MacDade Mall

USA / Pennsylvania / Norwood /
 store / shop, mall
Opened in 1969 with a mere five retailers, MacDade Mall grew into not only one of only three enclosed shopping complexes in Delaware County, but also a locally renowned landmark. One level and one hallway in length, it is currently anchored by a Kmart department store and Acme Markets supermarket.

MacDade Mall saw its heyday throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and even very early 2000s. In addition to housing over 35 shops, the mall regularly attracted baseball card and collectible shows as well as holiday visits from the "Phanatic," the Philadelphia Phillies' beloved mascot. Much of its business was owed to a strong senior citizen base in the area, as well as local youth and adolescents from the Interboro, Ridley, and Penn Wood school districts. At its peak, the mall housed a 4-screen movie theater, arcade, two dine-in eateries, national chain retailers such as Payless Shoes, Fashion Bug, Dollar Tree Stores, and Hallmark, and even two medical offices.

However, the early 1990s opening of Interstate 476 ("The Blue Route") through the middle of Delaware County provided shoppers in the southern edge of the county easy access to larger shopping destinations, including Springfield Mall and Granite Run Mall. Feeling the pinch of what it was like to be a true "neighborhood mall," MacDade slowly lost retailers to low sales and customer turnout. A redevelopment of its parking perimeter, including notable additions of a Commerce Bank and Ruby Tuesday restaurant, proved successful for those establishments only, as opposed to the mall property as a whole.

In 2006, the mall opted not to renew the leases of those tenants that had not already fled the premises. One by one, stores vanished from the edifice; some reopened elsewhere in the vicinity, while others chose to close indefinitely.

As of early 2009, the mall still operates, albeit with very reduced hours. A branch of local banking chain Citizens Bank (formerly PSFS) operates in the mall, as does its lone retailer, Fashion Bug. Access to the mall from Kmart has been permanently shuttered to shopping traffic.

The crew of the upcoming film "The Lovely Bones" took advantage of the mall's near-desolation in late 2007 to shoot a scene within its interior...decorated to resemble the image of a 1960s mall. Thousands of area residents turned out throughout the filming week to catch a glimpse of stars Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon, and/or director Peter Jackson.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macdade_mall
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   39°53'55"N   75°18'11"W

Comments

  • Most of the MacDade Mall's stores have left the building because management has chosen to not renew leases. The movie The Lovely Bones (2009?) used this mall as a film set. The future of the MacDade Mall is uncertain.
  • Uh oh... a former mall used as a film set? Sounds familiar, like a certain mall in the Chicago area which ended up sitting abandoned for over 30 years afterward and becoming a huge eyesore not to mention a crime scene of a rape and murder, not to mention countless drug activities...
  • The mall has geen redone as a kind of big box shopping strip with Acme and Kmart still anchors. Ironically, Granite Run Mall (mentioned in the article) is closed except for 2 anchor stores and is scheduled to be demolished and replaced with a "town center" and upscale apartments, leaving just Springfield Mall in the county. Granite Run was talked about as the site for Mall Rats II, but just announced that will be shot at Exton Square in Chester County. The Lovely Bones didn't kill Mac Dade Mall, and it has looked rather busy the last times I've driven past. Article on the re-opening: http://www.delcotimes.com/general-news/20131020/macdade-mall-reopens
This article was last modified 16 years ago