Read time: 11 min.

For decades, enclosed shopping malls promised a very specific kind of future: bright corridors, automatic doors, and the idea that everything you needed lived under a single roof. In small Midwestern cities like Richmond, Indiana, that promise carried even more weight. A mall wasn’t just a place to shop- it was proof that your town had arrived! Today, Richmond Mall’s role is far less clear-cut. What was once a bustling retail hub has transformed into part shopping center, part walking track, and part time capsule. Here’s some of its story.

The concept of Richmond Mall -then envisioned as the Greater Richmond Mall¹– began in 1963, when Ohio-based Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation announced plans for a new shopping center at the southwest corner of U.S. 40 and Garwood Road. Almost immediately, the project ran into resistance: stakeholders in the nearby Gateway Shopping Center and others downtown pushed back and sued to challenge the rezoning efforts that would allow the $2 million² development to be built³!

Those efforts weren’t just opposed to a new shopping mall. Instead, they protested an expansive project intended to include two department stores, a supermarket, “a score” of smaller stores, a clinic, two apartment complexes, a motel, an office building, and a recreation center⁴. Still, after two years of struggles, construction began on May 17, 1965⁵. 

At the mall’s west end, J.C. Penney planned an 80,000-square-foot behemoth⁶– two full acres under one roof and, at the time, one of the largest in the chain’s 1,700-store empire⁷. Beyond the everyday merchandise Richmond shoppers already knew, the superstore promised furniture, major appliances, paint, a beauty salon, and even a snack bar⁸. 

At the plaza’s east side, Montgomery Ward would be even larger than J.C. Penney, with 90,000 square feet of floor space⁹. Woolworth’s anchored the north side of the mall with a 24,000-square-foot space featuring a ninety-four seat diner¹⁰. The mall’s new Kroger even featured 475 varieties of frozen foods and a sixty-foot produce counter¹¹.

The development, by then known as Richmond Square, eventually grew to feature space for thirty-five stores. Uniquely, the mall was unusual for a community of Richmond’s size. “Nowhere in the country will you find an enclosed shopping mall of this size and type in a community the size of Richmond,” DeBartolo officials said in a release. “These are usually reserved for large cities and vast populations¹².”

Aside from its scope, Richmond Square brought big changes to the city since six businesses -Montgomery Ward, Kroger, Thom McAn, J.C. Penney, Moore’s Auto Supply, and Household Finance- decamped from their existing locations in town to move in. Five others -Woolworth’s, Neumode, Schiff’s Shoe Store, Paul Harris, and Bartel & Rohe announced second stores at the mall¹³. 

Montgomery Ward became the first store to open at Richmond Square on March 3, 1966. The rest of the mall came online nine days later. Barricini Candies, J.C. Penney, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Kroger, Montgomery Ward, Moore’s, Nemode Hosiery, Paul Harris, Schiff’s, Thom McAn, Thrift Drug, Woolworth’s, and Zales Jewelers rounded out the center’s offerings, while other establishments like B&B Appliances, Bartel & Rohe, First Lady Beauty Salon, Household Finance, Hudson Men’s Shop, MCL Cafeteria, and Petries Fashions, and more promised to open soon¹⁴. 

“It’s new, it’s exciting, and it’s different….so many beautiful fashion and service stores, including two major department stores, and the area’s largest most complete variety store,” grand opening ads proclaimed. “Spacious temperature controlled malls, landscaped to please the eye of every shopper, provide you with the ultimate in pleasant shopping without concern for outside weather¹⁵.”

The mall was a hit- busy, buzzy, and exactly what developers and shoppers alike hoped it would be. That early success also means it left a strong paper trail: fortunately, unlike some of its peers I’ve written about, the Richmond Mall actually has an in-depth Wikipedia entry. There’s no sense in reinventing the wheel, so here’s a quick thumbnail of how the mall evolved from opening day to the present.

• Kroger left in 1980; its space was subdivided.
• Montgomery Ward closed several years later, and Sears took over in 1988.
• Woolworth’s closed around 1994.
• Simon Property Group bought DeBartolo in 1996.
• Dillard’s was added to the south side of the mall in 1996.
• OfficeMax replaced Woolworth’s in 1997.
• Simon sold the mall to Bayview Financial Group in 2003.
• Okun Enterprises bought the mall in 2004.
• Sears closed in 2013.
• Hull Property Group bought the mall in 2015.
• Dunham’s Sports took over the Sears space in 2018.

Unfortunately, a variety of tenants closed under Hull’s ownership: J.C. Penney, Justice, Victoria’s Secret, DEB, MCL, Aeropostale, and Hallmark, all left, among others. If that wasn’t enough, a tornado hit OfficeMax in 2019! All of that information, and more, is right there waiting for you on Wikipedia. 

I’d read the entry several times before I visited what’s now simply called Richmond Mall a few months ago, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. Mom and I had heard tales of dingy stores, exposed plywood walls, and an abandoned concourse. Instead, we found something different.

