Pembroke Mall, Virginia Beach, VA

A dead mall

-UPDATES BELOW-

17 March 2024

24 January 2025

Upon moving to Virginia Beach in 1985, we had found our main shopping hub pretty early on at Lynnhaven Mall. But the southside shopping juggernaut was missing one important thing- a Sears and all of the Craftsman's tools that my father coveted. At this time, Virginia Beach was the only city on the southside with two malls and the Chicago based retailer was in the city's other mall. We first drove out there on a bright and warm Sunday afternoon. Having just moved from Hawai'i where the skies and ocean were blue, but not the laws, we were surprised to find the acres of parking around the Sears completely empty.

-UPDATE-  Pembroke Mall lease plan ca. 1966. View the full PDF version here.

-UPDATE-  Pembroke Mall lease plan ca. 1981. View the full PDF version here.

My father was disappointed, but not me. I was staring at an absolutely stunning display of mid-mod and brutalist architecture. The Sears consisted of repeating rectangular faces, each a shiny mustard or copper color, interrupted by embedded beige concrete vertical formations leading to centered, blocky "eaves" above. I'll never forget the awe I felt when I first saw that façade. In fact, it completely overwhelmed Pembroke Mall itself, to the point that I don't even think I noticed it was there.

Pembroke Mall Mallmanac ca. 1989. View the full PDF version here.

On subsequent visits to Pembroke Mall, I noticed that the Miller & Rhoads was no architectural slouch itself. It was also a vintage mid-century beauty. Its footprint was nothing more than a rectangle, but the brickwork and color scheme on the exterior were unforgettable. Above the entrances, the structure framing the nameplate jutted out over the portico in a manner reminiscent of a drive-in movie screen or billboard. It was fantastic.

-UPDATE-  Pembroke Mall lease plan ca. 1995. View the full PDF version here.

Pembroke Mall, at least in the 80s when I lived in Virginia Beach, was always under two shadows. There was the one cast by Norfolk's nearby Military Circle just to the west and a bigger one, more like an eclipse, cast by Lynnhaven to the east. Pembroke was never considered by us kids to be cool; it definitely wasn’t a place to be seen on a Saturday night. It was for old people with old stores and old fashioned-ness. Unlike teased up locks and shoulder pads during that decade, it was flat and colorless. It was dim and moody on the inside. And, although I would never admit it at the time, I absolutely adored everything about it.

-UPDATE-  1 & 2- The original look of the Sears. (Source for both)  3- The entrance of the Miller & Rhoads. (Source)  4- Woolworth’s from the outside. (Source)

I remember the green Pembroke Mall label and logo showcasing two Ps mirroring each other to resemble a tree on the front wall facing Virginia Beach Boulevard with the declaration "The Friendly Place to Shop." I remember the dark crimson and brown floor tiles with the embedded gardens surrounding a small fountain and round stage in center court. I remember the sparse natural lighting filtering in from discreet skylights.  But my favorite part was the ceiling. It consisted of parallel slats of a dark oak or a similar wood. But the slats weren't laid flat and abutting each other, they were uniquely hung perpendicular to the horizon. Small, round incandescent fixtures provided a little light from between those slats and through those gaps you could see the exposed duct work, all painted black just to ensure that everything appeared most cave-like.

Pembroke Mall Mallmanac ca. 2000. View the full PDF version here.

Pembroke changed very little during my time in Tidewater. The only occurrence was when the two theater cinema located in the northeastern parking lot was demolished when an eight screen Cineplex Odeon was built on the mall's northeastern entrance. In fact, the entire commercial area around the mall remained untouched in all of its post-World War II glory. But many changes were on the horizon. Miller & Rhoads closed with the rest of the chain, was replaced by Upton's, then Kohl's when that chain went under. Hess's became Proffit’s before Dillard’s, then was completely darkened for good. But the biggest changes to Pembroke were happening just outside of the mall's property lines.

-UPDATE- Pembroke Mall lease plan ca. 2005. View the full PDF version here.

