Hilldale, Madison, WI

An extant asset

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I have only been lucky enough to pass through Madison on a few occasions; thrice by land and once by air. I always loved the central part of the city and its location on a narrow isthmus. In fact, since then I’ve lived in two major cities located on the same geographical feature, Manila and Seattle.

Hilldale’s former interior concourses.  (Source for all)

On either side of that narrow strand of land, the city rambles out into sprawl common to most American cities.  Each end has their own massive shopping mall, with East Towne and West Town representing their respective ends.  But closer toward older and more urban density is a long time player, Hilldale.

1- Hilldale Mallmanac ca. 2010. View the full PDF version here.

2- Hilldale Mallmanac ca. 2017. View the full PDF version here.

Hilldale first opened in 1962 and quickly became a prominent retail player. Gimbel’s anchored the open air facility, which later became Marshall-Field’s, while the Macy’s nameplate adorns the façade today. Its first renovation happened in 1969 with another in 2004 that added two new anchors, Target and Metcalf’s Market, a multi-plex, 2 large car parks and living space. Although some say it is “overbuilt” and a traffic nightmare, its success seems like it’s far from waning.

In and around Hilldale.  (Source for all)

Despite more than fifty years of change, Hilldale has remained more than relevant in this medium sized market.  The latest renovation came in 2013 when most of the interior concourses were eliminated. But through it all, Hilldale has managed to hold its own in the Wisconsin state capital, although various competitors have come and gone through the decades.

1- Hilldale Mallmanac ca. 2020. View the full PDF version here.

2- Hilldale Mallmanac ca. 2024. View the full PDF version here.

Hilldale official website

Newmarket North Mall, Hampton, VA

A dead mall

-UPDATES BELOW-

17 February 2023

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Newmarket North Mall in Hampton was another one of those malls that existed beyond my limited teenage realm.  Even though we lived in the same metropolitan area as the two-level monolith, our actual residence was located quite far away, over the infamous bridge-tunnels, while this destination existed in a mysterious land called the Peninsula.  In contrast, although Coliseum Mall was located in the same general area, it was right off of a major freeway.  Therefore, every time we whizzed by on I-64, I got a good look at the seventies sprawl center.  But for Newmarket North, it was years before I first laid eyes on it.

-UPDATE- The Newmarket North Grand Opening pull-out from The Daily Press, 1975. View the full PDF version here.

By the time that happened, it was in the process of being re-christened Newmarket Fair.  Apparently, by the late eighties the mall was languishing.  And when taking into account its location, it’s not exactly a mystery why.  We were driving west on Mercury Boulevard, Hampton’s main retail corridor, toward the James River Bridge on a family outing.  I noticed that the commercial space on either side of us was aging rather un-gracefully, but I was still excited knowing that I would finally set eyes on the final Hampton Roads mall that I had yet to see.  I gazed out of my window waiting for the brown brick block to appear before me.  And even with eyes like a hawk, I almost missed it.

1- Newmarket North Mall at its opening.  2- NetCenter at its opening.

But there it was.  I was hoping for an elongated, glorious shop-oplis, but all I saw was a bland, low-profiled and very seventies modern, Sears.  Beyond it, I could see a boxy structure stretching away from Mercury Boulevard into innocuous neighborhoods around it.  I could just make out the main entrance and a few skylights, but all too soon it was out of view.  "Why the hall would they build a linear mall  perpendicular to the main highway,” I thought to myself.  It was hidden and rather unremarkable.  I always thought that this was just one of the many factors that led to the demise of what, by design, should have been a very successful retail facility.

Newmarket North’s strange location along Mercury Boulevard, facing mostly subdivisions with little frontage along the main avenue. (Source)

Newmarket North Mall opened in 1975 as Hampton Roads’ first fully bi-level shopping mall.  Regional names Miller & Rhoads and Leggett were joined by Sears as anchors.  Though located just a few miles down the road from Coliseum Mall, the two seemed to co-exist pretty well throughout the seventies and most of the eighties.  But, as time went on and the surrounding neighborhood declined, so did Newmarket North.  To hasten its demise, a new retail destination, Patrick Henry Mall, was opened in 1989 in neighboring Newport News.  These factors, as well as its distance from major freeways and dubious visibility, led to its first renovation and renaming in 1989.

-UPDATE- Shots of Newmarket North Mall's interior from a late 80s advert. (Source)

Despite the renovation and moniker of Newmarket Fair, the commercial complex continued its descent.  Then in 2000, several investors purchased the mall, in which Sears remained as the only anchor, and patterned a project similar to one in Tampa where an old mall was turned into a large office facility.  The place was renamed for the third time, this time to NetCenter.  With Sears and a few retail establishments remaining on the south end, the rest of the mall was converted into connected and cutting edge (for the early 00s) commercial space, with companies such as Northrup Grumman and Verizon moving in.

NetCenter lease plan ca. 2000. View the full PDF version here.

I last visited the mall in 2001, while it was still in the process of being converted.  I drove in from the east side of the monolith, through neighborhood back roads, and entered the parking lot facing the shuttered remains of Leggett.  Its black glass adorned entrances remained, with the dark brown brick placed in geometric patterns around all of the mall entrances.  I took a short walk through the two floors, and there it remained in all of its eighties pastel glory.  It didn’t look worn or tattered, just empty.  Like all I was missing were the crowds, a Benetton shoppe and Tiffany performing in center court.  I will always regret not taking pictures, but at least I have the memories.

A bird’s eye view of the brown, low profiled block of shops. (Source)

-UPDATE-

-17 February 2023

Now known as The Offices at NetCenter, the facility seems to be doing well enough in its new position as a full-on business center, although Newport News Shipbuilding, one of the facility’s largest tenants, departed in 2015.  The retail portion has mostly moved on as Sears, the only location on the Peninsula, closed in 2018.  But at least the rest is still there.  And I hope it sticks around for a while; even though it no longer serves as a retail hub, at least it can still be seen and felt.  Unlike so many other malls that are lost and gone forever.

Sears just after closing in 2018. (Source)

The Offices at NetCenter official website