Mayfair Mall

Mayfair Mall is a shopping mall located on Mayfair Road (Highway 100) between North Avenue and Center Street in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, USA. Mayfair Shopping Center was constructed in 1958 by the Hunzinger Construction Company. Currently managed by General Growth Properties, it serves the Greater Milwaukee area. It has seen a number of expansions since it was first built.

Mayfair has one of the highest occupancy rates in the country,^[1] with average sales of $536 per square foot. This is well above the national average of $363.^[2] The mall contains over 180 stores and is anchored by Nordstrom, Macy's, Boston Store and Barnes & Noble, and houses an AMC Theatre and a Forever 21.

History

Mayfair Mall opened in January 1958, featuring more than 70 stores.^[3] The mall's original design was a 960-foot (290 m) open-air concourse, with Marshall Field's as the northern anchor and Gimbels as the southern anchor. Chicago based Marshall Field's opened at Mayfair in 1959 to complement Gimbels which opened just prior to Mayfair being dedicated. Three east-west corridors (North Mall, Central Park, and South Mall) ran the width of the mall, with each corridor decorated in a different color. The mall's central court also featured a park, which included trees, flowers, benches and picnic tables.^[4]

In 1973 the 'new' Mayfair Mall was advertised. The mall was fully enclosed.^[5] An arcade called The Bazaar replaced the Central Park area of Mayfair. An office tower was built on the southwest side of the mall in 1975, and construction began on a second in November 1977.^[5]

In 1986 Mayfair was rededicated following a $15 million remodeling effort. The Bazaar and a short lived ice rink were both removed. A two level atrium was built, featuring a new food court. The upper level was also expanded, adding 78,000 square feet (7,200 m²) of retail space.^[1] Following this expansion, the mall included 109 stores including Milwaukee based Boston Store which replaced Gimbels.

Another series of expansions and renovations occurred in 1998, the same year the shopping center was purchased by Chicago-based General Growth Properties. This renovation project added a movie theater and a Barnes & Noble bookstore in 1999, and more than 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²) of retail space to the upper level in 2000.^[1][6] The second floor of the atrium was expanded across the entire mall adding new restaurants and shops. A cinema was also added, acting as a third anchor at Mayfair.

Mayfair dealt with increased competition from other Milwaukee area shopping centers, including Bayshore Town Center which underwent a massive remodel and nearby Brookfield Square. Mayfair also dealt with a number of incidents involving teens. As a result, Mayfair responded by increasing security and imposing a student curfew on the weekends ^[7]

Over the past decade Mayfair experienced a few noteworthy changes and additions. In 2005, a Crate & Barrel opened in front of the main mall entrance. The movie theater, (which had been operating by General Cinemas) was acquired by AMC Theatres, with Marshall Field's converting to Macy's in 2006 as part of the broad rebranding of the stores Federated Department Stores to the Macy's label.

The Mayfair Collection

In fall 2015, a new shopping center opened just northwest of Mayfair Mall known as The Mayfair Collection. It has stores like Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy, Dick's Sporting Goods, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH, Whole Foods Market, and Versona Accessories. It also has a Homewood Suites hotel. as well as a planned apartment complex known as Uptown at the District and several restaurants as well. Phase 2 is yet to be complete with stores and restaurants.

Anchors

• AMC Theatres
• Barnes & Noble
• Crate & Barrel
• Boston Store 211,000 sq.ft ^[8]
• Macy's 289,000 sq.ft ^[8]
• Nordstrom ^[8]
• Forever 21

Now Open

• Z Gallerie
• Alex and Ani
• Akira
• Jewelry Expressions

References

External links

• Mayfair Mall

Coordinates: 43°3′50″N 088°2′41″W / 43.06389°N 88.04472°W / 43.06389; -88.04472