We continue the Rio Grande tour with the Valle Vista Mall. The mall opened in 1983, covers over 600,000 square feet, and sits at a very busy intersection of I-69E and Interstate 2. Sadly the freeways tower over the mall which will cause you to miss the mall if your are not paying attention to the exits. The mall currently has an anchor roster of JCPenney, Dillard's, and Big Lots. Sears closed on January 6, 2019. Forever 21 was also an anchor that closed in 2017.
The corridor between Dillard's and the former Sears which was in the final days on my visit was nearly empty.
Now we start to see more businesses as we pass the Dillard's mall entrance.
Now we take a brief pitstop to check out this FYE location. These are becoming rarer as they have been closing locations one by one over the years.
I guess you cannot have enough POP figures.
Now for the rest of the mall.
The mall curves going towards JCPenney. The former Forever 21 entrance was to the right.
Mr. Music, an old school sign for an old school type of mall business.
The plain JCPenney entrance contrasts with the detail on the ceiling. The mall has a lot of interesting design elements inside and outside.
As you can see, this is not a large mall, but it is a good size for Harlingen. Harlingen has a population of around 65,000 people. The Rio Grande Valley has a population of over 1,200,000, but Brownsville and McAllen have much bigger and better malls.
Part of the mini-food court.
More storefronts including an old school Bath and Body Works.
FYE again.
The Dillards store does not have the level of detail that the rest of the mall has.
As you can see, once you pass Dillard's there is not much left.
The level of detail at the mall entrance to Sears is awesome. This is not your typical Sears entrance.
This mall entrance has been updated with color changing LED lights and looks very modern. Sadly this is the mall entrance next to Sears.
Now for some exterior shots of the mall.
Former Forever 21 anchor, you can see the labelscars better in the day shots.
Obviously a former Circuit City. I wonder what ever happened to their brick and mortar retail comeback. The website is up and running for online orders, but no B&M locations for now.
There is more to come, stay tuned!
