LINCOLN MALL: LINCOLN, RI
John Donovan's Commentary
Posted October 12, 2005 (user submitted)
Ahh...the Lincoln Mall.
It was once the biggest retail outlet in Northern Rhode Island. Now, it's an
embarrassment! The mall was built in the mid-1970's and was designed to carry
two large anchors, two smaller anchors, a 4-screen movie theater and could hold
up to 75 stores in its interior. The large plot of land was also had room for
a fast-food restaurant (McDonald's - still there today) and a supermarket with
a small strip mall attached that could accomodate five storefronts. The mall
itself was one-level and split in two with even number of stores on both sides.
For many years, the only "competition" was the Warwick and Rhode Island Malls
down in Warwick, which is 25 mins. south of Lincoln. Because Rhode Islanders
typically do not drive 15 minutes out of their way for any reason (I am guilty
of this), the existence of these malls was not a huge economic threat. The
Lincoln Mall was built in a great location at the junction of Interstate 295,
State Highway 146 and local state road Route 116. In the 1970's and 1980's,
the Lincoln Mall boasted several well-known stores but specialized in "Mom and
Pop" establishments. My earliest recollection of early anchors at the mall
were the two middle-of-the-road department stores of Caldor and Zayre's.
While
having two anchors of the same type was not the smartest idea, it seemed to
work...until Zayre's declared Chapter 11. In Zayre's place came Ames (which
took over most Zayre locations) in the mid-1980's. Ames did not last long at
the Lincoln Mall (only about 4 years) and when the company needed to make some
cuts, Lincoln Mall was first on its list. When Ames went bust, the smaller
Rhode Island clothing chain, Peerless, also closed its doors in the Lincoln
Mall. Sadly, this was a sign of things to come.
The big death knell for the Lincoln Mall was the opening of the 3-story
powerhouse Emerald Square Mall in North Attleboro, MA in 1989. Emerald Square
is also right off Interstate 295 and is only 15 MINUTES from Lincoln Mall.
Uh-oh! 15 minutes...you saw many Lincoln residents FLEEING to the superior
mall because it is in that 15 minute tolerance! And so, the Lincoln Mall
immediately felt the blow of its clientele wanting to go to chain stores
instead of the Mom's and Pop's. The Mom and Pop's soon buckled under the
pressure and one by one left the mall. Hope arrived in 1992 when K-Mart opened
in the Ames vacant spot and a fabrics store took over the vacant Peerless
location. While K-Mart did revive the small (slightly), it was still on the
same level as Caldor and did not offer the consumer much of a difference in
terms of product.
The Chapter 11 wheels just kept on turning, though! The on-site supermarket,
Almacs, closed in 1992. That fabrics store was HISTORY in a short amount of
time and nothing replaced it except for a horrid kiddie carnival center.
Smaller clothier Cherry and Webb closed in the late 1990's, as did the 4-screen
theater and the Dream Machine arcade across from it. Caldor declared
bankruptcy at the turn of the millenium and vacated. The mall was sinking FAST
with its 1/2 anchor of K-Mart and only a few notable stores (CVS, The Gap,
Waldenbooks, Radio Shack, Famous Footwear, Champs, Foot Locker). Desperate Mom
and Pop's hung on for dear life with little clientele. Lincoln institutions
like the pet store and the mens' accessory shop finally called it quits.
Empty
storefronts outnumbered occupied ones and the mall was barely breathing.
The
fact that you could get a parking space by the door at the peak of Christmas
season spoke volumes all in itself.
The early 2000's saw an attempt to revitalize the mall. Caldor was demolished
and a Super Stop and Shop was installed (with a gas station in the parking
lot). The Stop and Shop would have no interior mall access. HomeGoods entered
the vacant Peerless location, Pay/half entered the vacant Cherry and Webb
location, and a very small Marshall's was squeezed inbetween the HomeGoods and
Stop and Shop (where the pet store used to be.) The 4-screen theater comically
turned into the Visiting Nurses of Rhode Island (why, no one knows). Most of
these stores had interior mall access and exterior access, however, most just
used the outside access and avoided the interior like the plague. It also
didn't help that the magnificent 4-level high-end Providence Place Mall (which
is only TEN MINUTES away) opened in late 2002 and gave Lincoln residents yet
another reason to avoid Lincoln Mall.
The new stores didn't assist the mall's interior. The stores inside the mall
just didn't have a chance and the few familiar retail outlets mentioned earlier
finally flew the coop. A decision was made in late 2004 to demolish the inside
of the mall and keep only the big-ticket anchors.
The mall still has kept its same shell but has nothing inside it. It looks
awful and nothing looks consistent. K-Mart was part of the demolition and a
Target Department store is soon to open in that spot. The low-budget retailer
Ocean State Job Lot now occupies the former Almacs Supermarket location. A new
14 screen theater is set for construction on the land in the back of the former
mall, as is a larger chain restaurant.
What once was a terrific place to shop and hang out in the 1970's-1980's is now
a disorganized, ugly strip mall with little to offer. Thank goodness for
Emerald Square and Providence Place!
Have information on this mall's history, current conditions,
future plans, personal memories, corrections or general comments?
Please let us know using the contact form!
Thank you to all those who have
contributed to DeadMalls.com!
|
Deadmalls.com makes no guarantee of the completeness or accuracy of any
information provided herein. You, the reader, assume the risk of verifying
any materials used or relied on. Deadmalls.com is not liable for and does
not necessarily endorse viewpoints expressed by the authors of
content presented.
Information is presented as a historical account and may not reflect
present-day status.
All submissions become property of
DeadMalls.com and are posted at will.
By using Deadmalls DOT com in any manner you understand and agree with
these policies.
|
©2000-2009 deadmalls DOT com
unless otherwise noted, All Rights Reserved.
All company names are
property of their respective owners.