021, Macy's announced it would close in April 2021. This was part of a plan to close 46 stores across the country. After Macy's closed, Tri-County Mall had no main stores left.
See also
In Spanish: Tri-County Mall para niños
