This story was brought to you in partnership with Southridge Mall, celebrating 55 years of memories with exciting events and exclusive offers. Follow them on Instagram for more.
The Milwaukee metropolitan area has undergone many changes in recent years, and as businesses come and go, it's worth recognizing and celebrating the ones that have endured and become places where multiple generations of Milwaukeeans have created memories.
For example, this year, Southridge Mall in Greendale celebrates its 55th anniversary as a destination for shoppers and families on the South Side of Milwaukee County.
Folks who have been regulars there have countless memories, surely, of this Greendale shopping center that has navigated the ups and downs of the retail landscape to become a multi-generational Milwaukee-area landmark.
Many of you surely remember the fountain outside JCPenney, or the happy birthday song at Farrell’s.
Or lounging in the black pleather furniture in the center court, or getting your haircut in the middle of the mall.
Or snagging a black light Hendrix poster at Spencer Gifts, or phat pants at PacSun or Gadzooks.
Of course, there were the annual visits by Santa Claus, too, at the holidays.
Arriving in Milwaukee in 1983 and living in my grandparents’ Walker's Point house – which had been home to pretty much every generation of my family since arriving from Germany in 1877 – ours was a Mitchell Street, Southgate and Southridge family.
With more than 40 years of Milwaukee experience – not counting those early visits as a kid – I have some Southridge memories, mostly of scouring record and book stores, and buying concert tickets at Boston Store (cash only!), but also later of my kids riding the holiday train at Southridge and taking my tween to shop for a special Christmas present for the little one.
And I made it here just in time to experience the legendary Farrell’s on a few occasions, and see movies in the old cinema.
Southridge, as I noted in this story, was developed and built in 1970 – like its younger sibling, Northridge, which opened in 1972 – by the Kohl family with Michigan-based mall developer Taubman Centers, Inc.
Both malls were designed by architect Wah Yee, whose practice was located in the Detroit suburb of Southfield. Although its namesake passed away in 2009, Wah Yee Associates is still designing commercial buildings.
The Kohl family likely needs no introduction here, where it was well known not only for its chain of arched-roof grocery stores (now long gone) and department stores (still going!), as well as for the late Herb Kohl, who was a U.S. senator and owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Southridge had a whopping 1,420,000 square feet of floor space when it opened and it is still one of the state's largest shopping centers.
While Wah Yee was the architect of record, newspaper accounts at the time pointed out that more than 100 architects and designers did work on Northridge, including its interior decoration, and the architecture of its department stores and smaller shops. The same was likely true of Southridge.
The mall was constructed in 1969 and ‘70 and opened on Thursday, Sept. 10, 1970.
There were octagonal parasols above the entrance outside, and multiple sculptures installed inside.
A two-story, central open court included not only a 30-foot waterfall but also an aviary with miniature parrots, conures, cockatiels and love birds.
There were five department stores and 120 smaller retail spaces and the place was a hit. Even eight years later, during the holiday rush, it was estimated that 150,000 people a day visited the then-130 stores.
In 1988 – after the Kohl family sold its share of Southridge and the mall was purchased by Western Development Corporation – a series of renovations included a new fountain, and two years later, a food court was added at the north end of the mall.
Adapting to changing times, Southridge added stores to the exterior of the in 2005, including a World Market.
Seven years later there was additional investment into the mall, including adding skylights, opening a new Macy’s store, remodeling the food court, removing the steel structures in the open court and undertaking a big remodel of Boston Store, which held a grand reopening to mark the occasion.
In 2015, Marcus Theatres opened the BistroPlex cinema at Southridge.
In 2017, The Explorium Brewpub opened in the mall becoming a rare craft brewery and taproom located in an enclosed shopping mall. (It's also where we brewed the OnMilwaukee 25th anniversary beer!)
The Village of Greendale acquired the former Boston Store following the bankruptcy of parent company Bon-Ton in 2018, giving local leaders the opportunity to work with the mall's management to chart a new path forward for the property.
The end result will be the demolition of the former retail space to make way for a new mixed-use apartment community, which is a strategy that has helped propel shopping centers both locally and nationally towards ensuring their continued longevity and success into the future.
Here's to the next 55!
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press. A fifth collects Urban Spelunking articles about breweries and maltsters.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has been heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.