Whitehall Mall facts for kids
| Location | Whitehall, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°38′00″N 75°29′10″W / 40.633264°N 75.486245°W |
| Opening date | September 26, 1966 |
| Owner | Washington Prime Group |
| No. of anchor tenants | 2 |
| Total retail floor area | 603,475 square feet (56,064.7 m2) |
| Parking | 2,558 spaces |
Whitehall Mall is a shopping mall located in Whitehall, Pennsylvania. It's home to many stores, with Kohl's being one of its main attractions. This mall was one of the first big shopping places in the Lehigh Valley area. You can find it right across from the Lehigh Valley Mall.
The Story of Whitehall Mall
Early Days: 1966 to 1997
The land for Whitehall Mall was bought from a farmer in 1965. Construction began soon after. One of the first stores, Zollinger's, opened on August 15, 1966. The rest of the mall officially opened its doors on September 26, 1966.
When it first opened, Whitehall Mall had 52 stores. Some of the well-known stores included Sears, Weis Markets, Woolworth's, and Zollinger's. The mall grew bigger in 1973. In 1978, a store called Leh's opened up, taking the place of Zollinger's, which had closed.
Sears updated its inside look in 1984. Later, in 1987, a fire started in the back of the mall. This fire caused some damage to the Leh's store. Sears got another big update in 1994. This update made the sales area much larger. It also turned old office spaces on the second floor into new store areas.
In January 1990, a large roof leak damaged several stores. Luckily, all the stores reopened after a few days. The mall planned to replace the roof later that year. Leh's closed its doors in June 1996. A furniture store called Gallery Furniture moved into its old spot in 1997. Another store, Clover, closed in 1996. Kohl's then opened in its place in April 1997.
Modern Times: 1998 to Today
Whitehall Mall got a huge makeover in 1998. It was almost completely changed from a traditional indoor mall to more of an outdoor shopping center. Keeping the old indoor mall style was too expensive. During this time, Sears also became larger. Three new buildings were added to the mall's property.
Weis Markets closed during these changes but later reopened with almost double its original space. The Plaza Theater, a movie theater with only two screens, closed in June 1999 because it was outdated. It had been run by different companies over the years, including AMC.
In the mid-2000s, a Gold's Gym was planned for the mall. Its opening was delayed because of changes to its design. Gold's Gym would use the space where Leh's store and the Plaza Theater used to be. In 2012, Raymour & Flanigan furniture store moved to the mall. It took over two empty store spaces.
In 2014, one of the mall's owners, PREIT, sold its share to Washington Prime Group. This company then became the sole owner of the mall. Sears, a long-time store at the mall, closed in February 2020.
