Southgate Shopping Mall

Since 1952, the Realty Mortgage and Investment Corporation of Detroit revealed that a multimillion-dollar Southgate Center is built at Eureka and Trenton Roads, hence "space was already let to a lot of Michigan sequence stores, including Kinsel Drugs, Federal's, Wrigley Stores, S. S. Kresge among others, " with construction planned to begin when you look at the autumn of 1952. Southgate's sis center, Eastgate Center (found at 10½ Mile and Gratiot in Roseville) ended up being established at exactly the same time, with both to own Federal and Kresge as anchors.

5 years later on, Southgate shopping mall had been erected with what was then the lone staying element of Ecorse Township. The 40-acre (160, 000 m2) center had been designed by designer Charles N. Agree in an L-shape: in which one line of stores, near the Eureka entrance, deals with Trenton Road and various other line, close to the Trenton Road entrance, deals with Eureka. There have been large signs bearing title "Southgate" at both entrances (current neon sign-off of Eureka path ended up being erected into the late 1970s). The shopping center's trademark was a 135 ft (41 m). water tower, located next to the future Federal's store, close to Trenton Road.

Coincidentally, the remaining of Ecorse Township had been annexed in 1958 and became the city of Southgate; the name so selected "because associated with the mall then in mind, " relating to Ecorse Township Supervisor Thomas Anderson.

First businesses[edit]

Wrigley's supermarket was the initial tenant, opening for company in September, 1957. Federal's department store exposed listed here month in a separate 80, 000 sq ft (7, 400 m2) building next to the center. The official grand-opening when it comes to center occured October 16, 1957, featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony with manager (and later Southgate's first mayor) Anderson, songs by a German polka musical organization, and radio remotes from the parking area (including Robin Seymour of WKMH, later host of this Swingin' Time system on CKLW-TV and eventually WXON-TV).

Two five-and-dime stores, Woolworth's and Kresge's (billed due to the fact string's "691st shop") launched their particular doorways in belated 1957 and many other businesses, including Winkleman's, an area well-known clothier.

The 2 wings for the L-shaped construction were joined in 1958 with the building associated with the shopping mall's anchor tenant, Montgomery Ward, which started its doors in February, 1959. Easily the biggest business inside center at 133, 000 sq ft (12, 400 m2), another auto shop along Eureka Road was also built that year.

By the end associated with ten years, the guts grew to over twenty shops with a stronger give attention to footwear and women's attire.

Southgate Shopping Center lineup - 1960[edit]

Note: bold-faced store names were anchor shops on Southgate Shopping Center.

• A.S. Beck
• Al's Record Store
• Digital cameras & Gifts
• Cunningham's (drug store)
• Danby's (menswear)
• Federal's
• Great Housekeeping (device store)
• Hal's Coney Island
• Hartmann's
• Holliday-Flagg Bros.
• Irving's Materials
• Kinney Shoes
• Kresge's
• Monroe Optical
• Montgomery Ward
• Queen High Quality Laundry (dry cleaner)
• Sanders (confectionery)
• Suzy's (formal hats)
• Thom McAn
• Three Sisters
• United Shirt
• Vanity Fair
• Western Car
• Winkleman's
• Woolworth's
• Wrigley's
• Youth Center (kid's garments)

Lineup - mid-1970s[edit]

• The Branch
• Federal's (replaced with Service Merchandise by 1978)
• Fotomat (individual kiosk in parking area)
• Good Housekeeping
• Great Scott! (supermarket which replaced Wrigley's and subsequent Packer Foods, replaced later on with F&M Distributors)
• Harmony home (songs)
• Howard's (Christian bookstore)
• Kresge's
• LaPrima Music
• Lawrence Hallmark Office Offer
• Pearle Vision
• Pet Gallery
• Sherwin-Williams (paint)
• Shiffrin-Willins (jeweler)
• Vic Tanny's (fitness)

Southgate mall in later years[edit]