The Salisbury Mall was a one-level regional mall located on Civic and Glen Avenues in Salisbury, Maryland. The Salisbury Mall was the first enclosed climate-controlled shopping mall on the Delmarva Peninsula. In the October 16, 1968, edition of the Daily Times in Salisbury, it was reported that the overall cost of the mall had exceeded $7 million, and the parking lot could accommodate 3,300 vehicles. The mall was anchored by Sears, Hecht's, Peebles, and Food Depot.
Location
The mall's location near Salisbury's downtown district, and the fact that there was no other regional mall within a sixty-mile radius, allowed the Salisbury Mall to thrive as the only regional shopping mall on the Eastern Shore of Maryland for two decades. The Salisbury Mall's regional mall competition was the Blue Hen Mall (now the Blue Hen Corporate Center) in Dover, Delaware (60 miles away), which opened in 1969, and the Dover Mall, which opened in 1982. Salisbury Mall's location on Civic and Glen Avenues was situated between a residential neighborhood and businesses along U.S. Route 50. The Wicomico Youth and Civic Center was within of the mall, and a city park and zoo were within walking distance. A shopping center called Twilley Shopping Centre, which included a Toys "R" Us, was soon built directly behind the mall's west wing to take advantage of the traffic from the mall. Service Merchandise also built a store within two blocks of the mall. The Salisbury Mall enjoyed a strong tourist customer base given its location on the major roadways of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and its close proximity to the popular tourist resort, Ocean City.
History
1960s
Construction began in October 1967 on of land. The official grand opening took place on October 16, 1968. At the time of the grand opening only sixteen of the forty stores were open for business, but by the holiday shopping season all of the stores were ready.
The front page of the Daily Times read, "Miss America will be on hand for opening of $7,000,000 mall here." The article states, "Opening ceremonies and speeches are expected to be brief, according to Will Hall, mall manager ... Before the day is over, hundreds—and perhaps thousands—of shoppers or sight-seers are expected to stroll the interior mall with its illuminated fountains and planters and new shops."
The Daily Times speculated that when fully functional, the Salisbury Mall would employ at least 1,000 workers with a payroll around $6 million per month.
The Salisbury Mall was originally anchored by Sears, and Hecht's (then known as The Hecht Co). The mall's west wing spanned 1/10 of a mile.
Renovation and expansion
The mall underwent a major renovation and expansion in 1976. An east wing was added, which opened on September 12, 1976. The mall's west section had a classic look with pillared entrances, whereas the east section was more modern. The entire building was made of white brick and stone. The mall's interior flooring space was re-done with a simulated wood parque during the renovation, replacing the original white ceramic tiles. The parking lot was expanded to accommodate parking for up to 5,000 vehicles. This expansion nearly doubled the mall's size, which added two additional anchors: Shoppers Food Warehouse (Originally Pantry Pride) and regional department store Hutzler's. (later Peebles). Also added were a two-screen movie theater, a Friendly's restaurant, and space for 30 additional stores. This brought the total number of shops and restaurants to 70 and made the mall in the shape of an H.
The Salisbury Mall continued to flourish well into the 1980s, though the owners did little to renovate the interior structure, with the exception of the Tier 1 and 2 level stores, which received some minor renovations to keep up with the rapidly changing styles of the 1980s. On April 30, 1987, Hutzler's closed its doors after being purchased by another regional department store: Peebles. The anchor site was completely renovated and re-opened on August 1, 1987. This would be the last major addition to the mall. On May 31, 1989, Shoppers Food Warehouse closed its Salisbury location, and in its place a similar grocery store called Food Depot opened on September 1, 1989, after some minor renovations.
Decline 1990-1999
The demise of the Salisbury Mall came about when it became obvious that a US 50 extension of the Salisbury Bypass was necessary to relieve the annual downtown congestion.
On July 27, 1990, The Centre at Salisbury, a super regional mall located just three miles (5 km) north of the Salisbury Mall, opened, which signaled the beginning of the end for the aging mall.