| Maryvale Mall | |
| Location: | Phoenix, Arizona, United States |
| Coordinates: | 33.4974°N -112.1708°W |
| Opening Date: | 1959 |
| Closing Date: | 1990s |
| Number Of Stores: | 3 |
| Floors: | 1 |
Maryvale Mall, originally known as Maryvale Shopping City,[1] was a shopping mall in the Maryvale area of Phoenix, Arizona that, for a time, was the biggest shopping mall between Dallas, Texas and the West Coast.[2]
The mall was located on 51st Avenue and Indian School Road. It was sold in the late-1990s to the Cartwright Elementary School District.[1]
Maryvale Shopping City was designed by Victor Gruen and developed by home builder John F. Long, who also planned and developed Maryvale, which he named after his wife.[3]
The mall, which was built on a lot adjacent to an earlier retail development by Long that opened in 1956, was developed a way to give Maryvale residents a convenient place to shop. At the time, Maryvale was located west of the Phoenix city limits, and residents faced about a 20-minute drive to stores in Downtown Phoenix.
The shopping center was developed with 19 stores, 111000square feet of retail space and 1,100 parking spaces, which included two supermarkets and a Bowling alley.[2]
Plans for the shopping center's development were announced on July 26, 1958.[4] At the time of the announcement, two stores, S. S. Kresge (later known as KMart) and Piggly Wiggly, were announced as tenants.[4]
The shopping center's grand opening was a star-studded affair, as it was attended by Jim Backus, Jill St. John, and George Raft.[2]
In 1974, the bowling alley was converted to a department store, in a project that carried a multi-million dollar price tag.[1]
In the late 1970s, Maryvale Shopping City was enclosed, expanded and given the new name Maryvale Mall, with a new wing of the mall anchored by Mervyn's.[2]
The mall began to decline when Desert Sky Mall (originally named Westridge Mall) opened in 1981.[2] Eventually, discount retailer Target moved into a mall that was once anchored by upscale department stores.[2]
The mall was almost vacant by the mid 1990s,[2] but the structure was noted to still be in good condition.[5]
In the 1990s, Long offered the mall property to Cartwright Elementary School District for $7.3M, with a stipulation that the external structure be preserved. The school district opened an elementary school and a middle school on the property between 2000 and 2001.[5]
A former skating rink at the mall was converted to the district's first gymnasium, while a former movie theater became an auditorium. The parking lots were converted into athletic fields.[5]