It was a beautiful morning in Frackville Pennsylvania on October 9, 1980..
Low 40s in the early morning, and a bright and sunny high pressure overtook the state of Pennsylvania later that day with 65 degree weather for the duration of the autumn, day.
It just seemed to be perfect weather for a grand opening of a brand new shopping center on the mountain: The Schuylkill Mall was planned for years before.. it finally came to fruition.
Sadly Jimmy Carter just couldn’t make it…
BEFORE THE MALL ON THE MOUNTAIN
Long before the mall’s grand opening, the news of the shopping center began to circulate through Schuylkill County. As did controversy.
A new shopping center! It was drawing excitement! But consternation as well.. What would it do to main street of Frackville!? Would it cause pollution? Would it be as big as ‘they’ promoted it to be?
The epic saga began when a new proposed shopping mall was planned by Crown American Corporation. It was named the Schuylkill Mall from the onset. What would be the draw? A 586,000 square foot, one story, closed facility, that was the original plan.
Crown American estimated that the final construction cost would be anywhere between $40 and $50 million.
In 2020 dollars, the construction cost would be $214 million–before any potential delays.
Late in 1977, the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority finalized an agreement with Crown Developer Inc to swap 75 aces of land for 440 acres which included the Kaufman dam in New Castle Township. The authority took ownership of the 440 acres and the reservoir.
This is where at least some initial controversy began. A group known as “GASP” (The General Association to Stop Pollution) claimed that runoff water from the development of the mall was going to pollute the reservoir.
As the land battle intensified, some store owners and merchants in Frackville decried the changing landscape of their own businesses. A new mall would cause irreparable harm, many argued.. Main Street, the quaint storefronts, and the decorated sidewalks would exist no more, said some. The progress of the great American shopping mall was about to steamroll the old timers who still owned hardware, clothing, and shoe repair shops along Lehigh Avenue.
The announcements being made by Crown American in 1977 and 1978 added to some fears. Hess’s was committed to the location. K-Mart was being rumored to join. And Sears was set to bring its Brady Bunch style of shopping into Frackville. How could anyone possibly compete against those names?
While GASP was heavily breathing about potential pollution, PENNDOT began sweating it out about traffic plans.
Newspapers at the time showcase that, with each new announcement of a store from Crown American, considerable pressure was put on local politicians and PennDOT to construct a long-delayed Saint Clair bypass, which would be an important link to the free flow of traffic to the mall on the mountain.
THE PENNDOT PROBLEM
The mall was being placed into a town of a little over 5000 people. A very small town in nature. With a massive new shopping complex.
How would people get there!
Back during the Ford Administration, there was debate about this new mall.. It hit some immediate stumbling blocks.
As reported in the Pottsville REPUBLICAN on April 19, 1974, PENNDPOT posed traffic flow stipulations. It would not even consider a proposed rerouting of Route 61 without an analysis..
Eventually construction was at a fever pitch to keep up with mall opening plans. On January 19, 1980, the Pottsville REPUBLICAN reported about a “tough construction site biting the dust” with photographs from Kurt Steidle.
BKi Associates did the design work on the highway changes, along with Penn East Corp engineers from Pottsville.
And for the remainder of the work, Crown American paid the tab (Which they bragged and advertised about often in coming years)
GASP! The zoning controversy
It was not just PennDOT and highway changes that caused consternation ‘North of the Mountain.’
On January 28, 1978, the zoning board heard the pros and cons of a new mall.
Crown American made a request for the change of zoning from C-2 to a C-1 permit for the construction of the facility. About 100 citizens attended the meeting that cold winter night in the county courthouse.
In favor of the mall: The Schuylkill County Municipal Water Authority. After all, they already traded the land and had to stick to their decision. The Pottsville Industrial Development Corp liked the plan.. As did the Operating Engineers Union, the Carpenters Union, and the Bricklayers Union. (Remember the exterior of the mall was made of brick!!!)
The opponents: GASP. They are back again.
This time represented by attorney Iles Cooper, who argued arcane zoning rules to the board.
Also in favor: Joseph Alshon who identified himself as a small businessman who wanted to create a much needed recreation facility for young people in the Frackville area. Further research shows that Alshon was the owner at the time of Boly’s Iron Works of Oak and Emerick Streets.
Boly’s was incorporated in 1930 by Boly Alshon.
The mall began to take shape. Literally.
On January 31, 1978, a published artist sketch of the mall finally appeared in publications, giving potential patrons a taste of their future shopping plaza..
PROPONENTS: THE PR BLITZ
Crown American had an issue.. some thought a new mall would ruin main street Frackville. Others who supported GASP thought pollution was on the horizon.
