Arizona started to put itself on the map in the 1950s with major roadways and attractions like large shopping centers for tourists and residents.
All at once, it seems developers were fighting to be Arizona’s premier shopping center in the 1950s and 1960s, attracting housewives and teens during after-school hours. Due to the tight timelines for many Arizona shopping centers’ openings, knowing which one came first seems to have been lost over the years.
Luckily, archives of The Arizona Republic newspaper tell the truth about which Arizona mall actually came first despite what most of the internet says.
Arizona’s first mall
With a quick internet search, one might assume that Arizona’s first mall was Park Central. However, after reviewing archived articles from The Republic, the grand opening of Park Central mall took place April 1, 1957, more than two months after Town & Country Village opened in January 1957.
Town & Country Village on Camelback Road opened on Jan. 26, 1957, with a grand ceremony featuring Native American blessings and music from El Mariachi Phoeicanse, according to the 1957 article.
The shopping center is still open today under the same management, maintaining the open-air design as it was in the early days, as well as a large metal and stained-glass flying phoenix which was installed in 1958.
Although the mall has kept some of its original architecture, the unique local stores that once filled the buildings are no longer there. Shops like Ernie Brewer’s shoe shop, Culver’s, Ed Pabst Windsor Shop, Edens Candies, Cine Capri Theatre and beloved Jutenhoops were some of the first businesses to occupy the space.
The original Town & Country Village also had a nine-hole outdoor golf course as part of the mall’s attractions.
Over half a century, Town & Country Village has kept its relevancy in Phoenix, now with modern chain stores like Whole Foods, Banana Republic and Athleta. Though many Arizona natives mourn what Town & Country once was, the bones of Arizona’s first mall still exist.
Even the Trader Joe’s currently at Town and Country Village is a part of the original 1957 building and was one of the first Trader Joe’s to open outside of California in 1993.
Oldest Arizona Malls
Before Arizona’s malls were primarily used as indoor walking tracks, mall culture was prevalent in the 1970s through the early 2000s, acting as a place for teenagers and young adults to find independence and shop.
Arizona’s oldest malls still exist; they just aren’t what they used to be.
Park Central is often mistaken for Arizona’s first mall, although its grand opening was around two months after Town and Country Village in 1957. Now the outdoor mall is occupied mostly by restaurants and businesses rather than retail stores.
Christown Spectrum is Arizona’s oldest all-indoor mall, an architectural design that makes sense for the state’s brutal summers. The mall opened in 1961 with some local and chain stores. Christown Spectrum is still open through different ownership, with stores such as Hobby Lobby, Target and Bath & Body Works.
Reporting by Paige Moore, Arizona Republic
