page_title: Har Mar Mall
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Har Mar Mall / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Interior picture of the Har Mar Mall in Roseville, Minnesota
context_page_description: Har Mar Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of the Twin Cities. Har Mar Mall comprises over 430,000 square feet of retail space and the mall's anchor stores are Famous Footwear, Michaels, HomeGoods, Barnes & Noble, Staples, K&G Fashion Superstore, Burlington, Cub Foods, H&R Block, Tuesday Morning, Marshalls, David's Bridal, Painting with a Twist, Sport Clips, Waxing the City, Elements Massage, and Best Buy Mobile. The mall contains 45 tenants.
  Opened in 1963 and expanded several times since, it is one of two enclosed malls in Roseville; the other is Rosedale Center. Despite being a relatively small shopping center, Har Mar Mall remains open. It was constructed by Robert W. Fendler of Fendler Patterson and is owned and managed by the Vanbarton Group and Varbarton Services respectively.
context_section_description: Construction for the Har Mar Mall began in 1961, when Harold J. Slawik had a vision to build a "super mall", similar to shopping centers he had seen while traveling in Florida. Deriving its name from its owners – Harold J. Slawik and his wife Marie – Har Mar is a combination of the two names. It was built upon 50 acres of land near a busy intersection in Roseville, Minnesota. Minnesota-native Willard Thorson, who designed Apache Plaza in nearby St. Anthony, designed the mall, while Robert W. Fendler served as the mall's architect. According to Thorson, the mall consists of "a long corridor, which zigzags at a series of angles... that make Har Mar truly unique"; it features "massively wide" hallways and "arched ceilings with large windows" to allow natural light to enter the corridors.
  The mall cost nearly $6 million to construct over a span of two years. During the summer of 1962, Harold Slawik died, leaving his wife in charge of the mall's construction; Mrs. Slawik reportedly worked 80 hour weeks in order to keep up with the mall. In May of the same year, Target constructed their first location in a parking lot directly north of Har Mar. While nearby Rosedale Center was constructed in 1969, Har Mar went through a significant expansion in the early 1970s. In 1970, the construction of a twin theater, Har Mar 1 & 2, was completed and became the Twin Cities' second double-screened cinema; its luxurious design included a "spacious lobby, with three Venetian glass chandeliers and bubbling fountains" and was constructed by architect Benjamin Gingold Jr.
  On June 14, 1981, Har Mar Mall was damaged by a large tornado during the afternoon hours. While the mall wasn't heavily damaged and only affected the mall's cosmetic appearance, several nearby local businesses and residences were left in ruins following the impact. Shortly after the tornado, a large renovation occurred to update the mall's appearance and fix any damage left by it. In 1988, another expansion took place, allowing Har Mar to acquire several larger retailers in the newly constructed space; the opening of Highland Superstore and TJ Maxx appeared later this year, along with the addition of a new food court with seating for over 400 people. Three years later, the Highland Superstore was converted to BizMart, a regional office supply store. BizMart was later acquired by OfficeMax in 1992 before ultimately closing in 1995; HomePlace opened in the space vacated by OfficeMax, and is currently leased by HomeGoods, the successor of HomePlace. In the 2000s, Har Mar underwent a cosmetic makeover that cost previous owner Emmes Realty Services nearly $12 million; Emmes sparked interest in opening a Von Maur at the center, but the proposal eventually dissolved.
  In 2014, Burlington Coat Factory, a discount apparel retailer, announced that they planned to lease a 52,300 square feet (4,900 m²) space previously occupied by Northwestern Books; the opening of this location allowed all of Har Mar's anchor tenants to be completely leased. Currently, the mall still prospers mixing "large, special interest stores, as well as a variety of smaller, more unique stores" under one roof. Several new tenants and businesses have begun leasing space in the center, such as Staples Inc., D'Amico & Sons, plus several other fine dining establishments.
caption: Interior picture of the Har Mar Mall
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