How did Crown respond? They took ads out in newspapers at the time..
Without an internet and social media, they went to the modern media of its age..
This advertisement was one example in February 1978, calling the mall a “new and progressive neighbor” in the county. They bragged of 1,000 permanent jobs, 350 construction jobs, and real estate tax revenues for the local area. Oh, and parking for exactly 3,200 cars in a “beautifully heated and air conditioned” facility:
The opponents
Progress is tough. So was creating a new mall..
A letter to the editor that appeared on February 25, 1978, in the Pottville REPUBLICAN, showcased the angst in the area about the new shopping plaza.
Theodore Chornensky wrote a tongue in cheek editorial quoting the Bible writing about GASP. He began his opinion with a jab at the “jigsaw puzzle” of a new mall “missing major pieces.”
THE LAST GASP
GASP argued that an environmental catastrophe would occur, and fought against the 1977 land swap.
But on April 4, 1979, a hearing in Harrisburg about the removal of 75 acres of land from the conservation designation under Project 70 was ruled to be legal. The hearing was held before Senator Robert Mellow’s Environmental Resources Committee. Representative James Goodman (Name ring a bell???) introduced a bill that month in the House to say the mall construction was “vital to the county’s economic recovery.”
Goodman pointed out at the time that the GASP organization had an interesting attorney who represented them: The same lawyer who represented the Fairlane Village Mall just a few miles down the road in Pottsville.
GASP argued at the time that county zoning maps were tampered with. GASP further argued that the water supply was in danger.
At one point during the hearing, Pottsville REPUBLICAN reporter Tom Sage wrote,
“At one point in the proceedings, Senator Mellow questioned ‘Why the need for all these shopping centers when nobody has jobs or any money to spend?'”Tom Sage, Pottsville REPULICAN, April 4, 1979
GASP lost its ability to breathe in May of 1978.. The Frackville Mall officially requested zoning of the land.
It was approved.
COLD HARD COAL
Tom Sage, the same reporter who wrote about the April hearing on zoning legalities, had a great op-ed in the Pottsville REPUBLCIAN on September 1, 1978.
Sage wondered if it was the mall or the coal beneath the mall that provided the promised benefit to construction.
According to reporting at the time, excavating exposed a coal vein was a hopeful side effect of mall construction. When the Fairline Village Mall was being built, a finding of a coal vein caused delays. Which led to $$$..
Sage pondered, “test borings and studies of coal reserves around the proposed Frackville mall site can be argued forever but when the excavation for the malls begins, should a good coal supply turn up, you can bet it will be recovered.”
Excavation began on 9/11 of 1978.
THE FINAL ACQUISITION
On February 21, 1979, the Crown American’s acquisition of the land the Schuylkill Mall would be concluded.. Men with suits would define the future.
The report at the time stated that the one story 800,000 sq-ft mall would feature four department stores and 90 mall tenants.
The Schuylkill County Municipal Authority said that the mall would lead to an increase in local shopping and a great addition the region’s economy.
Promised anchors included KMart, Hess, Sears, and Weis Market.
Main street? No one cared now.
Other tenants promised included The Bottomhalf, Budget Plan, Charlie Chan, Chess King, Deb Shop, Endicott Johnson Shoes, Fashion Bug, the Gap, GNC, Hanover Shoes, Great Expectations, Hello Shop, Hickory Farms, House of Cards, Kay Jewlers, Kay-Bee Toy, and Orange Julius.
A bright future was predicted.
The mall was set to open October 1980.
THE FRACKVILLE ROTARY MEETING, NOVEMBER 1979
Paul Brennan, corporate affairs director at the time for Crown American Corp, addressed the Rotary Club in Frackville on November 8, 1979. Brennan said that a “rosy future” was ahead.
Brennan said that adverse spring weather caused delays in construction, as did rock that was much harder than anticipated to blast through. (no coal though, $$$ was not had.)
When he addressed the Rotary just weeks before Thanksgiving that year, development work was advancing. Finishing work was underway on the Sears store, the roof already started over Kmart, and steel erection had begun for the Hess Department Store.
1979 saw a decline in mining in the area, with jobs at that time dropping from 235,000 in 1930 to 160,000 in 19780, but Brennan argued that the drop gave the mall a great potential. Replacing mining jobs with manufacturing and retail jobs, it was argued, would be the savior of the coal region.
Paul Brennan went on to make an argument on several other points, including a point that household income figures increased by 5% in the 1970s.
Brennan said that one side effect of the mall was going to be ‘urban sprawl.’
The Rotary that night heard a prediction from Brennan: Sales of $39.1 million were expected during the first year. And the number the second year would be $42.5 mil.