A proper downtown for the mainly bedroom and resort city of Virginia Beach had been planned for years. The largely wooded area across the street from Pembroke Mall seemed the perfect place to create one and in the late 90s construction started on the Virginia Beach Town Center. Now the 1960s anachronism lies in the shadow of several glitzy office and residential towers, one of which is Virginia’s tallest building. To compliment the new development, Pembroke's owners restructured the south side of the mall's property with free-standing eateries and more accessible mall entrances to be more pedestrian friendly.  Well, as pedestrian friendly as sidewalks adjacent to an eight lane boulevard can be.

-UPDATE- 1 & 2- Pembroke Mall’s main concourse before opening and just after.  3 & 4- Pembroke Mall from above not long after its opening. (Source for all)

This has come at a price, unfortunately. The Miller & Rhoads exterior was replaced by the Kohl's blandly standard template and the Sears, well, what they did should be considered architectural assault. I mourn the loss of this exceptional example of mid-century modern commercial architecture. The new plainly painted, beige walls stand as somber and lifeless tombstones over the graves of what is now considered outdated and obsolete.

-UPDATE- Pembroke Mall Mallmanac ca. 2011. View the full PDF version here.

But the mall soldiers on. In fact, it does much better than what was once the region's leading shopping center, Military Circle, which is located just a short drive down Virginia Beach Boulevard.  The owners have been wise enough to adapt and to change, as the many layouts above demonstrate. It's good to see that even as younger malls die and disappear, Pembroke Mall still holds its own.

Pembroke Mall Mallmanac ca. 2013. View the full PDF version here.

-UPDATE-

-17 March 2024

Pembroke Mall Mallmanac ca. 2016. View the full PDF version here.

In early 2022, Pembroke Mall’s owners announced that they would be closing the antiquated retail destination for a complete redevelopment.  What started out as a humble, mid twentieth century first generation basic barbell will be gone, leaving behind quite a history.  Pembroke first opened its doors in 1965 on a patch of farmland in the newly formed municipality.  Sears occupied the west anchor spot while Miller & Rhoads made their home on the east end with a Woolworth in between.  In 1981, an addition opened with a new main entrance wing built to the south and another wing capped by Rices Nachman’s, later Hess’s, built to the north.  This converted the original barbell into a cross shaped facility that became its footprint until the 2010s.

The fountain and stage at center court during the eighties. (Source)

This northern wing and what was by then a vacated Dillard’s anchor spot were demolished and replaced by a Target in 2011.  Over the next few years, as peers Military Circle and Chesapeake Square continued their declines, Sears saw a downsizing of its expansive space into a subdivision that welcomed new retailers Nordstrom Rack and The Fresh Market, among others.  But as these exterior only facing stores did well, the shops lining the interior concourses were steadily departing.

Pembroke Mall Mallmanac ca. 2018. View the full PDF version here.

It wasn’t long before it became clear that the best course of action for the half-century old shopping complex would be to redevelop and capitalize on the presence of the Virginia Beach Town Center just across the street.  The interior shops were closed off to the public as plans for a rechristening to a mixed use center called Pembroke Square were announced.  And while the conceptualizations look promising, if not unlike every other similar retail redevelopment announced over the past decade, I’m pretty bummed that the old Pembroke Mall is gone.  I really did love the damn place; however its time has passed.  But I will never forget it.

The full rendering I made of Pembroke Mall in 1990. This is the way I will always remember Hampton Road's oldest mall.

-24 January 2025

On my recent trip back to the Hampton Roads area of Virginia for the first time in over two decades, I was able to visit all of the remaining malls still standing on the Southside.  Though it wasn’t until I visited the last of them, Pembroke Mall, that I realized that it's always been my favorite.

1 to 4- The front of the former Pembroke Mall.  The space that Bath & Body Works now occupies previously served as the mall’s main entrance.  5- Developments rising across from the Virginia Beach Town Center.  6- The entrance to Old Navy once served as one of the dual main entranceways that were a part of the expansion's original layout.  7- Some of the tenants in what remains of the 1966 building.  8- Old Navy facing the town center.

Standing in the shadows of the skyscrapers located across the street in the Virginia Beach Town Center development, aka the Beach’s downtown, Pembroke Mall looked much the same as the last time I visited.  Starting at the front facing expansion, I walked toward the west and the largest former anchor building once belonging to Sears.

