Millcreek Mall & Plaza Complex (Part Two)

"The mall is shaped like a gun for some reason." I've found myself thinking that statement pretty much every time I walked into this particular shopping center. Take a look at this mall from a map perspective and you can understand why:

This map is somewhat outdated, but you can still clearly see the shape that mall makes! The outdated portion is the Burlington space at the top and H&M taking over a bunch of stores nearby. The Burlington space has since been absorbed into the mall as you will see below. Here's a new map which focuses on that area:

Since we are discussing the Burlington wing, we will start there first. Here's some before pictures:

This Burlington facade has since been completely removed.

A.C. Moore operates as a junior anchor is this wing.

Burlington wing looking back. This 2013 photo doesn't have H&M in it.

Now for the after: (pictures from inside the former Burlington)

The different tile-work would indicate about where the former wall was.

A vending machine does not take the fact away that there are some vacancies here....

One of the two new businesses that have opened up in the former Burlington. Neon FTW!

Of course the downside of the mall's plan is that Burlington had a second level, so that's twice as much space to fill.... 

....so that too leads to more empty space.

I didn't realize at the time that H&M is new since my last visit. I was thinking I had a picture of it, but I now realize I don't. Another picture for another post I suppose! 

Moving onto the mini Bon Ton wing followed by the Sears wing.

Bon Ton was a former Elder-Beerman.

Sears is an original anchor to this mall.

Now for the mall's main concourse followed by the food court wing.

Former Kaufman's

This Radioshack is one of the many locations that closed.

JCPenney is an original mall anchor.

The promenade hallway leads to the upscale stores that have an exterior entrance as seen in part one.

The food court was previously another hallway that had just lead to a mall entrance. In 2008, the mall redeveloped the wing to make it into a food court.

FYE didn't have a location at the Millcreek Mall until the food court area was added.

Former Panda Express.

So that concludes the mall tour. Obviously I'll have to look into getting a few more pictures in the future. When I get those pictures, I'll be sure to do an update post to the mall.

Millcreek Mall & Plaza Complex (Part One)

Even though Erie is the fourth largest city in Pennsylvania, its interesting to note that the Millcreek Mall is the only mall that Erie ever had. Although there was another "mall" located elsewhere, I'm fairly certain it was just a plaza that had used 'mall' in its name. Either way it doesn't matter now, as that 'mall' has been torn down and replaced with a residential complex.

Due to the shear size of the Millcreek Mall and shopping complexes nearby, I've decided to split the posts into at least two different posts. One for the plaza and one for the mall itself. This first part will focus on the exterior of the mall, plazas and other chains located outside the mall. 

For the mall anchors we have the following:

Sears has been here since the mall opened.

Bon Ton was a former Elder-Beerman

Formerly Kaufman's

In addition to Sears, JCPenney is also an original mall anchor as well.

Burlington Coat Factory was previously a fifth anchor here but it has since relocated to a former Walmart down the road from the mall. The mall has taken over the former two story store and absorbed it as a continuation as one of the mall corridors. Here's a picture of while construction was ongoing:

I will have to return to take a few pictures of what the exterior looks like now. I did re-visit the mall recently but I had parked on the opposite side of the mall so I failed to take an exterior shot of its current state. I did get some interior pictures though! Upon making this post, I realize now that I also need to return to take some photos of another plaza I have none of. I guess you could say I was thinking when I visited recently....

Here's some pictures of the mall's food court entrance and other stores that have an exterior presence.

Moving on to the one plaza I have captured.

Notice a few new stores have opened. Five Below was under construction at the time of this photo.

There's something very ironic in the photo above. I'm fairly certain that Ross was formerly where Old Navy was. Ross had closed its location for a time and then opened back up as you can see in the very same plaza in a former Border's. When I revisited recently now Old Navy has now closed and its space is empty. Again I did try to take a photo of that, but it came out extremely bad. Also notice one of the first Field and Stream located in the very top left of the above photo. 

Toys R Us

Former Hills/Ames which was being used as a flea market for a time. It is now my area's first 'At Home' home decor store as seen below.

There's definitely a few more pictures of I have to take of the mall's shopping plazas here so you can expect further posts on the Millcreek Mall plazas in the future. Part two will cover the mall itself.