1,200 new jobs.
150% increase in tax revenue.
And prestige for the area.
Brennan argued to the Rotary Club that night,
“Malls are accused of siphoning business from a lot of area concerns, different retailers, and such. I think it’s a bit unfair. Our critics overlook several important factors, one of which is the free enterprise system, that put most businesses where they are today. We found that when we construction a mall, it generally creates a new awareness among the business community. Merchants don’t throw in the towel, and that’s very important. They decide to compete. They fox their hops, they run more promotions. The merchants take their organization more seriously. The results among merchants are very surprising. They find that they can compete in and, in a way, it generals more community pride–better and more competitive shopping for all.”Paul Brennan, Crown American, 1979
It would be incredible to know what the Rotary thought that night, and how they thought the future would be.
Did they believe Paul Brennan? Did they think the future was rosy.. or did they wonder if this new mall was going to be amazing for the mountain, but disastrous for the main street? Did they wonder aloud if Brennan’s promises were beyond belief.. or did they succumb to the excitement of the era and believe the best case scenario was on the horizon for Schuylkill County?
A FUTURE SO BRIGHT YOU GOTTA WEAR SHADES (purchased at a mall on a mountain near you)
The issue that GASP took to court was resolved: Crown American won the battle. They began construction on the Frackville mall and excitement began to build as the building itself neared completion.
At 800,000 square feet, the jewel of Frackville was going to be larger than the Harrisburg Capital City Mall.
And finally, we had a date: October 1980 would be the magical time when shopping madness would begin. This was all before people met the material girls of the Reagan era.
As October neared, stores began to take shape. Hess’s was set. The store with the big red K and the little blue MART was ready.. JEAN NICOLE was also on the way.. Plenty of parking was paved.. And the mall lobby was decorated for the masses.
The original store map of the mall was aiming high: Lots of empty spaces were ready. The anchors were heavily advertised. They were the draw for the rest of the smaller shops.
Classified ads starts getting posted.. Including one from Hazleton’s famous Johnny Moratto, who wanted a piano salesperson for the Moratto & Lesante Lowrey Organ Store in the mall..
And Regis, which was adding the mall to its 250 salons that offered a full range of beauty services. They wanted skilled hairstylists that would be able to give “men special attention in the colorful new men’s area.”
Charles Mayersky was named the KMART manager for the mall store.. he was a native of Clearfield and he received his new Frackville assignment in September 1980.
There is something amazing to consider about the managers of retail stores and department stores at that time. They were worthy of press releases.. they were introduced to a community like a politician or judge would be. And their face and story would become a part of the lure of the shopping experience..
Like the “Are you Being Served” British show, there was a special prestige to a retail manager at a certain time in American history.
The mall did have a problem. When the facility eventually opened, the location was not at 100% capacity, as there were still several vacant storefronts throughout.. But that never stopped good PR.
In the months prior to the October opening, the vice President of real estate leasing with the mall put on a good face.
William Conway said, “Leasing at Schuylkill Mall has not only exceeded our projections, but has bettered the track record of any other Crown American property.”
Among the many that would join in the greatest show: Anderson-Little, Coffee Tea & Three, Doctor Pet, Fayva Shoes, Franklin Family Restaurant, Kirchner Dental, Radio Shack, The Pandhandler, and T Shorts Plus.
Conway said “Undoubtedly, Schuylkill Mall will be the retail center of Schuylkill County and contiguous areas.”
STORES ANNOUNCED
Already announced: Anderson-Little, Coffee Tea & Three, Doctor Pet, Fayva Shoes, Franklin Family Restaurant, Kirchner Dental, Radio Shack, The Pandhandler, and T Shorts Plus.
And more joined in.
