The 25 Oldest Malls and Shopping Centers in America

Long before the suburban shopping mall, Americans were already shopping under one roof. The oldest property in this directory with a documented opening year, official website, and Wikidata identity is Reed Opera House (1869) — and the earliest entries on this list are opera houses, ferry terminals, and seaside piers that found second lives as marketplaces. The modern mall era begins further down the list with Bellevue Square Mall (1946), part of the first postwar wave of purpose-built suburban shopping centers.

Methodology: opening years come from Wikidata records for the 492 directory properties that also have an official site and no explicit inactive marker, using the July 11, 2026 dataset. Historic buildings repurposed for retail are dated to their original opening. Inclusion is not a guarantee of present-day operating status, so confirm with the linked official site before visiting.

1. 1869

   Reed Opera House

   #1 · Salem, Oregon

   

   Reed Opera House in Salem, OR. Browse available location details and mapped stores below.

2. 1898

   San Francisco Ferry Building

   #2 · San Francisco, California

   

   San Francisco's Ferry Building opened in 1898 as a Beaux-Arts ferry terminal designed by architect A. Page Brown, topped by a 245-foot clock tower visible from Market Street.

3. 1899

   Hampton Beach Casino

   #3 · Hampton, New Hampshire

   

   Hampton Beach Casino in Hampton, NH. Browse available location details and mapped stores below.

4. 1930

   Merchandise Mart

   #4 · Chicago, Illinois

   Opened in 1930 as the world's largest building at the time, with 4 million square feet of space, Merchandise Mart sits where the branches of the Chicago River meet in downtown Chicago.

5. 1930

   Tower City Center

   #5 · Cleveland, Ohio

   

   Tower City Center in Cleveland, OH. Browse available location details and mapped stores below.

6. 1931

   Wall Drug

   #6 · Wall, South Dakota

   

   Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota, began in 1931 and has grown into a sprawling roadside stop near Badlands National Park rather than a conventional shopping center.

7. 1946

   Bellevue Square Mall

   #7 · Bellevue, Washington

   

   Bellevue Square Mall in Bellevue, WA. Browse available location details and mapped stores below.

8. 1951

   Ballston Quarter

   #8 · Arlington, Virginia

   

   Ballston Quarter in Arlington, VA. Browse available location details and mapped stores below.

9. 1952

   Stonestown Galleria Mall

   #9 · San Francisco, California

   

   Stonestown Galleria has served San Francisco's West Side since 1952, sitting near San Francisco State University.

10. 1954

    Bayshore

    #10 · Glendale, Wisconsin

    

    Opened as an outdoor strip center in 1954 and enclosed in 1974, Bayshore has since reversed course into an open-air, mixed-use development in Glendale, Wisconsin combining retail, dining, offices, and apartments.

Numbers 11–25

11. 11Cross County Center — Yonkers, New York1954
12. 12Hillsdale Shopping Center — San Mateo, California1954
13. 13Kahala Mall — Honolulu, Hawaii1954
14. 14NorthTown Mall — Spokane, Washington1955
15. 15Stanford Shopping Center — Palo Alto, California1955
16. 16The Mall at Green Hills — Nashville, Tennessee1955
17. 17The Village Mall — Gary, Indiana1955
18. 18Harlem-Irving Plaza — Norridge, Illinois1956
19. 19Westfield Old Orchard — Skokie, Illinois1956
20. 20Arden Fair Mall — Sacramento, California1957
21. 21Bayfair Center Mall — San Leandro, California1957
22. 22Westfield Garden State Plaza — Paramus, New Jersey1957
23. 23El Cerrito Plaza — El Cerrito, California1958
24. 24Mayfair Mall — Wauwatosa, Wisconsin1958
25. 25Northshore Mall — Peabody, Massachusetts1958