Originally posted on the now closed Mall History site by me in 2006. (Updated July 15, 2009)
- Located at Southmore and Pasadena Blvd this mall once boasted Joske's, Walgreens, Palais Royal and Foley's as anchors. Joske's was taken over and renamed a Dillard's in 1989 and a Sears was built as a new anchor in the mid 1990s. Across the street was a stand alone Mervyn's store. This mall was built in an older section of the Pasadena area, and opened on May 5th 1982 and the area has gone through some major population shifts. The population of the area has become more working class due to the expansion of several nearby refineries. During the last ten years the 12 story bank building in the front of the mall closed as well as the major hospital down the street on Southmore. The mall tenants have changed and many chain stores have left. A major blow to the mall came when Dillard's announced they would close their store at the mall in early 2006. Dillard's is the most visible anchor that the mall has. Mervyn's across the street closed in 2006 as well when the chain left Houston and a Steve and Barry's replaced half of the closed Mervyn's. The Steve and Barry's only lasted a year and closed during the bankruptcy. At this point the mall is 75% occupied. In the summer of 2006 on a Friday night foot traffic was sparse during the prime hours of 7-9 pm even with the closing sale going on at Dillard's. Southeast Houston is over malled with San Jacinto, Pasadena Town Square, Baybrook, Almeda, and Mall of the Mainland. Out of those malls, only Baybrook Mall is the most successful with a 95% occupancy rate. A sixth southeast Houston mall Gulfgate closed in the year 2000 and has since been turned into a shopping center of the same name. The whole Dillard's corridor is empty with the exception of a Worksource but, the rest of the mall is doing well.
Macy's formerly Foley's
The former Dillard's, closed in 2006.
Sears (Formerly located on the corner of Shaver and Southmore). The former Sears location is now a Wal-Mart Super center.
Here are a couple of shots from the outside of the mall.
This building has been abandoned for years and sits directly in front of the mall. Several windows were broken during the Hurricane and there are little prospects for the building to reopen.
Steve and Barry's center.
This center was once anchored by Mervyn's and is located across Southmore from the mall. Office Depot is the lone store still in business here. Next to Steve and Barry's, construction has been halted on a new anchor store that would have filled the center up. The construction was halted around the time Circuit City went bankrupt, so I speculate that may have been a future Circuit City store.
Interior and Food court photos.
Here some 2006 pictures of the former Foley's and Dillard's at Pasadena Town Square.
You can tell the old Dillards was a Joske's by the arthitecture. It is similar to the old Joske's at Baybrook and Greenspoint in design.
ReplyDeleteI remember getting my comforter and a whole bunch of stuff from mervyns when i lived back in the apartment complex behind there in 2001 thats crazy that so much has changed
ReplyDeletei lived right across the street from the church wich was in between southmore hospital and the apartment complex
ReplyDeleteThis mall died when the illegal Mexicans took over all of Pasadena, Texas north of Spencer Highway. I've lived in Pasadena, Tx all my life, and that is a simple statement of fact.
ReplyDeleteThe store in the Pasadena Town Square Mall in my home town(Pasadena Texas).. Is not about taking care of their customer.. All I wanted was a warranty on a ratchet.. Well the girls(Eve) in there are too lazy to repair the one I have.. I understand that on that very day they didn't have one, but after being told they would repair it.. Little Miss Eve said that they wouldn't due to some rust.. It has a life time warranty on it.. So being the pissed off fella I was by this time.. I drove out to Baybrook mall Sears and the fella out there warrantied it no problem.. So I asked him what he thought of my ratchet.. Said it looked broke to him.. I asked well why wouldn't they warranty it in Pasadena.. He said maybe they are just lazy and don't care.. Here is the other thing.. Likely nothing will come of this complaint.. I have read that Sears just doesn't care about it's customers anymore.. I suggest you start.. Times are hard and if you can't make a profit your doors will close
ReplyDeleteThis Mall opened in the '60s not '84.