According to reports at the time, this is a listing of the original tenants around the mall when it opened in 1980:
- The Added Touch
- American Vision Center
- Anderson-Little
- Athletic Attic
- Baker Shoes
- Barbara Moss
- Barvarian Pretzel
- The Bottomhalf
- Bressler’s 33 Flavors Ice Cream
- Budget Plan
- Butler Shoes
- Candy Store
- Capri Pizza
- Charlie Chank Chess King
- Chick Fil-A
- Claire’s
- Coffee Tea & Three
- Cole Books
- Deb
- Docktor Pet
- Endicott Johnson
- Face Factory
- Fashion Bug
- Fayva
- First Federal Savings
- Foxmoor
- Franklin Family Restaurant
- Frontier Fruit & Nut Company
- Fruit and Nut Shoppe
- Gemstone Jewelry
- The Great American Chocolate Chip Company
- Great Expectations
- Grotto Blue Restaurant
- Hanover Shoes
- Harmony Hut
- Hello Shop
- Hess’s
- Hickory Farms
- Holiday Hair
- Home Savings
- House of Cards
- Jay Jewelers
- Jean Nicole
- Jeans West
- Jo-Ann Fabrics
- Junior Colony
- Kay Jewelers
- Kay-Bee Toy
- Kids Point of View
- Kimmey Shoes
- K-Mart
- Lerner Shop
- Liberty Travel
- Lowery Organ
- Marshall Arts
- McCrory’s
- McDonald’s
- No Name
- Orange Julius
- Peanut Shack
- Pearle Vision
- Pinehurst Leather
- Pottsville Republican
- Prints N Things
- Radio Shack
- Rea & Derrick
- Recordtown
- Regist
- Sears
- Shed House
- Smoker’s Gallery
- Spencer’s
- Taco Casa
- Taxi
- Things Remembered
- Thom McCan Toy
- Hobby & Craft World
- T Shirts Plus
- United Artist Theaters
- Upstage
- Waldenbooks
- Weis Market
- Zale Jewelers
So much to choose from, ads were running stating you can get a horn or a box of popcorn. It was all in a store for you starting on October 9, 1980.
THE BUILD UP
In late September 1980, the Frackville Rotary meeting again became the location for excitement and buzz around the new mall. David Siegel from Crown American Corp showed up at their September 18th dinner to blitz members with Mall Mania.
Siegel said construction was 95% complete on the new road.. 3,853 vehicles have a parking spot .. and traffic would “flow smoothly.”
Siegel said that the mall construction provided the area 350 jobs with an annual payroll of $5 million.. 1,200 jobs were promised when the mall’s construction would conclude and all 60 to 65 stores would open. Siegel said the annual payroll of the mall would be $12 million.
And finally, hours were announced: 10am to 9:30pm Monday through Saturday.. noon to 5pm on Sunday. Those hours eventually became 9pm.. but the blue laws of Sunday never left ..
It was always a 5pm closing on the day of rest.
There was a hiccup prior to the mall opening.. A brief scare!
A fire alarm in Frackville caused fear!
According to a report on September 29, 1980, all three Frackville fire companies quickly responded to the Schuylkill Mall at 6pm when alarms went off..
Not the new mall! The horror!
An all clear was given when fire fighters discovered it was a false alarm.
Fire Chief Robert Thomas said air got into the new water line being installed and it caused the alarm to be reported at the Hess’s story.
All was good.
The mall was ready.
THE GRAND OPENING
One would have to wonder what small towners and rural people thought of this new monster megaplex? What did they eyes focus on first.. who would become a mall rat? What glitzy glares from stores would catch their attention.. How much would they $$$$$$PEND?????
The future was now.
The 80s were here.
After all of the debate, the GASPS, and the construction.. the mall on the foggy mountain was built and ready.
Mall owners invited President Jimmy Carter to the grand opening. They figured a president who was desperate for any votes he could get against Ronald Reagan would love the chance.. He didn’t make it.
And maybe that was for the best.. After all, the shopping mall mania of the 1980s went hand in hand with the Reagan Era of capitalism and the decade of materialism.
Shoppers got a sneak peak early.. the mall’s grand opening was October 9, but some were able to see the “New Sears” three days prior.
Customers were able to enjoy 200,000 items that were once available only in the Sears Catalog. Also a 10-bay auto center was built for convenience of the shopper..
And the process was cutting edge for it’s time!
This is how it would work, according to the Pottsville REPUBLICAN at the time,
Customers who want to order any more than 200,000 items available in the Sears catalog will be impressed with the ease with which they can shop. A cathode ray tube (CRT) with a television-like screen is designed to give customers streamlined service.
After a stock number is entered on the CRT, all pertinent information about the item is flashed on the operator’s screen. Not only is the customer told if the item is available, but also which styles, sizes, colors are ready to be shipped. If the item is out of stock, the computer gives details about available alternate selections.
When the order comes in, approximately 48 hours later, automatic notification takes over and the customer receives a telephone call with a recorded voice-activated message telling them the order is ready for pickup.
And finally…
It was here.
All doors unlocked. All stores opened. Cars piled up.. and the lights were bright on the mountain that October 9th night.
And they were able to bounce the store count to 70 (thanks to some kiosks that were spread throughout the center lanes)
On the first Friday night, special guests joined the crowds. North Schuylkill’s high school band offered a rousing rendition of “This land if your land” for the grand opening..
The rest was history
Smokey history.
Remember people used to smoke cigars in the mall? The smell was rancid at times.. old men gathered on benches to pass the hours.. While smoking their stogies.