Almost immediately after stepping inside, it was impossible to ignore the elephant in the room: there just weren’t many stores left. Thankfully, the emptiness hadn’t been left to rot. Vacant storefronts were masked with thoughtful, attractive murals- larger-than-life historic photos of Richmond, bold block quotes, and even ads for the businesses still hanging on inside. The concourse was closer to a gallery than a ghost town.

Mom and I headed down the mall’s main hall toward Dillard’s at the far end. At the elbow, an attractive Finish Line still hummed with life on one side. Directly across from it, though, an empty glass storefront stared back. It was dark, silent, and impossible to ignore. Dillard’s itself looked surprisingly busy as a pocket of activity at the end of the corridor, but we kept our distance, content to observe the contrast without stepping inside.

I’ve been suspicious of carpeted concourses ever since my first uneasy steps into Anderson’s dim Mounds Mall, but Richmond’s interior caught me a little off guard: it was cleaner and more attractive than I expected- pleasant, even, if also a bit bland. From Dillard’s, we turned left to make our way toward Dunham’s. The sporting-goods chain has been a tenant since 2018, when it filled about half of the old Montgomery Ward/Sears footprint. From where I stood, it was one of the more appealing Dunham’s locations I’ve seen: well-lit, orderly, and clearly still drawing customers. It looked busy enough to suggest it was pulling its weight.

Still, we didn’t go inside. We weren’t there to shop so much as to read the mall itself, and we wanted to see how the mall’s remaining pieces fit together. As we walked past GNC and Finish Line, I couldn’t help but notice an arched skylight, one of several we eventually encountered. Old aerial photos seem to show that they’re original to the mall! They allowed a welcome amount of light into the concourse.

From there, Mom and I drifted down Richmond Mall’s western hall- the stretch that once funneled shoppers straight to J.C. Penney. We passed a smattering of still-open stores and a whole lot more murals and ads until we reached what used to be Penney’s entrance. Instead of doors or a destination, the corridor dead-ended at an enormous promotional photo hyping the mall itself. Beyond that, there was nothing of consequence- just a few stubs that hinted at where something used to be.

An Amish or Mennonite family pushing a pair of strollers rolled past us without a second thought. They didn’t pause or gawk at the murals or storefronts. They didn’t seem disappointed, either. Instead, it seemed as though the family was just there to walk, using the mall the way people increasingly do now- not as a place to buy things, but as a quiet, climate-controlled place to exist.

Mom was the first to say it out loud. “I’d come here to walk, too,” she said, as she glanced around at the wide corridors and soft lighting. She was clearly surprised by how welcoming the place felt based on what we’d heard! Richmond Mall was nice, clean, and modern- nothing like the half-abandoned shell Reddit had me believe before we pulled into the parking lot.

“Would you come here to shop, though?” I asked. Maybe not, we both agreed. During our visit, I counted ten stores: Creative Eyebrows, Dillard’s, Dunham’s, Elite Nails, Finish Line, GNC, Hibbett Sports, Maurice’s, Nirvana, and Pretzel Twister. It was clear that American Eagle had recently closed -just days before we visited, as a matter of fact- as had Bath and Body Works. 

The disconnect between a pleasant place to walk but a hard spot to shop at felt like the clearest snapshot of where Richmond Mall is right now. It isn’t dead, exactly, but it isn’t doing the job it was originally built to do, either. Instead, it’s drifted into a strange middle age, functioning less as a marketplace and more as a communal indoor sidewalk.

Its bones are still good, the lights are on, and a handful of tenants are clearly making it work, but the gravity that once pulled shoppers from one end to the other has weakened. What remains is a place that is adapting to how people actually use it now, whether its new owners planned for that outcome or not.

Still, it’s hard not to admire Richmond Mall’s refusal to simply give up. In a retail landscape littered with locked doors, shattered skylights, and outright abandonment, this place has found a way to stay open, presentable, and useful- even if that usefulness looks different than it did in 1966. Richmond Mall may no longer be the bustling, all-purpose shopping destination DeBartolo once promised as Richmond Square, but it’s carving out a second life as a safe, bright, climate-controlled space where people can walk, linger, and coexist. That kind of reinvention isn’t flashy, and it won’t make headlines, but it’s real. For now, it’s enough to keep Richmond Mall very much part of the community.

Sources Cited
1 Debate On Rezoning To Continue Tonight (1963, February 26). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 1.
2 Early Decision Promised On Shopping Center Action (1963, July 10). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 1. 
3 Early Decision Promised On Shopping Center Action (1963, July 10). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 1. 
4 (See footnote 1). 
5 Lord, F. (1965, May 11). Shopping Center Start Scheduled. The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 1. 
6 Lord, F. (1965, May 11). Shopping Center Start Scheduled. The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 1. 
7 Penney Plans Large New Store For City (1963, March 23). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 1. 
8 (See footnote 7). 
9 Steel Goes Up (1965, August 26). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 29. 
10 New Woolworth Store Opens (1966, May 11). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 27. 
11 New Kroger Store (1966, May 10). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 14. 
12 Richmond Square To Feature Garden Atmosphere When Final Work Completed (1966, March 3). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 34. \
13 (See footnote 12). 
14 All Roads Lead (1966, May 8). The Richmond Palladium-Item. p. 17. 
15 (See footnote 14).