Millcreek Mall (Erie, Pennsylvania)

Millcreek Mall Complex or Millcreek Mall is a one-level shopping mall 4.9 miles (7.9 km) southwest of downtown Erie, Pennsylvania, between Peach Street, Interchange Road, Edinboro Road and Interstate 79 in Millcreek Township, a suburb of Erie. The mall currently has four open anchors which are Boscov’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JCPenney and Macy’s.
== Mall History ==
Plans for the Millcreek Mall began all the way in 1972 as there was plans for 3 malls to open in the Erie area. There was plans to open a mall in Millcreek, Harborcreek and Summit. The Harborcreek plans later became Harborcreek Mall in 1974 and the Summit Mall never came to be. In 1973, the land which once was Spires Farm and then Kearsarge Airport was approved for construction by Cafaro Company to build, at the time called Kearsarge Mall, which later became known as Millcreek Mall. Millcreek Mall's construction was almost completed in 1974 and the mall opened to the public on November 9, 1975 with six anchors such as JCPenney, Sears, Kaufmann's, Boston Store, Carlisle's and Halle's. JCPenney was relocating from the Erie Central Mall and Sears was relocating from 134 East 10th Street in Downtown Erie, now the land of UPMC Park. The mall also had a small shopping plaza north of the mall with tenants such as First Federal Savings, Wine & Spirits, Rea & Derick, Loblaws and Joann Fabrics. There was also a three-screen cinema located inside the mall near the main entrance, which was opened by General Cinemas. In 1979, Boston Store was converted into Horne's. Halle's closed in 1982 due to bankruptcy and was converted into Dahlkemper's in 1984, however Dahlkemper's closed in 1993 due to bankruptcy. During the 1980's, the mall built two new shopping centers which are Millcreek Square and Millcreek Plaza. In 1992, Loblaws closed down and was replaced with Dick's Sporting Goods two years later in 1994. Horne's would later close in 1994 and convert into Lazarus. In 1994, Carlisle's would close due to the chain going out of business but would then get replaced by HomePlace in 1996. In 1997, Burlington Coat Factory opened in the former Dahlkemper's space. In 1997, Lazarus closed down and became Elder-Beerman a year later. In the same year in 1997, the movie theater inside the mall was closed down permanently and was converted into retail space in 1999. In 2001, HomePlace closed due to going out of business and the same year, the space was split between A.C. Moore and Steve & Barry's. In 2003, Elder-Beerman was converted into Bon-Ton after the chain's merger. In September 2006, Kaufmann's was converted into a Macy's store. In March 2008, it was announced the mall would receive a multimillion-dollar renovation. Among the new additions to the mall are a children's playground area, a food court and renovated entrances to the building. The mall also added more skylights, porcelain floors, a new west side entrance and new parking lot lights. The food court opened in late 2008 with tenants such as Little Tokyo, China Max, Fuddruckers, Sbarro and Baskin Robbins. In 2009, Steve & Barry's closed due to the chain folding and the space would remain vacant for four years and would only be used as a Spirit Halloween during halloween seasons. In 2012, Burlington Coat Factory closed and relocated out of the mall to Peach Street Square in the former Walmart. In 2013, the vacant Steve & Barry's space as well as 6 other vacant mall spaces were all converted into an H&M store. In 2014, the former Burlington space was converted into a mall wing, renaming the area to The Promenade adding a mall entrance at the end. The Promenade originally opened with only 2 tenants, Primanti Brothers and Mad Mex. In 2016, Sears would close their location at the Millcreek Mall and the space was converted into Boscov's in October 2017. In 2018, two new tenants opened in The Promenade Court which were Guitar Center and Round One Entertainment, adding another mall entrance in the west portion of The Promenade near Guitar Center. In April 2018, Bon-Ton closed their location due to bankruptcy. On September 18, 2022, a massive fight broke out between juveniles in the Macy's wing in the Food Court which resulted in a shot being fired into the ceiling and the mall having to go into lockdown. The individuals involved in the shooting were charged and the Millcreek Mall is currently working on to find a way to prevent this sort of crime from happening again. In August 2023, Dick’s Sporting Goods moved from the Millcreek Pavilion into the former Bon-Ton space in the mall, making the store the mall’s fourth open anchor.
== See Also ==
* Millcreek Marketplace
* Millcreek Plaza
* Millcreek Pavilion
* Millcreek Square
* Summit Towne Centre
== Gallery ==
=== Videos ===
File:Milcreek Mall Live Tour|Mall Tour
File:BOSCOV'S -ERIE PA - RETAIL REOPENS - WHAT'S CHANGED DURING COVID - 19|Boscov's Tour
File:PATHETIC MOD!!! Schindler hydraulic elevator @ Boscov's Millcreek Mall Erie, PA|The Boscov's Elevator
File:CONFUSED 1975 Otis Hydraulic Elevator - Boscov's (Former Sears) - Millcreek Mall - Erie, PA|The Sears Elevator
File:Original from the 1970s! A Full Store Tour of JCPenney at Millcreek Mall in Erie, PA|JCPenney Tour
File:Erie, PA DOVER Hydraulic Elevator @ JCPenny in Millcreek Mall|The JCPenney Elevator
File:Erie, PA OTIS Hydraulic Elevator @ Macy's in Millcreek Mall|The Macy's Elevator
File:Old Otis elevator at Burlington Coat Factory MillCreek Mall Erie, Pa|The Burlington Coat Factory Elevator
File:OTIS hydraulic elevator @ Round 1 Millcreek Mall Erie, PA|The Round One Entertainment Elevator
File:Final Ride Otis Hydraulic Elevator at The Bon Ton Mill Creek Mall Erie, Pa|The Bon-Ton Elevator
== External Links ==
Millcreek Mall's Official WebsiteCategory:Malls in Pennsylvania
Category:Shopping Malls
Category:Malls in the United States
Category:Largest Malls in the United States
Category:Malls that opened in 1975
Category:Single-Level Malls
Category:Malls with Multi-Level Stores
Category:Boscov's-anchored Malls
Category:JCPenney-anchored Malls
Category:Macy's-anchored Malls
Category:Round One Entertainment Locations
Category:Former Sears-anchored Malls
Category:Former Burlington-anchored Malls
Category:Former Bon-Ton-anchored Malls
Category:Cafaro Company Malls
Category:Erie County, Pennsylvania
Category:Halle’s
Category:Carlisle's
Category:Boston Store (Erie Chain)
Category:Former Dahlkemper's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Halle's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Carlisle's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Kaufmann's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Lazarus-anchored Malls
Category:Former Elder-Beerman-anchored Malls
Category:Erie Area Malls
Category:Dick's-anchored Malls
Category:Former Horne's-anchored Malls