Lake Forest Plaza
Encyclopedia
Lake Forest Plaza was a shopping mall in eastern New Orleans that was opened in 1974. It was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina
in 2005, and demolished 2007.
The plaza was once the largest shopping mall in the state of Louisiana
: over one million square feet, single level. Original anchors were D.H. Holmes, Maison Blanche
, (each 3 levels) Sears (2 levels), and Plaza Cinemas 4. A two level Mervyns
was later added near the cinemas. The Maison Blanche and Sears stores relocated from the nearby Gentilly Woods Shopping Center. The plaza also spawned the development of several smaller strip malls, and larger big box stores nearby.
At the time of its opening it was the most eagerly awaited retail development in all of Louisiana. At its peak it accounted for a full 25% of all sales taxes collected in Orleans Parish. It was one of the first shopping/dining/entertainment centers ever developed. The cloverleaf design of the mall was centered around the very first ice skating rink in the state, as well as the first ever "food court". As well as the food court outlets (Taco Loco, Flame-N-Burger,Hook Line & Sinker, Orange Julius, Karmelkorn, Baskin Robbins, Corn Dog 7, Aladdins Castle, China Express,Great American Cookie Co,etc.), there were quite a few sit down restaurants. The mall itself was divided into four sections which ran from anchor to anchor. Each section was individually named: Santa Rosa Mall, Santa Ana Mall, Santa Maria Mall, and Santa Clara Mall, each section written out in tiles on the floors of each wing. The center of the mall where the ice rink and food court stood was the Fiesta Plaza Mall. The decor was entirely brown tiled floors, tiled walls, wood benches, real live trees, and tons of skylights. Storefronts had stylish signage hung vertically in the corridors. While the mall was enormous, each corridor was cozy and manageable, the unique cloverleaf design kept it in perspective.
Original stores included the very first Gap
store in the area, Leonard Krower, Godchauxs, Morrisons Cafeteria, Sizzler Steakhouse, the first ever Chick-Fil-A
in the state, Swiss Colony, Shoe Lodge, Dannys, The Ranch, the ever popular Farrells Ice Cream Parlor Restaurant, Gordons, Florsheim, National Shirts, GNC (also a first), Bakers, 5-7-9, Merry Go Round, Imperial Shoes, Porter Stevens, Rubenstein Brothers, All American Jeans, Spencers, Limited, Hickory Farms, Hibernia Bank, Bank of New Orleans, a huge McDonald's, Space Port, Wicks n Sticks, Tinder Box, Walgreens (with a cafeteria), Swiss Colony, Hausmann's, B. Dalton, Collage, Brentano's (outlet of the famous New York City store), Gryders Shoes, Ponsetis Shoes, Oshmans, Fiesta Mexican Restaurant, Lerners, Kay Bee Toys, Vision Plaza, etc. etc.
The mall thrived until about the late 1980s when the economic downfall of New Orleans took an especially heavy toll on New Orleans East. Through the 1990s, as the neighborhoods around it deteriorated and became unsafe, the mall felt the repercussions. Originally New Orleans East was an upper/middle class neighborhood with lots of well heeled subdivisions and several large upscale apartment complexes. When the economy hit the skids in the 80's with the loss of the oil business, New Orleans East became less affluent and much more section eight. Many of the well heeled residents fled to the safer confines of the North Shore/Slidell area, which in its boom wound up with its own mall, (North Shore Square), which had many of the same anchors and mall stores as Lake Forest. Sears was the first large anchor to close shop at the Plaza. Despite a major renovation in the late 1980s which replaced the by now drab brown, earth tone tiling to a generic white/aqua color scheme,as well as removed the ice rink, it was too late to save Lake Forest. A renewed energy at competing Lakeside Mall in nearby Metairie, LA (which did not suffer the same sullen, crime ridden reputation of New Orleans East) took many of the more affluent shoppers who formerly were loyal to Lake Forest.
Just prior to Katrina, the mall was left with only one large anchor in the former Maison Blanche
building, which became a Dillard's
when they bought out the MB stores. Earlier on, when Dillard's bought out the Holmes stores, they shuttered the Lake Forest Plaza location rather than converting it. The cinemas closed when Gulf States Theatres decided to concentrate on the East Lake Cinema 8, located across the interstate from the plaza. In quick succession many of the national retailers closed up shop also. Eventually they were replaced by independent stores catering to an urban clientele. Entire corridors of the mall were boarded up with sheetrock, which while tastefully done, dramatically decreased the square footage accessible to the public. It seemed as if practically overnight the plaza became a "dead mall
".
The mall was originally developed and managed by Sizeler Realty. Later it was sold a few times, eventually landing in the hand of Gowri Kalais. Today only the former MB building and a stadium seat Grand Theatre still stand. The Grand Theatre was added in the early 2000s as an out parcel in a last ditch effort to bring life back to the plaza. The rest of the complex has been demolished and is being replaced by a Lowes. The rest of the site is be redeveloped into a new "town center" type of development with free standing stores, garages, hotels, apartments and condos (many locals do not believe this will ever occur, as the current owner does not enjoy the confidence of either locals or politicians).
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in 2005, and demolished 2007.
The plaza was once the largest shopping mall in the state of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
: over one million square feet, single level. Original anchors were D.H. Holmes, Maison Blanche
Maison Blanche
.Maison Blanche was a department store in New Orleans and later also a chain of department stores. It was founded in 1897 by Isidore Newman, an immigrant from Germany....
