What happened to Columbus' directional malls
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The mall, once a crucial part of American life, has struggled and evolved for years.
Flashback: Our shopping scene was dominated by a quartet of directional malls and a bustling downtown shopping center, all of which have disappeared.
⬆️ Northland, Central Ohio's first major mall, opened at Morse and Karl roads in 1964 with a Lazarus and a Sears, drawing a reported crowd of 50,000, and was enclosed in 1975.
- The mall faded over time, and closed completely in 2002. The site has since been redeveloped for a variety of uses, including the Franklin County Dog Shelter and Adoption Center.
➡️ Eastland followed that success by opening at Hamilton and Refugee roads in 1968 as Columbus' first enclosed shopping mall.
- By 2022, Eastland was declared a public nuisance. Columbus now plans a massive redevelopment project for the site.
⬅️ Westland opened in 1969 on West Broad Street with a similar mix of department stores, and enclosed its mall in 1982.
- It shuttered in 2012, with a remaining Sears store closing in 2017.
- The mall was finally demolished in 2023 and is now subject to redevelopment plans that include apartments.
⬇️ Southland opened in 1977 on South High Street, featuring a Gold Circle department store and its main draw, a Loews movie theater.
- The site later became the headquarters for the controversial and defunct Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, space now used by Columbus City Schools.
🏙️ City Center: Once the crown jewel of Columbus malls, the three-story City Center opened downtown on 3rd Street in 1989, anchored by Lazarus and Marshall Field's.
- Few tenants remained by its 2009 closure. The mall was demolished and the site is now home to the Columbus Commons.