Rolling Acres Mall
 front entrance to Rolling Acres Mall in March 2014. | |
 | |
| Location | Akron, Ohio, USA |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°02′56″N 81°35′02″W / 41.0488°N 81.5839°W |
| Opening date | August 6, 1975 |
| Developer | Forest City Enterprises and R.B. Buchholzer |
| Management | Forest City Enterprises (anchor buildings individually managed) |
| Owner | Forest City Enterprises (Main building ) |
| No. of stores and services | 140 +/- (at maximum capacity) |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 (at maximum capacity) |
| Total retail floor area | 1,300,000 ft² (approx.) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Parking | 7,500[1] |
Rolling Acres Mall was a retail mall located in the Rolling Acres area of Akron, Ohio, United States. Built in 1975 and expanded several times in its history, it once comprised more than 140 stores, including five anchor stores, a movie theater and a food court.One of the mall's dilapidated entrances appears as the cover art to The Black Keys' single "Gold on the Ceiling".
History
Rolling Acres Mall was developed by Forest City Enterprises. It opened in Akron, Ohio with Sears and 21 stores on August 6, 1975, and had more than 50 stores by year's end. JCPenney opened a year later as a second anchor. A new wing, called the Court of Aquarius, was added in 1977, including a large aquarium (which was later removed) and a third anchor store, Montgomery Ward. Further expansion in 1978 comprised a new, two-story wing called the Promenade, comprising a food court called "Prom-N-Eat" and local chain O'Neil's as a fourth anchor.
A mall-wide renovation was begun, replacing its original earth tones with pastel colors. Two of the anchors would change in the 1980s as well: Montgomery Ward closed in 1986 and was replaced with Higbee's (another local chain), and O'Neil's was merged to May Company Ohio in 1989.
Early 1990s
In a cost-cutting measure, Rolling Acres stopped using off-duty police officers and instead relied on cheaper security guards, starting in 1991.[2] During a showing of "New Jack City", two movie patrons got into a fight outside of the cinema. People in the area believed they heard a gunshot, and a panicked crowd ran through the mall.[3][4][5]
Two more anchors changed in the 1990s, both affecting the same two buildings (Higbee's and May Company Ohio) that had previously been converted in the 1980s. Higbee's was acquired and renamed by Dillard's in 1992, and May Company Ohio became Kaufmann's a year later. Also in 1993, the General Cinema was closed.
In 1994, Forest City Enterprises refinanced the mall, putting the money towards the development of several new restaurants inside the mall's food court.[6]
A fifth anchor, Target, was the final addition to the mall, opening in 1995.Dillard's was downgraded to a clearance center in 1997. The JCPenney was shrunk down to a catalog outlet in 1999.
Also, the cinema reopened under an independent group calling itself "Blind Squirrel Cinema".[5]
In 2003, the cinema reopened again, this time as a discount theater.[5]
Anchors
Sears: 1975 - Present
JCPenney: 1976 - 1999, JCPenney Outlet Store: 1999 - Present
Montgomery Ward: 1977 - 1986, Higbee's: 1986 - 1992, Dillard's: 1992 - 1997, Dillard's Clearance Center: 1997 - Present
O'Neil's: 1978 - 1989, May Company Ohio: 1989 - 1993, Kaufmann's: 1993 - 2006, Macy's: 2006 - Present
Target: 1995 - Present
- ^ Byard, Katie. "Enjoy your mall while you shop 'til you drop." Akron Beacon Journal. 27 August 1987: E7.
- ^ Hoiles, Robert. "Mall Balks at Pay Hike." Akron Beacon Journal. 1 February 1991: B1.
- ^ McMahan, Kim; Katherine Spitz (1991-03-10). "' GUNSHOT' SOUND PANICS SCORES AT MALL". Akron Beacon Journal. p. E16.
- ^ Ethridge, Mary (1996-03-31). "ROLLING ACRES PUTS SECURITY ON DISPLAY \ MALL PROMOTES SAFETY AS IT WORKS TO CHANGE ITS IMAGE". Akron Beacon Journal. p. E1.
- ^ a b c "Rolling Acres Cinema in Akron, OH". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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