Washington Mall sparks golden memories on golden anniversary
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the G.C. Murphy Co. store at the Washington Mall on opening day Oct. 17, 1968. In the front row, from left, are President Judge Charles G. Sweet, store manager H.M. Altman and zone sales promotion manager M.L. Hare.
The Trinity High School marching band performs at the opening of the Washington Mall on Oct. 17, 1968
These officials of the J.C. Penney Co. were on hand Oct. 17, 1968, for the opening of the Penney store in the Washington Mall. From left are Walter Myers, Pittsburgh district manager; William G. Reilly, assistant manager of the Mall store; O.J. Hunter, Pittsburgh eastern zone manager; Augustene Myers, manager of the Mall store; and George S. Stewart, New York vice president and director of stores for the firm.
Foxwood Casuals at Washington Mall
The Singer store at Washington Mall
S.A. Meyer Jewelers at Washington Mall
Keystone Shoes at Washington Mall
The exterior of Thorofare supermarket at Washington Mall
XXI Amendment Lounge at Washington Mall
Mikus Beauty Salon at Washington Mall
The exterior of All-Pro Chicken and XXI Amendment Lounge at Washington Mall
Victor's Eagle Clothes at Washington Mall
G.C. Murphy Co. at Washington Mall
Biggs Hardware at Washington Mall
Giant Eagle at Washington Mall
Marianne Shop at Washington Mall
Consumers at Washington Mall
The Crown Corner at Washington Mall
Eisaman Business Equipment at Washington Mall
Yareck's at Washington Mall
The inside of a store at Washington Mall
First Federal Savings of Washington at Washington Mall
Thrift Drugs at Washington Mall
Hanover Shoes in Washington Mall
May's Apparel at Washington Mall
The interior of a store at Washington Mall
Fashion Hosiery at Washington Mall
The exterior of J.C. Penneys at Washington Mall
The interior of a store at Washington Mall
Central TV at Washington Mall
The malling of America was gaining momentum when it swept into Washington County at a most turbulent time.
This was 1968, the year Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were brazenly assassinated, the Vietnam War was at a polarizing peak and rioting disrupted the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as the party was attempting to select a presidential candidate following Lyndon Johnson’s refusal to seek re-election.
About 100 yards from the Washington city line, a shopping mall was scheduled to open Oct. 17, two weeks before Halloween – and locals were viewing it as a bag full of treats. The launch of a large retail center was a welcome oasis, a soothing balm.
Throngs of shoppers pour into Washington Mall at the grand opening Oct. 17, 1968.
A packed parking lot at the grand opening of Washington Mall on Oct. 17, 1968.
“Washington’s brand, spankin’ new Washington Mall opens its doors Thursday morning at 10 o’clock,” the Observer-Reporter declared, somewhat ungrammatically, in the lead story of a special section it ran the day before, devoted entirely to mall stories.
And why not? Malls were trendy but uncommon regionally, and one was coming to town. This was an exciting endeavor.
Fifty years and four days ago, Washington Mall opened its doors for the first time. It was a completely enclosed, air-conditioned complex with 375,000 square feet of floor space and a $6 million price tag. The complex was destined to become a player, a competitor to South Hills Village 15 miles to the north, the only mall between Pittsburgh and the southwestern border of the state.
Throngs of shoppers enter Washington Mall during the grand opening Oct. 17, 1968.
Built over the course of a year, on a 40-acre tract in South Strabane Township, the new mall was kicking off with full occupancy – “41 national, regional and local tenants signed to long-term leases,” as the O-R put it.
J.C. Penney Co. was the unquestioned anchor, a three-story, 140,000-square-foot, full-line department store plus separate auto center. The company touted the location as one of its largest among 1,700 nationwide. That space was 12 times as much as Penney had at its store on North Main Street in Washington, which shuttered with the mall’s arrival.
The exterior of J.C. Penneys at Washington Mall
A popular regional retailer, G.C. Murphy (30,000 square feet), was second in size. Two grocery chains, Giant Eagle and Thorofare, and fabled Shorty’s Lunch were among the others leasing space.
Shoppers enter the G.C. Murphy Co. store at the grand opening of Washington Mall on Oct. 17, 1968.
Shorty’s Lunch at Washington Mall
Planning and developing the project was a decidedly local initiative, executed by contractors living and doing business in the area and overseen by local developers.