ReplyDelete@ anonymous; it is possible that I have the date wrong, so I have contacted mall management for some clarification and I will update this article when I get the official answer. Macy's (Foley's) may have opened before the mall, but most of the architecture inside of the mall and Dillard's appears to be dated around the early to mid 1980's. The articles that I researched have the opening date as either 1982 or 1984 for the mall. This mall also has virtually the same floor plan layout as the now demolished Belle Prominade Mall in Marrero Louisiana that was opened in 1984.
ReplyDeleteWow that is funny, I worked at Morrows in 1983, and now live in NY, hate to see that it went downhill though.
DeleteIt actually opened in 1982. I worked at Sound Warehouse and readied the store a week before the opening date. The mall floor was still being laid in sections 48 hours before the official opening date. The main entrance has now been permanently sealed due to the addition of the Sears add-on. It was located next to the restaurant, Claudes Eatery (adjacent to Morrow's Nut House). I actually think that Marrow's is one of the original small sites left. (I do not frequent the area and have not been back in a few years).
ReplyDeleteThe mall's location on Southmore was chosen because of the existence of a lone "Foley's store that existed years before the mall was constructed. A block of old homes was demolished to accommodate the length. Very fun and interesting times. However, time marchs on. Malls in general have given way to the new paradigm, actual replica town squares. Even the Galleria 3 has succumbed to the new idea of retail.
In its first 10 years, the mall hosted Richard Simmons, Tina Louse and Bob Denver, rock band "Golden Earing" and various soap stars. I actually helped BB King pick out $200 of cassettes on a weekday. Didn't believe who he was when I asked for a name for an itemized receipt. Turns out, he was at a mix down at Rivendell Studios in Pasadena. I think I really irritated him.
Nice to reminisce. Now my son is the age that I was. Anyway, if you have any specific questions and if I can remember...
Thanks for the info, I made some corrections to the article. I used to shop at Sound Warehouse in Humble. There was at one time a Sound Warehouse in the mall and across the highway at the same time. I had a feeling the Foleys was older than the mall because of the style of the building, but I did not know for sure until now, thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. I am sure that there are more details, I just don't think about it much and as such, I have lost them in the "ol' memory banks". It would be pretty easy to find all you need to know if you are so inclined... Adjacent to the mall is the original Pasadena Public library. If you search the 1982 Pasadena Citizen, you will find tons of information I am sure. Even the bronze cowboy riding the armadillo has made its way to the Pasadena convention center (used to be located in the center corridor leading to Foleys.) Tons of info at the main branch.
ReplyDeleteThe mall serviced a niche, which at the time was mainly newer areas of Pasadena and definitely Deer Park / La Porte. Soundwarehouse was the only one store to rent both VHS and Beta cassettes in a large area. People would even pour in from Houston as well. Demographics and the lack of new construction killed it. Baybrook lives on as it is in an expansion area and centrally located. That mall has been renovated subtly and constantly for years. I do believe that the San Jac mall has the same potential, however a lot of money and assumed risk have probably laid way to the world's largest flea market.
....and the wheel rolls on...
The Pasadena Mall would benefit from a Mercado redevelopment such as at the Sharpstown/ PlazAmericas Mall where they brought a dead JCPenney back to life with a Mercado.
ReplyDeleteSan Jacinto Mall needs to be rebuilt brand new on a smaller footprint that connects the remaining department stores. The condition of the mall has deteriorated in the past ten years and it may be cheaper to demolish and start new. The Baytown/ East Houston area could support a smaller new mall, and some of the popular stores would locate there in a new building. As it stands that mall is just sputtering and nothing has happened to help it improve.
Pasadena Town Square had the grand opening on Friday, March 5, 1982. I remember it well. My wife and I ate at the Pizza Inn across from the mall that evening and planned to go to the opening. But, it was so crowded, we decided to wait until the next day to check it out. However, my wife went into labor during the night and our first little boy was born the next day, Saturday March 6, 1982. We were happily busy with our new baby boy and didn’t make it to the new mall for a while. Happy moment we’ll never forget.
ReplyDeleteThat was a fairly high class mall at that time.