, (each 3 levels) Sears (2 levels), and Plaza Cinemas 4. A two level Mervyns
Mervyns
Mervyns was an American middle scale department store chain based in Hayward, California. It carried national brands of clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, electronics, and housewares. Many of the company's stores were in shopping malls...
was later added near the cinemas. The Maison Blanche and Sears stores relocated from the nearby Gentilly Woods Shopping Center. The plaza also spawned the development of several smaller strip malls, and larger big box stores nearby.
At the time of its opening it was the most eagerly awaited retail development in all of Louisiana. At its peak it accounted for a full 25% of all sales taxes collected in Orleans Parish. It was one of the first shopping/dining/entertainment centers ever developed. The cloverleaf design of the mall was centered around the very first ice skating rink in the state, as well as the first ever "food court". As well as the food court outlets (Taco Loco, Flame-N-Burger,Hook Line & Sinker, Orange Julius, Karmelkorn, Baskin Robbins, Corn Dog 7, Aladdins Castle, China Express,Great American Cookie Co,etc.), there were quite a few sit down restaurants. The mall itself was divided into four sections which ran from anchor to anchor. Each section was individually named: Santa Rosa Mall, Santa Ana Mall, Santa Maria Mall, and Santa Clara Mall, each section written out in tiles on the floors of each wing. The center of the mall where the ice rink and food court stood was the Fiesta Plaza Mall. The decor was entirely brown tiled floors, tiled walls, wood benches, real live trees, and tons of skylights. Storefronts had stylish signage hung vertically in the corridors. While the mall was enormous, each corridor was cozy and manageable, the unique cloverleaf design kept it in perspective.
Original stores included the very first Gap
Gap (clothing retailer)
The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
store in the area, Leonard Krower, Godchauxs, Morrisons Cafeteria, Sizzler Steakhouse, the first ever Chick-Fil-A
Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A |"fillet"]]) is a quick service restaurant chain headquartered in College Park, Georgia, United States, specializing in chicken entrées and is known for promoting the company founder's claims of Christian values. Long associated with the southern United States, where it has been a...
in the state, Swiss Colony, Shoe Lodge, Dannys, The Ranch, the ever popular Farrells Ice Cream Parlor Restaurant, Gordons, Florsheim, National Shirts, GNC (also a first), Bakers, 5-7-9, Merry Go Round, Imperial Shoes, Porter Stevens, Rubenstein Brothers, All American Jeans, Spencers, Limited, Hickory Farms, Hibernia Bank, Bank of New Orleans, a huge McDonald's, Space Port, Wicks n Sticks, Tinder Box, Walgreens (with a cafeteria), Swiss Colony, Hausmann's, B. Dalton, Collage, Brentano's (outlet of the famous New York City store), Gryders Shoes, Ponsetis Shoes, Oshmans, Fiesta Mexican Restaurant, Lerners, Kay Bee Toys, Vision Plaza, etc. etc.
The mall thrived until about the late 1980s when the economic downfall of New Orleans took an especially heavy toll on New Orleans East. Through the 1990s, as the neighborhoods around it deteriorated and became unsafe, the mall felt the repercussions. Originally New Orleans East was an upper/middle class neighborhood with lots of well heeled subdivisions and several large upscale apartment complexes. When the economy hit the skids in the 80's with the loss of the oil business, New Orleans East became less affluent and much more section eight. Many of the well heeled residents fled to the safer confines of the North Shore/Slidell area, which in its boom wound up with its own mall, (North Shore Square), which had many of the same anchors and mall stores as Lake Forest. Sears was the first large anchor to close shop at the Plaza. Despite a major renovation in the late 1980s which replaced the by now drab brown, earth tone tiling to a generic white/aqua color scheme,as well as removed the ice rink, it was too late to save Lake Forest. A renewed energy at competing Lakeside Mall in nearby Metairie, LA (which did not suffer the same sullen, crime ridden reputation of New Orleans East) took many of the more affluent shoppers who formerly were loyal to Lake Forest.
Just prior to Katrina, the mall was left with only one large anchor in the former Maison Blanche
Maison Blanche
.Maison Blanche was a department store in New Orleans and later also a chain of department stores. It was founded in 1897 by Isidore Newman, an immigrant from Germany....
building, which became a Dillard's
Dillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...
when they bought out the MB stores. Earlier on, when Dillard's bought out the Holmes stores, they shuttered the Lake Forest Plaza location rather than converting it. The cinemas closed when Gulf States Theatres decided to concentrate on the East Lake Cinema 8, located across the interstate from the plaza. In quick succession many of the national retailers closed up shop also. Eventually they were replaced by independent stores catering to an urban clientele. Entire corridors of the mall were boarded up with sheetrock, which while tastefully done, dramatically decreased the square footage accessible to the public. It seemed as if practically overnight the plaza became a "dead mall
Dead mall
A dead mall or greyfield is a shopping mall with a high vacancy rate or a low consumer traffic level, or that is dated or deteriorating in some manner. Many malls in the United States are considered "dead" when they have no surviving anchor store or successor that could serve as an entry into or...
".
The mall was originally developed and managed by Sizeler Realty. Later it was sold a few times, eventually landing in the hand of Gowri Kalais. Today only the former MB building and a stadium seat Grand Theatre still stand. The Grand Theatre was added in the early 2000s as an out parcel in a last ditch effort to bring life back to the plaza. The rest of the complex has been demolished and is being replaced by a Lowes. The rest of the site is be redeveloped into a new "town center" type of development with free standing stores, garages, hotels, apartments and condos (many locals do not believe this will ever occur, as the current owner does not enjoy the confidence of either locals or politicians).