The ownership team of 12 – again, all from the county – consisted of Angelo and Phillip Falconi; C.S. Coen and three of his children: son Richard and daughters Helen Brooks and Marilyn McIlvaine; Ben H. Richman and his son, Stephen I; George W. Mawhinney; brothers Donald and Howard Plung; and Frank Noll.
They built in a strategic spot, where Oak Spring and Washington roads meet, a short haul from Interstates 79 and 70. Convenient access to major arteries figured to attract shoppers from throughout Washington County; Greene, Westmoreland and southern Allegheny counties; and the West Virginia panhandle.
A crowd looks at a display of typewriters in Washington Mall Oct. 1968.
The Trinity High School marching band performs at the opening of the Washington Mall on Oct. 17, 1968
Stephen Richman, a longtime attorney, laughed as he recalled the conversion of “a cornfield” into something that was largely unseen at the time.
“I was a young lawyer who did all of the legal work on this, and that was a challenge because this was a new adventure. Malls were something new on the retail landscape of the country,” he said from his Washington residence, where he lives part of the year. He also has a home in Miami Beach, Fla.
Richman said the Falconis “originated” plans to build a mall and held the largest share. He is among four surviving owners, along with Phillip Falconi, Marilyn McIlvaine and Howard Plung.
Wendell L. Spaw, manager of the new Thorofare Supermarket in the Washington Mall, stands in one of the store’s aisles in Oct. 1968.
Bestyet Donuts at Washington Mall
The prospect of a mall excited Washington County residents. Two, who somehow got a sneak preview, were quoted anonymously by the O-R. One said: “It’s very handsome on the outside, but on the inside … well. It’s simply breathtaking.” The other, likely an established resident, offered: “Washington Mall is what Washington has needed for a long time to bring back the retail business we’ve been losing to shopping centers outside the area. This will be a real shot in the arm for the community.”
And it was for about 30 years. But Washington Mall is now 50 and ailing.
Santa Claus and local police officers appear at a Washington Mall display during the grand opening Oct. 17, 1968.
Children meet Santa Claus at the grand opening of Washington Mall on Oct. 17, 1968.
Area competition has undercut its opportunities, to be sure. Washington Crown Center – then Franklin Mall – opened in 1969, only a year after the county’s initial mall opened. Then Washington Mall was dealt a double blow in the late ’90s, when a couple of Route 19 shopping centers opened less than two miles away – Strabane Square and Trinity Point.
But the mall off Washington Road (Route 19) also has not aged well.
The facility is crumbling and is mostly abandoned. There are but four businesses operating in the mall itself – and one, Spirit Halloween, is a seasonal operation. Harbor Freight, Grand China Buffet & Grill and Staple’s are still going.
Giant Eagle at Washington Mall
There are more than a half-dozen live businesses in the annex area, which belong to the surviving owners.
The entrance to J.C. Penneys at Washington Mall
Penney’s, that vaunted and viable anchor, reeked of mold when the company closed it in a corporate downsizing in May 2014. Toys R Us shut down earlier this year.
The future of Washington Mall is not known. An official at Oxford Development Co., the Pittsburgh-based real estate company handling the mall’s leasing activities, did not respond to an email requesting an update.
It is fair to say, however, that the future is not promising. But warm and fuzzy memories resonate.
Participants of the formal opening of Washington Mall are shown in this Oct. 17, 1968, photo. From left are C.S. Coen, one of the developers; Richard D. Edwards, executive vice president of Union National Bank; Ben H. Richman, a developer; and George S. Stewart, vice president and director of stores for the J.C. Penney Co.
A Christmas display at the grand opening of Washington Mall on Oct. 17, 1968
April Ryan, owner of an interior design studio in downtown Washington, had a shop – Gift Baskets by Ryan – inside the mall for 18 years before leaving in the early 2000s. “I did really well. We were busy all the time,” she said.
Ryan, who now runs Thistledown Home & Art/April Ryan Designs on South Main Street, said Phillip Falconi asked her to move her business from North Main to the mall, a fortuitous relocation.
The electronics section at the G.C. Murphy Co. store in Washington Mall
“I got customers from all over because I had a specialty store. Some would drive two hours. I consider Phil to be one of the greatest blessings of my life.”
A number of area residents responded to a post on this newspaper’s Facebook page advising that Washington Mall had hit a half-century. A sampling:
Kristin Anderson Frazier: “Best pretzel place, pizza place, Lang’s. Just depressing for me. There are many wonderful & caring souls in this city. They need to rally and turn it into something positive.”
