Menlo Park Mall

Menlo Park Mall is a two-level super regional shopping mall, located on U.S. Route 1 and Parsonage Road in Edison, New Jersey, United States. The mall has a gross leasable area of 1,333,989 sq ft (123,931.6 m2). Menlo Park Mall is currently owned and managed by Simon Property Group. Anchors include Macy's and Nordstrom, as well as Barnes & Noble and an AMC Dine-In Theater.
The mall was featured as a reference in the Broadway musical, "Be More Chill".
== History ==
=== Opening and 1960s ===
Menlo Park Shopping Center opened in September 1959, as an open-air complex. It was named after Thomas Edison's laboratory in the Menlo Park area of Edison, the site of which is about two miles (3 km) from the shopping venue. The structure was fully enclosed between June 1966 and December 1967. After the remodeling, it was renamed Menlo Park Mall.
The original center was anchored by Bamberger's, Montgomery Ward (opened May 1960), a small, dry goods only, JCPenney, a two-level Woolworth, as well as two grocery stores: ShopRite (later a Pathmark), and Pantry Pride, later a Big Buy.
Originally a one level structure, the fully enclosed mall (post-1967) had a lack of skylights, with only shaded windows along the sides of the ceiling. The low lighting made the interior quite dark, as was customary with interiors of malls at the time. The mall had unique flooring with patterns of orange, black, yellow and white throughout the mall.
=== 1980s ===
The Montgomery Ward space was taken over by Alexander's in 1972. JCPenney moved to Woodbridge Center in 1981. Bamberger's was rebranded by Macy's in October 1986. When Alexander's went out of business, the mall was able to secure the 2nd Nordstrom in the state of New Jersey, but changes had to be made to prepare for the opening.
=== 1990s ===
Most of the mall was closed from 1990–1991, when it underwent a significant renovation and expansion that converted it from a single-story structure into its current two-story form. In expanding and fitting into the space, the new Menlo Park Mall was built on an angle with the vertex occurring at center court. The renovated Menlo Park Mall was also changed to have galleria style skylights, domed fountain courts, marble flooring, dramatic lighting, sculptures and a large, skylit food court. Two parking decks were also added, as was a 12 Screen Cineplex Odeon movie theater which replaced the smaller Menlo Park Cinema on Route 1. Cineplex was later replaced by an AMC Dine-In Theater. Macy's was the only store to remain open during the primary expansion. Nordstrom opened along with a major renovation in 1991.
On March 9, 1997, Target Greatland opened across the street from the mall as part of a shopping center. Rainforest Cafe opened to the public on September 17, 1998.
=== 2000s ===
Barnes & Noble opened in 2002. On January 27, 2003, Cheesecake Factory opened its doors for the first time.
On September 7, 2007, Edison Police investigated an attempted murder and suicide on the upper level of the mall. It was packed with shoppers, and the gunman, carrying a .357 revolver, was hunting for his ex-girlfriend, authorities said. He found his target, 22-year-old Maliha Janjua, shortly before 9 p.m., working at the Gymboree children's clothing store. He opened fire, and Janjua staggered, bleeding, from the store, collapsing amid a crowd of horrified onlookers, authorities said yesterday. The gunman, Raynell Anaya, 23, then turned the revolver around and killed himself, according to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. The mall erupted into a panic of shrieking customers.
=== 2010s ===
In 2014, Smashburger opened along with an upgrade to the food court. In late 2017, Johnston & Murphy, Dr. Martens and Sprint opened.
In 2015, a renovation project was started which removed such features as the central fountain and trees. The food court's raised platform, sculptures, and trees were also removed, and the food court was renamed "Dining Pavilion."
On September 22, 2018, a Disney Junior themed kids zone opened by Nordstrom.
== See also ==
* Woodbridge Center, a nearby mall
== Gallery ==
=== Videos ===
File:Refurbished OTIS KONE Hydraulic Scenic Elevator at Menlo Park Mall in Edison, NJ|The New Main Elevator
File:OTIS All-Glass Hydraulic Elevator @ Menlo Park Mall, Edison, NJ|The Old Main Elevator
File:OTIS Hydraulic Service Elevator 6 @ Menlo Park Mall, Edison, NJ|The Service Elevator
File:OTIS Traction Elevators @ Nordstrom, Menlo Park Mall, Edison, NJ|The Nordstrom Elevator
File:Thyssenkrupp Synergy MRL Traction Elevator in Macy*s (former Bamberger's) Menlo Park Mall Edison NJ|The Macy's Elevator
File:ORIGINAL 1956 Westinghouse Traction Freight Elevator @ Macy*s, Menlo Park Mall, Edison, NJ|The Macy's Freight Elevator
File:ULTRA LOUD Schindler 330A Hydraulic Elevator @ Barnes & Noble, Menlo Park Mall, Edison, NJ|The Barnes & Noble Elevator
File:General CESCO Traction Elevators @ Menlo Park Mall Office Building, Edison, NJ|The Office Building Elevator
=== Photos ===
Starbucks.jpg|Starbucks
== External Links ==
Menlo Park Mall's Official Website
Category:Malls in New Jersey
Category:Shopping Malls
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Simon Property Group Malls
Category:Multi-Level Malls
Category:Malls that opened in 1959
Category:Former Wards-anchored Malls
Category:Former JCPenney-anchored Malls
Category:Former Bamberger's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Woolworth Locations
Category:Macy's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Cineplex Odeon-anchored Properties
Category:AMC-anchored Malls
Category:Nordstrom-anchored Malls
Category:Barnes & Noble-anchored Malls
Category:Target-anchored Properties
Category:Cheesecake Factory Locations
Category:Smashburger Locations
Category:North America