Оглторп мол: Саваннаның тарихы мен дамуы

Oglethorpe Mall is a super regional shopping mall on the south side of Savannah, Georgia. Named after General James Oglethorpe, the founder of Savannah, the mall has expanded since its opening in 1969 to nearly one million square feet. Among its features are several restaurants, a food court, and 118 stores. It is anchored by Belk, JCPenney, and Macy's. The center also features junior anchors Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, H&M, DSW, and Crunch Fitness. It is owned and operated by Brookfield Properties.

The land the mall is located on is called the Chippewa Tract, created by a 1960 subdivision of former farmland. Originally developed by Scott Hugdins of Atlanta, ground was broken in 1968. Sears and Belk developed their own stores in tandem with the mall. Oglethorpe Mall opened in April 1969 at 7804 Abercorn Street as Savannah's first enclosed, air conditioned shopping mall. The main anchors were Belk Beery, McCrory, Adler's, and Sears. At the time, the mall featured Savannah's only Chick fil A restaurant. Other major tenants included Morrison's Cafeteria and a Piggly Wiggly. By 1974, an additional of retail space was added. Additional growth came in 1982 when a expansion was completed featuring JCPenney and local department store, Levy's. In 1985, Adler's closed and became a section of the mall known as The Promenade: A short mall entrance hallway lined with upscale stores such as Laura Ashley. By 1988 Maas Brothers was consolidated into Jordan Marsh, a major Federated Department Stores chain based in Florida and New England.

By 1987, national mall developer, The Rouse Company was planning a new mall on 85 acres of land two miles south of Oglethorpe Mall. The proposed Southlake Mall received significant pushback from nearby residents and The Rouse Company pulled out. Meanwhile, David Hocker & Associates began planning a new mall to open in the summer of 1990 four miles south of Oglethorpe Mall. This mall opened on August 29, 1990, as Savannah Mall. In order to combat mounting pressure from newer competition, a significant renovation began in 1989. The renovations changed the feel of the mall altogether featuring "coastal" design elements like whitewashed wood, tabby walls, and lighter paint choices. The mall is extensively lit during the day by natural lighting from skylights that were installed during the renovation. A new tile floor was installed and would win design awards in 1990. A new two level parking garage completed the renovations in the summer of 1990. In 1992, the Maas Brothers/Jordan Marsh store was converted into general mall space, and a new Rich's was added to the mall. McCrory left the mall in 1994 and was replaced by Stein Mart the following year. It was replaced in 2018 by DSW. On August 22, 2018, Sears announced that it would be closing in November 2018 as part of a plan to close 46 stores nationwide. Also in 2018 the mall received its most significant renovation since 2002. This included an updated logo along with new street signs at the highway entrances, as well as new tile flooring in some areas. In 2020, longstanding tenant Stein Mart closed as the company liquidated. On February 24, 2022, developer Madison Capital was granted approval to rezone the former Sears tract to multi family. This paved the way for the anchor building to be demolished for more than 200 apartments. In Fall 2022, Crunch Fitness took the place of the former Stein Mart. Throughout 2021 the space was occupied by Overstock Furniture & Mattress.

Name No. (Number)of floors Yearopened Yearclosed Notes Belk 2 1969 JCPenney 1 1982 Levy's of Savannah 1 1982 1986 Became Maas Brothers/Jordan Marsh Maas Brothers/Jordan Marsh 1 1986 1991 Converted into inline mall space Macy's 2 2005 Former Rich's Rich's 2 1992 2005 Added onto expansion wing built from Maas Brothers/Jordan Marsh Sears 2 1969 2018 To be demolished for apartments