The interior of a salon at Washington Mall
Adam Russell: “So many great memories. I would spend so much time at Video Game Exchange. My parents would go to Shorty’s and then I would go right next door to game exchange.”
Cathy Cianelli Romano: “Worked at JC Penney from 1977-1980, while in college. Great times! Met some wonderful people there, No empty storefronts.”
Eileen Miller: “Angelo Falconi’s heart was BROKEN over the condition of it, the last time he went through that Mall before he died (in November 2015).”
Dennis Dollish: “Can’t believe it hasn’t been torn down. With all the growth you would think it to be a valuable piece of property. Why hasn’t anything been done?”
Lang’s Carriage House at Washington Mall
Penncrest Appliances at shown at the J.C. Penney store in Washington Mall
Washington Mall’s plight has become commonplace. Malls have been on a decline for more than a decade, and some are closing. They were once the preferred gathering point for teens, but not anymore. More customers are shopping online, at home, at lower cost. Stores, in many instances, are tanking.
In a 2014 article, smithsonianmag.com reported that “the last new enclosed mall was built in 2006; 2007 marked the first time since the 1950s that a new mall wasn’t built in the United States.”
Journalist Joan Didion, according to the website, referred to malls as the “pyramids to the (baby) boom years.”
George Amos, manager of the Singer store at Washington Mall
Imperial Cleaners at Washington Mall
Stephen Richman is well aware of what has transpired.
“Something has occurred in retail across the country that perhaps started earlier at Washington Mall,” said Richman, one of three trustees who manage the mall property, along with Falconi and McIlvaine.
“Enclosed malls are not good producers of business unless they’re in high-income areas. Malls built for the average person, like Washington Mall, don’t seem to do as well. Plus, tastes and styles in retailing have changed.”
So has the once-revered shopping complex off Oak Spring Road.
Shoppers at the grand opening of Washington Mall on Oct. 17, 1968.
- Opened: Oct. 17, 1968
- Cost to build: $6 million
- Location: 40-acre tract, South Strabane Township
- Size: 375,000 square feet of floor space
- Owners: Ben H. Richman (I. Richman and Co. president); Stephen I. Richman, Esq.; C.S. Coen (Coen Oil Co. chairman); Richard Coen (Coen Oil president); Mrs. William Brooks; Marilyn C. McIlvaine; George W. Mawhinney (vice president, Jessop Steel Co.); Angelo and Phillip Falconi (Falconi Enterprises partners)
- All-Pro Chicken
- Anticipation Maternity
- Barbara Joyce Restaurant
- Bard’s Dairyland
- Bestyet Donuts
- Biggs Hardware
- Central TV
- Consumers
- Crown Corner
- Eisaman Business Equipment
- Fashion Hosiery
- First Federal Savings & Loan
- Foxwood Casuals
- G.C. Murphy
- Giant Eagle
- Hanover Shoes
- Haynes Triangle Sports Wear
- Hixon’s Playland
- Imperial Cleaners
- J.C. Penney (store, auto)
- Jo-Ann Fabrics
- Kard Kiosk
- Keystone Shoes
- Kinney Shoes
- Lang’s Carriage House
- Marianne Shop
- May’s Apparel
- Mikus Beauty Shop
- Rhea’s Bakery
- Rishell’s Barber Shop
- S.A. Meyer
- Shorty’s Lunch
- Singer
- Teeks Fine Shoes
- Thorofare
- Thrift Drugs
- Union National Bank
- Victor’s Men Shop
- Warrick Four Seasons Flowers and Gifts
- XXI Amendment Lounge
- Yareck’s
Washington Mall is among 11 existing shopping malls in a five-county region of Southwestern Pennsylvania (Washington, Greene, Allegheny, Fayette and Westmoreland). Nine of the 11 were built before the millennium. Block Northway, in Allegheny County, is the oldest, dating to 1953, when it was a strip mall.
Here are the years those 11 first welcomed shoppers:
- Block Northway – 1953
- South Hills Village – 1965
- Washington Mall – 1968
- Monroeville Mall – 1969
- Washington Crown Center – 1969
- Uniontown Mall – 1972
- Westmoreland Mall – 1977
- Century III Mall – 1979
- Ross Park Mall – 1986
- Mall at Robinson – 2002
- Tanger Outlets – 2008