That is a very memorable way to start a family. New mall and new baby, all happening when Pasadena was doing really well. It must have been a sight to see Pasadena Town Square when it was new. Even though the floors and style of the mall are the same, all of the stores have changed or become abandoned. Thanks for sharing your story.
DeleteI took my wife for a walk at Town and Country Mall a few days before she had our first child together. The mall had started closing early, but there was no signage on the doors. We were walking laps on the second and third floor and the lights were still on everywhere. By this time the mall was down to just Neiman Marcus, and their only open entrance was on the first floor. We had no idea that the mall had closed up since most of the second and third floor were vacant. We had to find a security guard to let us out of the mall at 7:30pm on a weekday. That is our funny pre-birth mall story.
What a nice memory you shared!
DeleteI to back up that opening year as 1982. My mother was hired as the manager of Sbarro's Italian Eatery and I started at Chick-fil-A, both at the opening of the mall. Of the guest stars mentioned above, I was there to meet them all 😁. I myself did a modeling show on a stage built over the water fountains for 5-7-9. When we had guests... The stage was where they appeared. I also stood as a bridesmaid in my dear freinds wedding on that stage. It was disassembled when not in use. Many of my friends and all of my family at one time or another worked at the mall and we more often than not hung out there while off work as well. The nickname Mallrats is what they called any kids hanging out. At one time I held three jobs at the same time. I worked at Chick-fil-A, Sbarro's, T-shirts Plus, Richmans,1 Potato 2, Oshmans and in the mall housekeeping crew. I bought my prom gown at Bride N Formal and my high school graduation dress at Palais Royal. It was quite the bustling place back then! Disappointed it became such a ghost town of a mall. Wow, what a trip down memory lane!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience at Pasadena Town Square Mall. Back in the day malls were the center of the community. Job opportunities, one-stop shopping, visiting friends, and meeting people. These days a lot mall management companies do not want people to hang out unless they are buying. There is also not enough variety in most malls. Clothes, shoes, and restaurants make up the majority of mall space these days.
DeleteThis mall was the higlight of my childhood. I heard it's been a struggle keeping the mall in buisness. Going in there now is so disappointing to the point where they build a little wall by the playground because there wasn't any stores in that area no more. There probably only 1 restaurant available in the food court. Hate to see something that made a higlight in my childhood go downhill. But at least they finally knocked down the abandon building that in the corner of their block. It was the 1st bank building for Pasadena.
ReplyDeleteThe last restaurant in the food court is now closed. A few more stores have closed as well since Sears left. For now the Finish Line and Champs remain, but I can't see any future for the mall as is. The shopping centers on Southmore are doing well, but the mall can't seem to catch a break.
DeleteIt’s now 2023, the mall is at its worse. It even smells like mold and dust in there .. I remember heading there with my grandparents all the time when I was younger and sit by the fountain with my penny wishing for a good life in the future .
ReplyDeleteYikes, it has been a few months since I wandered down there. I need to stop by once again. Thanks for the update and your memories of the mall.
DeleteThis is so sad. I just randomly remembered there was a chick fil a in the mall and all the memories came flooding back to when I was little throwing penny’s in the water making wishes and going into the Fye store. I think I had chick fil a for the first time there. I pass by the mall all the time, but I haven’t gone back in a few years. It is so sad to hear of the playground and the businesses and the smell of it now.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I remembered that is off topic, does anyone remember a playground in the old Toys R Us on Fairmont? No one seems to remember it and I feel crazy lol
It has gotten worse since my last visit. More glass doors have been broken and boarded up. People have been writing notes in sharpie on some of the walls and old advertisements as well. Only the dress store was open on my visit between the hours of 5 and 6:30 pm on a Thursday night. When I left, I was the only car in the parking lot of the food court, which was the only entrance of the mall that was open. The dress store stays open until 7pm so you know how long the mall stays open if you want to visit. Who knows how much longer the mall will stay open at this point. Only 5 or 6 businesses are still left with odd hours of operation.
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