A dead mall
The third of the three major shopping facilities along the East Camelback Road retail corridor is also the only one of the three to be an enclosed, climate controlled facility. Camelback Colonnade, however, today exists as a complexly different entity from its original iteration.
The front face of Camelback Colonnade.
East Camelback Mall opened in 1964 as one of the first fully enclosed, climate controlled shopping malls in Greater Phoenix. Joining the newly built common portion and its twenty shops were two well-known labels setting their roots well before its opening, Sears and Rhodes. At the same time, junior discount entrant Britt’s made its debut.
East Camelback Mall Mallmanac ca. 1964. View the full PDF version here.
Predating East Camelback Mall just across North 20th Street was the Shops at Town & Country, operating at the time under the moniker Camelback Town & Country Village. Opening at around the same time was a more formidable competitor called Biltmore Fashion Park.
The Camelback Colonnade pedestrian walkway between Five Below and the former Sears store.
In order to better promote its two major anchors, East Camelback Mall was being marketed as Sears-Rhodes Mall by the latter part of its opening decade. The newly christened center remained mostly the same until the middle of the following decade.
The Colonnade lease plan ca. 1980. View the full PDF version here.
The mid-seventies brought the first major changes to Sears-Rhodes Mall. Rhodes had been rebranded as Honolulu based Liberty House while the entire shopping complex was fully renovated. The AMFAC owned store’s tenure at the center was short lived as they were replaced by Joske’s by the decade’s end.
The walkway leading to the rear of Camelback Colonnade.
In the same year, 1979, California-based Mervyn’s made their debut as the third major department store anchor. With the departure of the Liberty House/ Rhodes mashup, the moniker Sears-Rhodes Mall no longer applied and the less than twenty year-old facility received another label change to simply The Colonnade.
1- Camelback Colonnade lease plan ca. 2011. View the full PDF version here.
2- Camelback Colonnade lease plan ca. 2018. View the full PDF version here.
More changes came when what was formerly Britts was subdivided as more smaller shops along its upper floor while the basement level became home to Marshall’s and Famous Footwear. Before long, The Colonnade lost another anchor when Joske’s short lived presence ended in 1982.
Already seeing serious declines while its two retail oriented neighbors experienced continued success, The Colonnade continuously lost tenants through the middle of the nineties. Westcor, the development’s owners at the time, contemplated either expanding the fully enclosed center or demalling it almost completely.
Camelback Colonnade pamphlet ca. 2021. View the full PDF version here.
Sears, having vacated their building in 1991, was subdivided into big box anchors Best Buy, Old Navy and PetSmart. The inline stores to the north of the main east-west corridor were demolished while those on the south side were reconfigured with exterior facing entrances.
1 & 2- Fry’s grocery store at the rear of the mall. 3- The main entrance to Floor & Décor, built upon the former location of Mervyn’s. 4- The flanking façade of Camelback Colonnade behind Marshall’s and Last Chance. 5- The alleyway on the building’s western and the parking deck. 6 to 8- The front of the former Rhode’s store.
Only a small portion of the former fully enclosed facility remained. The short north-south concourse leading to what was originally Mervyn’s remained, giving access to the basement level stores occupying what once served as the bottom tier of original anchor Britt’s.
Camelback Colonnade Mallmanac ca. 2024. View the full PDF version here.
The building housing Rhodes before Liberty House then Joske’s on The Colonnade’s western end was also subdivided into office and retail space, with one of the tenants, Marshall’s, having relocated from the former Britt’s lower level. This space was soon taken over by Nordstrom’s Last Chance retailer, which remains to this day.
1- The main entrance to Camelback Colonnade. 2- Just inside the entrance to what’s left of the East Camelback Mall interior. 3- The full view of the only remaining concourse. 4 & 5- The stairs leading to the building’s lower level, once home to Britt’s. 6 to 8- Nordstrom’s Last Chance clearance store takes up the entire bottom tier. 9 & 10- A wall and narrow hallway where the interior entrance of Mervyn’s at one time opened.
In 1994, the shopping facility’s name was updated again to Camelback Colonnade. At the same time, a newly build Fry’s was added to the mix just to the east of the former Mervyn’s store, which would remain vacant after their 2008 closing until being leased to Floor & Décor in 2014.
Camelback Colonnade pamphlet ca. 2026. View the full PDF version here.
The small, enclosed portion remains to this day. However, as of this writing, it seems to be shrinking further. While at one time hosting a handful of smaller shops and the interior entrance to what was formerly Mervyn’s, Nordstrom’s Last Chance store is the only remaining tenant whose only access is from the interior portion.
The main stairway and lower level of Camelback Colonnade with Last Chance’s merchandise taking up almost all of the former common area.
Camelback Colonnade remains popular to this day, though it barely exists at all as an enclosed complex. While droves of people are still drawn to deeply discounted seconds from the Seattle based luxury retailer, it’s only a matter of time before any trace of the East Camelback Mall is renovated from existence.
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