The rebirth of the Riverwalk Mall New Orleans Louisiana Part 1

Here are a collection of photos graciously submitted to the blog by Phillip from the last days of the Riverwalk Marketplace Mall in New Orleans Louisiana. This is the best set of photos I have seen from the mall. The mall is currently closed while a complete rebuild of the interior is ongoing. The mall is scheduled to reopen in 2014 as the Riverwalk Outlet collection which will be the "first" American downtown outlet mall. The mall was decent but not great in the final 5 years which lead to the complete closure and rebuild of the property to maximize the potential of the mall. The mall would have continued to survive as is, but the owners decided to completely clear out the stores for the new project. Part 2 will be explained at the end of this post. 

Here is the empty upper floor corridor facing towards the center of the mall. The mall was one level, but the mall increased in height at two points in the mall which increased the height to the equivalent of a second and then a third floor. Each section or incline of the mall had a different style. The "first level" was designed like a dark old style riverfront, the second was a bright neon and lively area, and the third had lots of natural light and the windows of the riverside stores had views of the river. 

The Fudgery was a lively place where the employees would sing and prepare chocolate treats in front of a crowd. They would have shows every half-hour if I remember correctly. 

I remember this to have been a Sports Avenue store on my last visit to the mall. This was in the area of the mall that was hit by the ship in 1996. 

The lower level near the Spanish Plaza entrance. 

Some of the demolition work had already started before the mall was closed off to the public. 

The entrance to Drago's restaurant in the Hilton. The Sharper Image was a long time tenant which was behind the staircase. 

One of the last stores to stick it out until the end. This store was once filled with Louisiana cooking items and touristy goods. 

This area was kind of a mini food court just before the first incline in the mall to the "second floor". A Cafe Du Monde with a river view was also in this section of the mall. 

Here is where the mall inclined to the "second floor". If I remember correctly the GAP was ahead near the escalators. 

Here are some random stores in the mall that were in the process of being cleared out. 

Back to the first incline of the mall to the Levee Market. 

The "second floor" of the mall contained several kiosks and small stores with mostly tourist shops. 

To the left was a restaurant space that had several restaurants there over the years. 

Here is the incline to the "third level". To the left of the escalator there was a toy store with a train track above the store and a separate kite store that sold toys also. 

Going towards the food court on the upper level. 

The Bon Fete food court was mostly full during the life of the mall and benefited from the next door convention center.  

The Mardi Gras store at the entrance to the food court was another one of the last stores left. 

Here are some more photos of the mall. 

Thank you Phillip for sharing these photos with the readers of the blog. 

Part 2 coming soon with a partial 1986 store list from the opening of the mall, and construction photos of the mall under reconstruction. 

Kmart Lake Charles La revisited 2013

Looks like the Lake Charles Kmart was getting a new sign on my visit earlier this summer. The Big K sign was removed and the wall was painted over to remove any labelscar from the old sign. 

Early 2012 comparison of the front of the store. 

Not much has changed on the inside of the store as of this point, but maybe more will happen besides just a sign change. 

The electronics department, I suspect that behind the blue panels are the exact same pictures as in many Kmart stores including Lufkin.

Garden center

The checkouts and exit of the store. 

ALCO Pasadena Tx

Thanks to one of my loyal readers for the tip on the existence of these stores in the Houston area, and the confirmation of this store being a former Kmart location. 

ALCO stores have been in business since 1901 as mainly a small town retailer. These stores remind me of the discount stores of Woolworth and TG&Y but with a modern look. In less than 50,000 square feet, ALCO features nearly every product department that Walmart and Target have, but with a smaller selection of products. ALCO currently has two stores in the Houston area. The other one on Gessner in Houston is a clearance store and does not currently offer the full selection that this store has. If you are looking for an alternative to Walmart and Target, this may be what you are looking for. 

Yes the large A/C vents were a clue to the ALCO's past life as a Kmart location. 

The electronics section is in the front of the store which is always a must visit for me. 

Deauville Mall Kingwood; Kingwood Texas

Here is the former Kingwood Deauville Mall which is now a successful hospital. Here is the current directory which does not have the additions which are under construction. 

The Deauville Mall Kingwood has a very interesting story. Construction started in 1985 on what was going to be the fourth Houston area Deauville Mall. Near the end of the construction of the mall was when the Deauville company collapsed and lost their other three malls so this mall never opened for business. For a few years Kingwood held community garage sales in the mall parking lot. The Friendswood Development Company took over management of the property and nearly sold the property to Atari the video game company in 1988. The deal fell through and the mall sat for another two years until the property was converted into an upscale hospital and medical center which opened in 1991. 

The mall was built at 350,000 square feet and 31 stores were projected to open with the mall in 1986.

Here are two businesses out of the mystery 31 which were going to open at the mall.

Houseworks 

Lowe's Kingwood Cinemas

As you can see from the photos below the Deauville style is still in place in many sections of the original mall. There are two major additions under construction which will further increase the size of the hospital. 

Here we start with the interior of the former mall looking from North to South. The interior looks very similar to the Spring Deauville Mall which still has many untouched portions of the mall intact. See Deauville Mall North.

This was more than likely the anticipated food court of the mall.

The center court of the mall.

This entrance is currently closed due to the construction of the new three story addition of the mall. 

Facing South at the end of the mall towards what was probably once an anchor spot. 

A different view of the center court facing Southeast. 

Facing North this was probably where another anchor was going to be located.