Shopper's World - History and Layout

History and Layout

Shoppers' World (spelled with an apostrophe and possessive "s" in the plural form) opened on October 4, 1951 with 44 stores, 25,000 people, and State Treasurer John E. Hurley present, making it one of the earliest suburban shopping malls in the country. This futuristic concept mall was designed to be the mecca of suburban shopping between Boston and Worcester, as the area around its original property remains today. The large, Jordan Marsh dome on the southern end was the sole anchor store for the mall in the earliest days. The dome was visible from the air and was used on aeronautical charts as a visual reporting point for aircraft approaching Boston's Logan Airport. It was reputed to be the third largest (in diameter) unsupported dome in the world after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

Aside from Jordan Marsh at one end, there were two long, flanking 675-foot (206 m) two-level wings separated by a 100-foot (30 m) two-story open courtyard mall surrounded by large, open parking lots.

The original design included a multi-purpose theater at one end of the mall. Originally called The Cinema, the house contained a large orchestra seating section, a balcony, and a full stage with a fly area for curtain, scenery, and lighting grid. In addition to movies, in the 1950s the theater was the site of many live, summer theater productions such as Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie and George Abbott and John Cecil Holm's Three Men on a Horse. It was the first movie theater in the country to take advantage of the mall parking lots to provide ample parking during evening hours. In later years, The Cinema became strictly a movie house under the ownership of General Cinema. The Cinema would add a second theater in 1963, and two more in 1974. Later, a Stop & Shop and Jordan Marsh's Basement Store were added to anchor the opposite northern side of the mall. As the mall grew, it eventually took the shape of many newer malls but remained roofless.

The mall's layout consisted of a two-level, open-middle, long rectangle shape. However, by having no main roof over the central mall area, customers had to walk outside to get from store to store. To keep people from getting wet in the rain and snow, the mall management covered the perimeter walkways by extending the roof line of the stores all the way around the mall. The lower walkway was covered by the top walkway. To walk between levels, shoppers used three large 20-foot (6.1 m), wide, paved, covered ramps placed so customers were never too far from one. Kids often ran up and down them (away from consenting parents) as well as rode bikes and skateboards.

Throughout the years, the courtyard area always had several areas of interest and events going on. The southern end contained a permanent water fountain with synchronized colored lights and a garden area with seasonal plantings of flowers with picnic tables with sun umbrellas. In the 1950s, several kiddie rides, including a small Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, and a boat ride were in the north end of the courtyard. In 1964, a Stop & Shop grocery store was built at the nothwest side of the mall. The store was eventually replaced in the late 1970s by a Toys 'R Us, which stil remains a tenant.

During the holidays, the mall put up decorations that included several giant wooden soldiers around the inner concourse and artistic flower arrangements and banners. Santa Claus appeared with live reindeer in the courtyard in front of Jordan Marsh Basement Store every Christmas. In the early '50s, at Easter time, an Easter egg hunt was held, but the practice was abandoned after children searching for the hidden candy eggs tore up shrubbery and landscape in their search for more hidden booty. Other zoo animals and many special attractions, like Flipper and spaceship rides, were displayed throughout the year. Automotive events, such as autocross racing and motorcycle riding school took place in the parking lot. In the 1980s, the Gazebo area was constructed where the kiddie rides once were. Ragtime and brass bands played regularly by the Gazebo in the 1980s and 1990s.

Shoppers' World was the first shopping center to have a musical water fountain show, a feature famously used by The Grove at Farmers Market in Los Angeles. The "Dancing Waters" attraction was based on the fountains at the 1939 New York World's Fair and was programmed to music and colored lights. There was also a train/tram that brought customers around the mall.

In 1967, the Jordan Marsh Basement Store was built at the north end of the mall. Jordan Marsh's original main store, located on the south end, had a remote underground entry point in the middle of the parking lot near the bus stop. Shoppers could enter a small enclosure and walk down two flights of stairs to arrive in the lower level of the Jordan Marsh store. Jordan Marsh also had a separate tire store that stood alone across the street on the west side of the mall.

The large yellow smoke stack on the outer west side originally had "Sears" written on it but was removed when the store moved to the newer Natick Mall.