Shops of Grand Avenue
Encyclopedia
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
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It opened in 1982 and hosted over 80 specialty stores, along with the largest food court in Wisconsin.
It was named after a bustling merchant street during the 19th century, Grand Avenue (present day Wisconsin Avenue). A main portion of The Grand uses the former Plankinton Arcade (built in 1916) with many of its original features still intact. It is also named as such to help avoid being categorized as a mall
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...
(although it was formerly called Grand Avenue Mall), preferring to see itself more as a downtown shopping district with the practical convenience of being located indoors to avoid the harsh Wisconsin winters. It connects to a number of nearby hotels via skywalks
Skyway
In an urban setting, a skyway, catwalk, sky bridge, or skywalk is a type of pedway consisting of an enclosed or covered bridge between two buildings. This protects pedestrians from the weather. These skyways are usually owned by businesses, and are therefore not public spaces...
to help retain this feel.
The Grand was opened during a time when many downtown retail centers in major cities were shutting down. It has avoided these problems by relying on locally-owned shops that cater to the "urban" tastes of the nearby populace, in addition to the national chain-stores it houses such as T.J. Maxx
T.J. Maxx
T.J. Maxx, sometimes referred to as TJ's or the Maxx, is an American department store chain owned by TJX Companies. With more than 900 stores T.J. Maxx is a major clothes retailer in the United States, whilst also operating stores in a number of other countries.-History:In 1976, T.J...
and its anchor Boston Store
Boston Store
-History:The Boston Store is mentioned in Theodore Dreiser's "Sister Carrie" published in 1900 and Carl Sandburg's Mamie, part of his 1916 Chicago Poems collection....
. At one time, the mall also featured Marshall Field's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
(Gimbels until 1986) on the east edge of the mall, but the location closed in 1997. The building that housed it, now ASQ
American Society for Quality
American Society for Quality , formerly known as American Society for Quality Control , is a knowledge-based global community of quality control experts, with nearly 85,000 members dedicated to the promotion and advancement of quality tools, principles, and practices in their workplaces and in...
Center, is still connected to Grand Avenue by a skywalk and features a Residence Inn, although it is not technically part of The Shops of Grand Avenue.
The Shops of Grand Avenue is the only major indoor shopping facility in the city of Milwaukee proper with the closing of Capitol Court, Southgate Mall and Northridge Mall in recent years due to competition from newly renovated malls in nearby suburbs.
Due to the economic downfall and its impact on the Milwaukee metropolitan area
Milwaukee metropolitan area
The Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha metropolitan area is an urban area identified by the U.S. Census Bureau containing five counties in southeastern Wisconsin: Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Washington and Ozaukee...
, the mall has lost many tenants. This has led to local speculation regarding the mall's demise or potential renovation should the mall eventually find interested investors.
External links
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