Although the doors had been walled over, I was thrilled to see that the recessed entryway and the skylight over the court facing the former Sears mall entrance still existed.  Though no longer accessible and now hosting service equipment, I was just glad to see the breezeway once leading to a dental office and a set of doors underneath a sign simply reading “MALL.”

1 to 3- The former Sears and its portion of the adjoining mall.  4- This breezeway once served as the recessed mall entranceway next to Sears.  5- Looking east from DSW.  6 to 8- The front of the former Sears now hosts Nordstrom Rack and DSW.  9 & 10- Fresh Market at the rear of Sears.

The Sears building itself was subdivided and renovated beyond all recognition.  Underneath it all, however, I could still see those repeating rectangular faces hidden beneath modernized signage displaying the names Nordstrom Rack, DSW Shoe Warehouse and The Fresh Market.

It wasn’t until I reached the flanking side of the former enclosed center that my heart sank.  Admittedly, I hadn’t been keeping a really close track of the present status of malls in the region, though I did know that all of Pembroke Mall’s interior concourses had been closed off.  But in between the former Sears and Woolworth locations is where I finally noticed it.

Hoping to catch a glimpse of Pembroke Mall’s signature skylights over the former main corridor, all I could see was sunlight.  While I wasn’t paying attention, almost the entirety of the former interior common area had been demolished. All that remained were the anchor stores and the former front facing expansion closest to Virginia Beach Boulevard, as well as a small portion abutting the former Sears.

1 & 2- What remains of Pembroke Mall on the flanking side where Woolworth used to be.  3 to 5- The Target store stands over the former northern expansion and Hess’s store.  6- The Aviva senior living residences, part of the project’s phase one.  7 & 8- Behind Target looking toward the spot where the Cineplex Odeon once was located.

I knew that this was coming, but I had hoped to catch one last sight of the original 1966 mall, even though I knew that I would never again see it from the inside.  Pembroke, even though it was overshadowed by the juggernaut Lynnhaven Mall for the final 45 years of its life, was my most beloved retail destination in the region and it was gone.

Rising in Pembroke Mall’s place will be Pembroke Square, another mixed use destination being introduced to complement the Virginia Beach Town Center located just across the boulevard.  The phased redevelopment will consist of an outdoor retail portion, senior living spaces, a hotel, and multi-family residences.

1 to 5- Kohl’s, once Miller & Rhoads followed by Upton’s.  6- The demolition of Pembroke Mall has revealed the original façade of Miller & Rhoads.

It’s been difficult to locate any clear renderings or site plans for the redesigned Pembroke Square, so I was hoping that it would involve preserving more of the original main structure.  But even as phase one’s Aviva Senior Living has opened as the first newly build facility, it’s apparent that nearly all of the 1966 common area is no longer necessary.

I continued my walk around the what was left of the old earth toned development.  I passed the relatively new Target before heading to Kohl’s, itself housed in part of the 1966 structure at one time hosting Miller & Rhoads before Upton’s.  It was there where I was able to get the best view into the former common areas.  The ground, still covered in earth that had not seen the sun since the early sixties, was being improved and a line of store fronts was rising on its periphery.

Pembroke Square site plan ca. 2025. View the full PDF version here.

However, there was one small silver lining to the death of Pembroke Mall.  Abutting the Kohl’s store in its days hosting Miller & Rhoads was another recessed entryway designed in much the same way as the one next to Sears.  It had long ago been turned into additional small store space while Miller & Rhoads stunning sixties façade was hidden beneath Kohl’s bland standard.

Looking into where Pembroke Mall once stood from the southeast.

But the recent demolition had revealed and given me one final glance at the 1966 exterior of the long defunct Richmond based department store.  I was stoked to be facing the repeating rectangular brick frames underneath a mid-century modern roofline with widely spaced ornaments rising like crowns just above each one.  In the midst of all of the destruction, I smiled.  Though it will soon be gone, this is how I will always remember Pembroke Mall.

Close up picture of original Miller & Rhoads façade.

This will be my last update for Pembroke Mall.  Anything new will be updated in the post for Pembroke Square.

Pembroke Square official website