Stores came and went..
The mall evolved.
This ad appeared in mid 1990s to remind people the mall was still there:
And perhaps one of the greatest moments in mall history occurred on March 29 2008 when a teenager jumped into the fountain, and the video was uploaded to Youtube with the song Rock Lobster playing:
The side effect to the mall: Main street USA, in this case Lehigh Street in Frackville, lost its stores.. The landscape of the town was drastically different compared to the time when the mall opened. Some of that was the mall’s fault. Some was economic turmoil.. some was just eventual.
A few years ago, WNEP offered up old footage on their video vault of shoppers’ reactions to the new mall.. A sight to see looking back 40 years ago in time:
But time beats on.
Memories are just moments.
All that glitters is not gold, and nothing is forever.
In October 2016, the anniversary month, the struggling mall filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
The mall announced its closing on May 9, 2017… It gave store owners who remained just 90 days to vacate before immediate demolition.
As the destruction of the mall was occurring, we were visiting.. We were watching each brick layers by the Bricklayers union in 1979 come down.. each floor built by Carpenters be demolished.. each window placed by a glazier smashed…
Anyone who has checked out the remnants of the Frackville mall will see that strange and mysterious chunk of the past that still remains intact… depending on the angle, it still blocks the sun. It has a presence.. And because the dialysis center paid a lease cost and waited it out until the VERY END, the Schuylkill Mall has been about 90% knocked down, with the exception of the medical facility.
The day dream believer
We visited the mall while it was still standing on March 18, 2018. . it was empty. Storefronts were closed. Only Suglia’s Pizza remained until.. The mail for the Nail Art place was actually still on a desk from a year prior–phone bills and tax bills that went unpaid.
We got our phones out and recoded the empty vast shopping plaza while the Monkey’s DAYDREAM BELIEVER played on speakers.. it was soothing and sad. Melancholy and haunting. And captured as long as the FTP remains online here:
We also captured the amazing moments when most bricks were down, and the final facade was left..
The final visit
Long after the mall was closed in, one part remained: The movies. They were the holdout.. they lasted for just one more STAR WARS movie.. just one more Christmas.. and they made just a few more memories with what was potentially the most beautiful movie theater and bar in the state of Pennsylvania..
Skook News stopped a final time in January 2018, and filed this report:
We also visited.. on the final night of January 15, 2018..
It was emotional.. the mall was shuddered.. the gates were closed and lights were off. The final round of drinks were served in the bar. And the projection screen went dim.
The positive a the time was an announcement that Pearl Theaters was set to movie to Pottsville. We reported then:
But all good things will get better! The movie theater announced recently that they are working on a plan to bring life to a dilapidated located in Pottsville, right near Yuengling and the fading fishwrapper. That is good news. Good news not only because a movie theater with food and alcohol will be existent locally but also because Pottsville seems to be showing new signs of life as of late. Hope it continues. Good things need to start happening sooner or later, right?
No. there was no good news.
The movie plans were scrapped.. Pearl Theaters never reopened but instead auctioned off its seating facade..
That theater became a memory, as did the magical night when I took my son to see SAR WARS EPISODE VIII on a uniquely cloudy and foggy December night.. What a beautiful memory that just vanishes into the Ether..
We talked to the owners of Pearl Theaters just recently a few weeks ago to just absorb the loss the area has had since they left. Any chance they return?
They said,
There is no news on a possible future for our theatre. As sad and unfortunate that is
And on the fact that so many miss the location:
Us too as managers and employees. We’re truly sorry we couldn’t bring the theatre back to the area.
We are sorry too..
x x x
So we end this ordeal on a melancholy sense of history.
What to make of the history of this mall, what is there to take as a lesson?
Perhaps it’s one of culture.. one of society as a whole. The most amazing memories people had was at this mall.. Childhood and teenage dreams were abundant. It lasted through three decades, 7 presidents and 3 popes..
One of the biggest PR campaigns to ever hit the coal region took place in the late 1970s and early 1980s.. there was a unique promise of prosperity and jobs.. The coal region heard that before, coal barons made company stores popular.
And while employment did help and a mall did give a central location, owners of that said space figured the coal region was better left in the vast darkness.. better left to drown and suffer. Just as the coal barons of the time before.
We wonder now, as Frackville’s Lehigh Ave descends into ruins, and a brand new building that was supposed to house a major distribution center remains unclaimed, was it worth it? Was this mall, this shining fabled building on a hill, worth the price of admission?
While we debate that, other businesses are getting tax breaks on another mountain nearby.. perhaps their eventual time is running out, as well..
