The Evolution of South Shore Plaza: From Open-Air Shopping Center to New England's Largest Mall
South Shore Plaza opened in 1961 as an open-air shopping center featuring a 120,000 sq ft Filene’s store and thirty smaller shops. In 1967, a 300,316 sq ft Jordan Marsh was added. The plaza was enclosed in 1976 and expanded further with new anchors like Lord & Taylor in 1979 and Sears in 1980, bringing the total number of stores to 100.
During 1995 and 1996, a second level was introduced, along with the “Boardwalk Cafes” food court. Filene’s also expanded to include a home store, nearly doubling the mall’s size and enhancing its ambiance with skylighting and spacious corridors. The Jordan Marsh store was rebranded as Macy’s in 1996. Simon Property Group took over mall management in 1998 after acquiring Corporate Property Investors.
In 2005, Federated Department Stores, the owner of Macy’s, acquired May Department Stores, which owned Lord & Taylor and Filene’s. This led to the temporary closure of Filene’s in March 2006, with Macy’s moving into the space by May. Federated subsequently sold the Lord & Taylor chain and the vacant Jordan Marsh/Macy’s space to Simon Property Group. The mall also served as a filming location for the movie *Paul Blart: Mall Cop* in 2008.
A major redevelopment was completed on March 26, 2010, on the former Jordan Marsh site, making South Shore Plaza the largest mall in New England with 2,165,000 sq ft of retail space, including a new three-level, 150,000 sq ft Nordstrom. In 2017, Irish clothing retailer Primark opened in the former top level of Sears, which is the last remaining Sears in New England.
Matt Lambros MA Braintree Aug 07, 2024 History Malls Retail Stores
Aug 07, 2024
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