Willowbrook Mall (Wayne, New Jersey)

Infobox shopping mall
shopping_mall_name = Willowbrook


caption =
location = Wayne, New Jersey
opening_date =1969-70
manager = General Growth Properties
owner =
number_of_stores = Over 200
number_of_anchors = 4
floor_area = 1,500,000 ft²
floors = 2(Bloomingdale's and Macy*s are 3 Floors)
parking = lighted lot

Willowbrook is a two-level, major shopping center located in Wayne, New Jersey, It is near the intersection of U.S. Route 46, Route 23 and Interstate 80. The mall opened in 1969 and was expanded or renovated in 1970, 1988, and 2006. The mall has over 200 retail establishments and a gross leasable area (GLA) of 1,500,000 ft², [ [http://www.icsc.org/apps/dmmdisp.php?dispid=NJ0580 International Council of Shopping Centers: Willowbrook Mall] , accessed September 21, 2006] placing it near the largest shopping malls in the United States, and making it the fourth largest of all Shopping malls in New Jersey (tied with Monmouth Mall).

Owned by General Growth Properties, the mall's main stores include Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor, Macy's and Sears. Its restaurants include California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory, and Ruby Tuesday.

With blue laws in effect in Bergen County, and nearby shopping haven Paramus imposing even stricter Sunday-sales restrictions of its own, Willowbrook has benefited from the spillover of shoppers on Sunday. ["On Sundays, Bergen Shoppers Rest; PARAMUS JOURNAL To keep Paramus Sundays peaceful, it is illegal to shop.", "The New York Times", December 7, 1992. p. B6.]

Main stores

Main stores are (listed in descending order by square footage):
*Macy's 369,000 sq.ft. (On 3 levels) (Opened 1970 as Bamberger's; Converted to Macy's 1986)
*Sears 279,000 sq.ft. (On 2 levels) opened 1968)
*Bloomingdale's 278,000 sq.ft. (On 3 levels) opened 1968 as Stern's; converted to Bloomingdale's 2002.
*Lord & Taylor 135,000 sq.ft (On 2 levels) opened 1968 as Orbach's; converted to Steinbach 1987; gutted and expanded for Lord and Taylor 1997.
*Old Navy (convert|24659|sqft|m2|0|abbr=on)
*Gap/Gap Kids/Baby Gap (convert|24635|sqft|m2|0|abbr=on)
*Express (convert|13866|sqft|m2|0|abbr=on)
*New York & Company (convert|12232|sqft|m2|0|abbr=on)
*The Cheesecake Factory (convert|10500|sqft|m2|-1|abbr=on)
*Abercrombie & Fitch (convert|10000|sqft|m2|-3|abbr=on)

Now Open

*Metropark
*H&M
*Apple

Coming Soon

*Forever 21 (Forever XXI) {next to Hallmark}(convert|10556|sqft|m2|0|abbr=on)
*Love Culture
*Spencer's

Former anchors

*Bamberger's - opened in 1967, became Macy's 1986
*Stern's - opened in 1968, became Bloomingdale's 2002
*Ohrbach's - opened in 1968, became Steinbach 1987
*Steinbach - opened in 1987, became Lord and Taylor 1997

History

Construction of a 100,000 ft² Ohrbach's store in 1968, joined by a Sears, were the original anchors of what was designed as a two-level, 110 store, indoor shopping mall, encompassing 1,500,000 ft². ["Ohrbach's Builds in Jersey", "The New York Times", September 27, 1968. p. 75.]

The opening of Willowbrook came at a time when many shoppers were avoiding trips to downtown areas to shop, over safety concerns. Early radio spots for the mall called it "the new downtown", and it featured anchors stores that were also located in nearby downtown Newark, or within the city limits itself. (Bamberger's, Ohrbachs, and Sears). The large branch of Bamberger's opened in the fall of 1967 (before the rest of the mall), and with Newark just having dealt with race rioting in the summer of 1967, many shoppers defected to the Willowbrook location. In addition, S. Klein, based in New York, and having a branch in Newark opened a large store as an outparcel next to (but not connected to) Willowbrook. A second mall known initially as West Belt Mall (now Wayne Town Center), was built around the S. Klein store, and contained a large JC Penney Store. The S. Klein store later became E. J. Korvette, and was then rebuilt as the first full-line Fortunoff store in New Jersey.

