Mounds Mall

Mounds Mall was an enclosed shopping mall in Anderson, Indiana, United States. It was developed by Melvin Simon & Associates, the property-development company founded by Melvin Simon and later known as Simon Property Group. The mall opened in stages in the mid-1960s: its first anchor stores, H. P. Wasson and Company and Montgomery Ward, began operating in November 1964, while the mall's formal opening took place in April 1965. It became one of Indiana's early enclosed shopping centers and was described as the state's second mall, following Evansville's Washington Square, which had begun operating in 1963. The original tenant mix combined department stores, specialty retailers, food and grocery operations, and service businesses. The principal original anchors were H. P. Wasson and Company, Montgomery Ward, and JCPenney. Other early tenants included Zales, Kroger, Woolworth, and Jo-Ann Fabrics. This format reflected the standard regional-shopping-mall model of the period: large department stores generated visitor traffic, while smaller inline tenants occupied the enclosed corridors between them. Mounds Mall's anchor lineup changed substantially over the following decades. Montgomery Ward closed in 1983 and was replaced by Sears. H. P. Wasson and Company also shut down during the 1980s; a Meis department store subsequently occupied the space, later becoming Elder-Beerman in 1989 and Carson's in 2011. The JCPenney building was eventually demolished and redeveloped as a movie theater, leaving the property with a different mix of retail and entertainment uses than it had at opening. The mall experienced a prolonged decline as anchor stores closed and its retail offer weakened. Sears shut down in 2012, reportedly following poor sales during the 2011 holiday season. In January 2018, The Bon-Ton announced that Carson's would be among 42 stores closed nationwide. Carson's closed on April 29, 2018, although the mall itself had already ceased public operations earlier that month. Contemporary accounts describe the mall as closing on April 1, 2018, while other summaries characterize the closure as occurring during April. The attached movie theater remained for a limited period after the retail mall closed but shut down by 2019. By 2021, the property was reported to be boarded up and no businesses remained in the building. Mounds Mall is therefore best understood as a defunct regional shopping-center brand and property rather than as a continuing retail company. Its history illustrates the expansion of enclosed malls in Indiana during the 1960s, the replacement and consolidation of department-store anchors, and the later effects of declining department-store traffic and changing retail patterns.

Mounds Mall was developed in Anderson, Indiana, by Melvin Simon & Associates, the development company that later became associated with Simon Property Group. The project formed part of the early expansion of enclosed regional shopping centers in Indiana. Its anchor stores, H. P. Wasson and Company and Montgomery Ward, opened in November 1964, while the mall's official opening followed in April 1965. The development was regarded as one of the state's earliest enclosed malls and was commonly identified as Indiana's second mall after Washington Square in Evansville. At opening, Mounds Mall was organized around several large department-store anchors. H. P. Wasson and Company, Montgomery Ward, and JCPenney provided the principal department-store draw, while tenants such as Zales, Kroger, Woolworth, and Jo-Ann Fabrics filled the interior shopping areas. The combination of department stores and specialty retailers reflected the dominant American mall model of the 1960s, in which enclosed corridors provided climate-controlled shopping and the anchor stores attracted visitors from a broad local trade area. The property's anchor identity changed repeatedly. Montgomery Ward left in 1983, after which Sears occupied the space. H. P. Wasson and Company closed during the 1980s; its former location was later used by Meis, which opened approximately a year after the Wasson's closure. Meis was rebranded as Elder-Beerman in 1989 and later became Carson's in 2011. JCPenney eventually disappeared as a department-store anchor when its building was demolished and rebuilt for use as a movie theater. These changes reflected wider shifts in the American department-store and shopping-mall sectors. Mounds Mall's later years were marked by anchor losses and declining retail activity. Sears closed in 2012, with the closure linked in contemporary summaries to low sales during the 2011 holiday season. The remaining Carson's anchor was also lost after The Bon-Ton announced in January 2018 that it would close 42 stores, including the Mounds Mall location. Carson's ceased trading on April 29, 2018. The mall itself closed during April 2018, with April 1 commonly cited for the end of public operations. The attached cinema continued briefly but closed by 2019. By 2021, the entire property was described as boarded up, with no businesses operating in the former mall. Mounds Mall consequently moved from being a pioneering local enclosed shopping center to a defunct and vacant commercial property.

• 2019

  Movie theater closes

  [1]Mounds Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The attached movie theater closed by 2019, ending the property's remaining public-facing operations.

• 2018

  Mall closes

  [1]Mounds Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Mounds Mall closed to public operations in April, followed by Carson's closure later that month.

• 2012

  Sears closes

  [1]Mounds Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Sears left the mall after weak sales, eliminating another major anchor.

• 2011

  Elder-Beerman becomes Carson's

  [1]Mounds Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The department-store anchor was rebranded from Elder-Beerman to Carson's.

• 1989

  Meis becomes Elder-Beerman

  [1]Mounds Mallen.wikipedia.org

  The former H. P. Wasson and Company location, later occupied by Meis, was rebranded as Elder-Beerman.

• 1983

  Montgomery Ward replaced by Sears

  [1]Mounds Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Montgomery Ward closed and its anchor space became a Sears store.

• 1965

  Official mall opening

  [1]Mounds Mallen.wikipedia.org

  Mounds Mall officially opened in April 1965 as one of Indiana's earliest enclosed shopping malls.

• 1964

  Initial anchor stores open

  [1]Mounds Mallen.wikipedia.org

  H. P. Wasson and Company and Montgomery Ward began operating at the developing mall in November 1964.

A regional enclosed shopping mall serving Anderson and surrounding communities through department-store anchors, specialty retailers, and later entertainment uses.

• Retail · 1965

  Department-store retail

  Mounds Mall's principal offering was a collection of department stores, including H. P. Wasson and Company, Montgomery Ward, JCPenney, Sears, Meis, Elder-Beerman, and Carson's at different points in its history. These stores sold general merchandise, clothing, household products, and related consumer goods.

• Retail · 1965

  Specialty retail and services

  The mall's smaller tenants included jewelry, grocery, variety, and fabric businesses. Early named tenants included Zales, Kroger, Woolworth, and Jo-Ann Fabrics, illustrating the broad mix of specialty shopping and everyday retail that supported the department-store anchors.

• Entertainment

  Movie theater

  The former JCPenney site was demolished and rebuilt as an attached movie theater. The cinema provided an entertainment use after the department-store configuration changed, but it closed by 2019 after the mall had already ceased retail operations.

• 2018

  Close the mall after anchor lossesStrategy

  Background

  Sears had closed in 2012, and The Bon-Ton announced that Carson's would also close as part of a nationwide store-reduction plan.

  Action taken

  Mounds Mall ceased public operations in April 2018, with Carson's closing later that month.

  Aftermath

  The movie theater subsequently closed, and by 2021 the property was boarded up with no businesses remaining.

  Source

• 2011

  Rebrand department-store anchor as Carson'sStrategy

  Background

  The former H. P. Wasson and Company location had passed through Meis and Elder-Beerman branding.

  Action taken

  The store was rebranded as Carson's.

  Aftermath

  Carson's remained the property's last major department-store anchor until its closure in April 2018.

  Source

• 1983

  Replace Montgomery Ward with SearsStrategy

  Background

  Montgomery Ward closed its Mounds Mall location, creating a major anchor vacancy.

  Action taken

  The former Montgomery Ward space was taken over by Sears.

  Aftermath

  Sears became one of the mall's principal anchors until its closure in 2012.

  Source

1. 1Mounds Mallen.wikipedia.org