Bentley Mall
Encyclopedia
Bentley Mall is an enclosed shopping mall
located in Fairbanks
, Alaska
, United States
. It is notable as the northernmost mall in both the United States
and North America
.
to the foothills north of Fairbanks along the current Farmers Loop Road.
Bobby Miller (born 1916), in partnership with a member of the Bentley family, established the Miller-Bentley Equipment Company in 1953, the same year the Steese Highway
was rerouted around the property in conjunction with the opening of the Wendell Street Bridge. A junkyard operated on the site for over two decades.
In 1969, Miller, along with his nephew Cliff Burglin, established the Bentley Family Charitable Trust, as there were no surviving members of the Bentley family and their land had not been disposed of to that point. The trust, which existed into the 21st century, took income from the family properties and distributed it to charities, particularly libraries, stretching from Fairbanks to northern California.
The Miller-Bentley Equipment Company left the site in 1974. Construction of the mall began in 1976, and it opened in April 1977 with Safeway and Pay 'n Save
as its anchor tenants. In an unusual move, Pay 'n Save did not immediately close down its existing Fairbanks store, located two blocks away in the Gavora Mall, when the Bentley Mall opened. Both stores operated for a number of years.
The mall was sold to a California
partership for $12.1 million in 1982.
Sitting on a 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) site, the mall is approximately 170000 square feet (15,793.5 m²) in size. The mall's anchors are Safeway
(38,000 square feet) and Michaels
(28,000 square feet, opened in 1999 in the former location of a Pay Less Drug Store). The smaller shops cover an additional 49000 square feet (4,552.2 m²).
Due in part to its diminutive size as compared to malls elsewhere in the United States, as well as its setup as a single corridor with Safeway and Michael's at the ends, locals sometimes refer to the mall humorously as "Bentley Hall."
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
located in Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is notable as the northernmost mall in both the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Background
The mall's location was the site of the Bentley Dairy from about 1922 through the 1940s, the centerpiece of the family's land holdings which stretched at one point from the Chena RiverChena River
The Chena River is a 100-mile-long river in the Interior region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows generally west from the White Mountains to the Tanana River near the city of Fairbanks, which is built on both sides of the river...
to the foothills north of Fairbanks along the current Farmers Loop Road.
Bobby Miller (born 1916), in partnership with a member of the Bentley family, established the Miller-Bentley Equipment Company in 1953, the same year the Steese Highway
Steese Highway
The Steese Highway is a highway in the Interior region of the U.S. state of Alaska that extends from Fairbanks to Circle, a town on the Yukon River about 50 miles south of the Arctic Circle. The highway was completed in 1927 and is named for U.S. Army General James G. Steese, a former president...
was rerouted around the property in conjunction with the opening of the Wendell Street Bridge. A junkyard operated on the site for over two decades.
In 1969, Miller, along with his nephew Cliff Burglin, established the Bentley Family Charitable Trust, as there were no surviving members of the Bentley family and their land had not been disposed of to that point. The trust, which existed into the 21st century, took income from the family properties and distributed it to charities, particularly libraries, stretching from Fairbanks to northern California.
The Miller-Bentley Equipment Company left the site in 1974. Construction of the mall began in 1976, and it opened in April 1977 with Safeway and Pay 'n Save
Pay 'n Save
Pay 'n Save was a retail company founded by Monte Lafayette Bean in Seattle, Washington; 1940. Over the years, Pay 'n Save was the leading drug store chain in Washington and was the owner several Washington-based retailers including Lamonts and Ernst...
as its anchor tenants. In an unusual move, Pay 'n Save did not immediately close down its existing Fairbanks store, located two blocks away in the Gavora Mall, when the Bentley Mall opened. Both stores operated for a number of years.
The mall was sold to a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
partership for $12.1 million in 1982.
Sitting on a 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) site, the mall is approximately 170000 square feet (15,793.5 m²) in size. The mall's anchors are Safeway
Safeway Inc.
Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
(38,000 square feet) and Michaels
Michaels
Michaels is an arts and crafts retail chain. It currently operates more than 1040 Michaels Arts and Crafts Stores located in 49 U.S. states and in Canada. The company owns and operates the Aaron Brothers retail chain which consists of more than 140 stores...
(28,000 square feet, opened in 1999 in the former location of a Pay Less Drug Store). The smaller shops cover an additional 49000 square feet (4,552.2 m²).
Due in part to its diminutive size as compared to malls elsewhere in the United States, as well as its setup as a single corridor with Safeway and Michael's at the ends, locals sometimes refer to the mall humorously as "Bentley Hall."