An extant asset
There’s an old adage in the retail industry that says people are unwilling to cross a bridge to visit a shopping mall. Apparently, they may be unwilling to cross an isthmus as well. Perhaps this is what led to the construction of dual regional shopping malls on either side of Madison in the early seventies.
1 & 2- The front façade and main entrance of East Towne Mall. 3 to 10- The vacant Sears store.
The first of the twin centers to make its debut in 1970 was the West Towne Mall on the capital city’s, you guessed it, western fringes. The second, joining its partner development just a year later, was the East Towne Mall. Both were the products of developers Jacobs, Visconsi, and Jacobs Company.
East Towne Mall Mallmanac ca. 1971. View the full PDF version here.
On my way from downtown Madison to East Towne Mall, I was able to take a ride on the city’s fairly new bus rapid transit (BRT) line. With its center island stations along Washington Avenue, I was impressed by what I consider to be the best BRT system I’ve seen in a city its size.
1- The rear of East Towne Mall. 2 to 4- The southern, rear facing recessed mall entrance. 5 to 8- The former Boston Store, originally Prange’s.
I exited at the Independence Station with only a quick walk to the single level monolith. The first structure to come into view was the northern anchor JCPenney. With a façade almost exactly mirroring that of their West Towne Mall location, the design definitely followed JCPenney’s modus operandi of having unconventional exteriors.
East Towne Mall lease plan ca. 2001. View the full PDF version here.
Although it was less than fifteen minutes from the center’s opening, the doors to the common areas remained bolted so I made my way around the structure, beginning at the conventional former Sears store. Once past the southern anchor, I faced my favorite element at East Towne Mall- the dark brown brick dressed Boston Store still showing its labels as if it were still welcoming customers.
1- East Towne Mall’s central rear exit. 2- Flix Brewhouse. 3 to 6- Dick’s Sporting Goods and the Thrill Factory, originally Boston Store and Gordman’s, respectively.
But the flanking side anchor hadn’t been open for years, so I took in the seventies classic as I knew it probably wouldn’t be around much longer. Continuing my counter-clock wise walk and made my way around the Dick’s dressed in its exterior template before coming back to the front side past JCPenney just in time for the entrances to be open.
Immediately, I was more impressed with the interior of East Towne Mall than I was with its cross-town predecessor. While West Towne’s corridors seemed narrower and led to a basic and uninspired center court, at my present location the concourses were noticeably wider and center court much more noteworthy.
East Towne Mall lease plan ca. 2011. View the full PDF version here.
The hub of East Town Mall featured high canopies consisting of numerous box skylights with a column in each corner holding up the display. The columns themselves had been modernized with lighted and slate-like dressings, but I’d wager that with their margarita glass like curves touching the ceilings, in their original form they were much more noteworthy.
JCPenney’s unique exterior, a virtual clone of the West Towne Mall location.
Any readers might have noticed that one of my favorite design elements in an enclosed shopping mall are the skylights. And those running the length of East Towne Mall’s concourses are some of my favorites. The overhead windows ran in repeated square patterns with sunken ceilings within their space. It was my favorite detail in either facility.
East Towne Mall Mallmanac ca. 2016. View the full PDF version here.
I ended my walk at East Towne Mall’s southern end where both anchor spots sat unoccupied. One once hosted the Boston Store while the other was vacated by original department store tenant Sears. As a result, there were fewer retailers as well as shoppers to visit them.
East Towne Mall opened in 1971 exactly 364 days after its west side companion made its debut. It quickly supplanted the older extant shopping center as the largest retail facility in Madison with close to 800,000 square feet of space and four anchor positions.
1- The concourse leading to Dick’s. 2- JCPenney’s mall entrance. 3 & 4- The northern corridor. 5- The hallway leading to East Towne mall’s main entrance. 6 to 10- The food court.
The four debuting department store anchors consisted of national stalwarts JCPenney and Sears as well as regional favorites of the time, New York based Gimbel’s and Sheboygan’s own H. C. Prange Co. In addition, there was space for over one hundred inline stores, numerous water features and sunken areas, and one yellow rhinoceros.
East Towne Mall lease plan ca. 2021. View the full PDF version here.
The ensuing decades brought few expansions but a quite a bit of anchor churn. Gimbels was the first to exit in 1987 with the Boston Store taking their place. Five years later, Younker’s made their debut with the acquisition of Prange’s. In the only notable expansion in 2003, new junior anchors Steve & Barry’s and Barnes & Noble joined the lineup.
1 to 3- Looking toward center court from the northern concourse. 2 to 7- East Towne Mall’s center court. 8- The corridor leading to Flix Brewhouse and the main rear entrance.
In the same year, the Boston Store moved into the Younker’s space as both companies, then under the Saks umbrella, were consolidated into one. Just a year later, Dick’s Sporting Goods had demolished what was originally Gimbels to open in their present footprint while Gordman’s, another junior anchor, moved in between JCPenney and Dick’s.
East Towne Mall lease plan ca. 2025. View the full PDF version here.
After Steve & Barry’s departure in 2004, the space was occupied by local furniture merchant Steinhafels in 2008. The space is now home to Flix Brewhouse, who made their entrance in 2018 and remain to this day. Boston Store and Gordman’s retreated in 2018 with Sears calling it quits in 2020, leaving East Towne Mall with its present day collection of anchors.
1 & 2- Where the southern concourse meets center court. 3 to 5- The darkened mall entryway once leading to Boston Store. 6 to 9- The southern walkway and Sears former entrance. 9- The southern most rear entryway, a recessed classic.
While in many ways much more noteworthy than its west side counterpart, East Towne Mall, unfortunately, sits on the side of the city where growth is less robust. The two major anchors will most likely never see another traditional tenant while others will most likely be lost. Madison seems to only be big enough for one regional sized enclosed facility, and the one to survive with probably not have East in the name.
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