The Wyoming Valley Mall, outside of Wilkes-Barre, PA, began construction in 1968 on land previously owned by the Blue Coal Corporation. Sears was the first of four anchors to open in 1971 and even opened before the mall itself. Zollinger and a short-lived Pomeroy's served as two other anchors, with JCPenney becoming the fourth in spring 1972. The Zollinger space became a Hess's department store in 1978 and later likely became a Kaufman's to eventually become a Macy's as it is today. Bon Ton took over the Pomeroy's space in 1971.
The mall saw a major renovation in 2006 and a H&M was added in 2017 causing a few tenants to relocate. The mall has been on a downward trend since losing both Sears and Bon-Ton in 2018 and even more so when PREIT turned over the mall to its lender in fall 2019.
I've visited the mall two times- once in 2015 and later in 2019. You could tell a lot had happened during that time frame. This first batch is from 2015:
As for the future of the mall,
As my childhood mall, I really hope Wyoming Valley Mall finds a way to turn itself around. The mall certainly isn't a lost cause, and I really think finding a reuse for the two empty anchors would do wonders for the place.
ReplyDeleteI ideally would say that the Bon-Ton space should be demolished and replaced by a new main entrance. Perhaps with a few restaurants or such. While the mall is not yet lost, it is running out of time. I have a strong feeling the Macy's here may close in the next few years. And with JCPenney in bankruptcy, who knows what may happen there.
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