Turnpike Mall

The Turnpike Mall is an enclosed shopping center in Augusta, Maine. Its current anchors are Petco, Harbor Freight Tools, and Hobby Lobby. With a full opening of 1970, the Turnpike Mall is the third oldest enclosed mall in the state of Maine. For several years, the mall had few tenants left and was dying. However, in recent years the mall has seen some new tenants. 
== History ==
In October of 1967, the first phase of the Turnpike Mall opened. This included two freestanding anchors, Zayre and Sears. Starting in March 1969, the rest of the mall started construction. The mall was fully built and opened in October 1970, three years after the first section was complete. Some original tenants include Thom McAn, Turnpike Cinemas (2-screens), and Cottle's Food Center. Originally, the mall was called "Maine Shopping Center". This name was changed to "Turnpike Mall" a couple of years later. 
Throughout the next decade or so, the mall continued to operate. In 1985, the two screen theatre permanently closed and was converted into store spaces. In April 1990, Zayre ended operations, and the Turnpike Mall location was converted to Ames. 
In 2002, Ames filed for bankruptcy and closed all of their locations. This caused some tenants to close and a decline in the mall. In 2007, Christmas Tree Shops and Bed Bath & Beyond moved into the former Ames space, however, the mall entrance was sealed off.
In 2017, the Turnpike Mall lost two major stores, TJ Maxx and Sears. This caused some of the last interior tenants to close. Eventually, the last interior tenant left was Petco, which only had a mall entrance and no exterior entrance. 
In 2018, Sun Equity Partners, the malls owners, filed for bankruptcy. And the Turnpike Mall was defaulted to Wells Fargo. By 2019, the mall was purchased by Eastern Retail Properties, who are the current owners.
In 2023. Harbor Freight Tools and Hobby Lobby opened new stores in the former Sears space. However, in the same year, Christmas Tree Shops and Bed Bath & Beyond permanently closed after they went bankrupt. These spaces continue to sit vacant today. 
Today, Turnpike Mall continues to operate with its several big box retailer offerings. However, the interior of the mall is mostly vacant. 
== See also ==
* Harbor Freight Tools
* Hobby Lobby
* Bangor Mall
* The Maine Mall
Category:Malls
Category:Malls in Maine
Category:Malls that opened in 1967
Category:Former Sears-anchored malls
Category:Petco-anchored Properties
Category:Former TJ Maxx anchored properties
Category:Former Ames-anchored Malls
Category:Former Zayre-anchored Malls
Category:Sears-anchored Malls
Category:North America
Category:USA
Category:Enclosed Malls
Category:Single-Level Malls