In the early 1970s, the mall was the site of Willowbrook Ministries, an effort by two ministers to reach out to shoppers. The ministry office, funded by several major Christian denominations, was open six days a week, every day except Sunday. ["Shopping Center Served By Marketplace Ministry", "The New York Times", February 20, 1972. p. 105.] Increasingly, shoppers were seeking to fulfill all of their needs -- including their spiritual needs -- at the mall. ["Busy Day in a Busy Mall; Busy Day in Busy Willowbrook Mall", "The New York Times", April 2, 1972. p. 55.] In that same period, book stores started their migration from Main Street to malls, and the Willowbrook Mall was at the forefront with an early Waldenbooks location. ["To Survive, Bookstores Move to Malls", "The New York Times", September 10, 1972. p. 108.]

With more shoppers at malls, it was becoming increasingly difficult for advocacy groups to reach out to customers shopping at malls. In 1983, Willowbrook bowed to pressure from the Passaic County Nuclear Freeze Committee to distribute pamphlets and obtain petition signatures, subject to the malls rules and oversight. ["Mall Bows, Grants Bid To Group To Petition", "The New York Times", October 9, 1983. p. NJ 24.]

In 1988, Willowbrook underwent a large renovation project. This renovation made many drastic cosmetic changes throughout the mall. The most dramatic being in center court: new skylights were added, the old fountain was converted into a new waterfall-style fountain (which was removed around 2003 in favor of a new customer service booth and specialty carts), escalators and a new stairway were added, the lowered seating area of center court was raised to the level of the rest of the mall, the carousel was removed in favor of another fountain which still exists today. Throughout the rest of the mall, new skylights were added, new seating areas added, lights were replaced and added, new flooring was added and ceilings were raised to give the mall the impression of being more open and airy.

In 1993, Willowbrook became one of the first malls in New Jersey to join 300 of 1,800 malls nationwide that banned smoking on mall grounds. ["2 Big Malls Ban Smoking", "The New York Times", October 8, 1993. p. B6.]

Sears is the only original anchor store from the mall's opening. Ohrbach's became Steinbach's in 1987 and then Lord and Taylor in 1997, Bamberger's became Macy's in 1986 and Stern's became Bloomingdale's in 2002. With the addition of Lord and Taylor and Bloomingdale's in 1997 and 2002, respectively, Willowbrook has attempted a more upscale remerchandising. This has been evidenced by stores that have opened in recent years, as well as stores that are opening this year.

Transportation

A park and ride facility, opened in 1974, provides New Jersey Transit bus service to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. ["Park-Ride Center to Open Monday at Willowbrook Mall", "The New York Times", January 4, 1974. p. 64.]

Local bus service is provided by NJ Transit.

NJ Transit opened a rail and bus station directly across from the Willowbrook Mall in January 2008. The station is called the Wayne-Route 23 Transit Center, and provides services to points in Northern New Jersey and Manhattan.

Popular culture

*Willowbrook was the site of "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" special episode "What We Did on Our Summer Vacation," where Ellen's photo booth was located in the parking lot of the mall.
*Willowbrook was the filming location for a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trKmk8eGCwM 1978 Kinney Shoes commercial] featuring Ken Berry.
*Willowbrook can be seen in the HBO hit series "The Sopranos".
*Willowbrook is where the characters of How I Met Your Mother go in the episode "Slap Bet" to go to a Sharper Image opening.
*Willowbrook can be seen in the episode of "Strangers with Candy" titled "Blank Stare, Part I"

ecurity

Willowbrook security officers work in conjunction with the Wayne Police Department and Passaic County Sheriff Department.

References

External links

* [http://www.willowbrook-mall.com/html/index10.asp Official website]
* [http://www.generalgrowth.com/properties/MallTemplate.asp?smuid=773 General Growth: Willowbrook Mall]
* [http://www.generalgrowth.com/properties/mallTenantList.asp?smuid=773 Willowbrook mall tenant list]
* [http://www.icsc.org/apps/dmmdisp.php?dispid=NJ0580 International Council of Shopping Centers: Willowbrook Mall]