Seminary South Shopping Center
Fort Worth, Texas - circa early '60s
This mall began its retail life as an open-air shopping facility, originally dubbed the Seminary South Shopping Center. Later it became the Fort Worth Town Center, and is now being completely revamped and remolded into a whole new "lifestyle center" type beast, called, La Gran Plaza (they liken it to a Mexican-themed "town square"), consisting of supermarkets, cinemas, and a Rodeo/Concert venue arena. Yes, I said a Rodeo/Concert venue arena. Well, it is Texas after all.
Mall history: 1959 - present
Developer: Thos. S. Byrne, Ltd.
Current aerial view
Current website: here
posted by Keith @ 5/26/2006
63 Comments:
I really like this one. The flowers set the goregous mood and the architecture is definately cool modern.
I think I went to school there.
You know, it DOES look like an upscale 60's high school like you'd see on the Brady Bunch. Maybe Mike Brady designed it!
It looks incedibly pleasant, even for a mall of that vintage. That walkway makes me swoon.
I used to go here as a kid. I miss those days.
I stopped by this mall around 1992 or so, when I was 13 years old. We lived in Dallas, but were visiting Fort Worth and needed to pick up some sandals for my younger sister.
By that time this old place had dropped the Seminary South name and had become Fort Worth Town Center. The "rebirth" included a complete enclosure of the mall and a heavy-duty interior remodel. It was a pretty modern-looking place, but the stores all seemed to be somewhat down-market. I heard it died a very slow death in the late 1990s before being resurrected as a Latino shopping center.
Thanks for the info, jamie!
I agree with everyone else here, too--this is a very pretty shot. I'd love to think you're right about that Mike Brady thing, Todd! lol
Cora: You're right, these banal "lifestyle center" makeovers just aren't going away. We're seeing a real retail shift here I'm afraid. The mall owners nowadays are trying to make their properties all things to all people, plain and simple. Sometimes at the cost of individuality and character, though. Boooriiing.
Lifestyle center is just another term for "mall without a conventional anchor."
It's more marketing jargon and will probably fade away. Can you see it? "Mom, I'm going to the lifestyle center."
If you research the keywords that people type when looking for a shopping center, they still favor the term "mall" more than anything.
i realy like this picture mostly because of the flowers & margie im not an old geezer well ta ta
love,
raina
omg i agree with you all it looks like my high school before they remodled it cora i agree i live in TX and i would hate to have 2 walk around in our hot summer daze stay cool you guys
I took my family to Seminary South to shop and out to eat, also, there was a movie theater. My question is what was the name of the steakhouse just on the perimeter of the center?
Does anyone remember the big, huge, wavy slide that used to be on the west side of Seminary South. We used to go there as kids in the late 60's and slide down it and then climb all those stairs again to slide down it again and again.
YES!! SEMINARY SOUTH MALL
I totally remember the blue slide on the west side of the parking lot! This was THE(and only)mall in town in the late 60's and early 70's. There were lots of cute small shops, as well as a Sears,Thom McAn shoes, Kinney's shoes, Chess King and Penney's that I bought school clothes in. Never mind the fact you experienced heat exhaustion in July walking between the stores, since it was open air! The thing I remember the most was all the big oak trees that lined the walkways for shade. They got torn down when it was enclosed in the 80's. It's a sad sight these days, with lots of crime. Thanks to your sight for giving us a happy look to the past!
I HAVE ALOT OF MEMORIES OF SEMINARY
SOUTH. MANY OF MY FIRST 45'S & AL-
BUMS WERE PURCHASED AT MURPHY'S.
THE ALBUMS WERE PRICED ACCORDING TO
MONO OR STEREO. USUALLY A DOLLAR
DIFFERENCE. 45'S WERE AS LOW AS 67
CENTS. ATE MANY A TIME AT EL CHICO.
SAME GOES FOR THE BOWLING ALLEY IN
THE BASEMENT. SPEAKING OF BASEMENTS
REMEMBER KBUY COUNTRY RADIO...WHEN
BILL MACK WAS THERE? SEARS HAD A
RECORD DEPT.TOO,ON THE 2nd FLOOR.
WYATT'S CAFETERIA...GOOD FOOD. BUD-
DIES GRO.STORE,LATER BECAME WINN-
DIXIE. THE TWIN SCREEN INDOOR THEA-
TRE ON THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF THE
PARKING LOT. YORK STEAK HOUSE. ON
THE SOUTH END OF THE MALL,SEARS HAD
THE TRUE CHRISTMAS THEME,IN LIGHTS,
ON THEIR BUILDING. REMEMBER THE
HOBBY HUB,TSO,SPENCER'S,STRIPLING'S
COX,PENNEY'S,WAIT'S BICYCLE SHOP(MY
PARENTS BOUGHT ME A SCHWINN STING-
RAY THERE),DILLARD'S? AND A MUSIC
STORE I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME OF.
IT WAS LOCATED BY STAIRS THAT LED TO KBUY. THIS STORE WAS SPECIAL TO
ME BECAUSE MY PARENTS BOUGHT MY 1st
GUITAR THERE(1967). AND WHAT ABOUT
THE BASEMENT FLOOR OF SEARS? ALL
THE TOOLS,APPLIANCES,TOYS,& THE
CATALOG DEPT. I'M 54 NOW. MY DAD
RAISED RACING PIGEONS. HE WOULD GO
TO EITHER FINCHERS OR ZUCKERS,ON
THE MANSFIELD HWY,TO BUY THE FEED.
WE WOULD DRIVE UP SEMINARY DR. TO
GET THERE. I REMEMBER HAVING TO PULL MYSELF UP TO LOOK OUT THE SIDE
WINDOWS OF HIS CAR. AND BEFORE IT
WAS SEMINARY SOUTH I REMEMBER WHEN
IT WAS KATY LAKE...THAT'S RIGHT...
A LAKE. I WAS JUST A KID. STILL AM
...IN MY MIND. I KNOW I'VE LEFT OUT ALOT...BUT THAT'S JUST WHAT I
REMEMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.
SEMINARY SOUTH WAS A COOL PLACE.
IF THIS GETS POSTED I HOPE IT JARS
SOME MEMORIES OUT THERE. IT'S BEEN
A REAL BLAST TO JUST TAKE A TRIP
DOWN MEMORY LANE. GOD BLESS TEXAS!
I remember going their every Saturday as a child.
We always parked by the upper entrance to Stripling's (back then Cox's was another chain) and made our way around. Lunch was always at Wyatt's which was diagonally opposite Stripling's. There was a T-Shirts unlimited next to Wyatt's where you could choose designs to be heat transferred onto shirts. They always started to peel after a while.
Buddies was across from Wyatt's and had really good brownies in their bakery. Shoes came from Penney's where they had one of those xray machines to measure your foot. Sears had a huge catalogue pickup dept and smelled of fertilizer from the garden center.
There was a York Steak House on an outparcel, that was a "fancy" palce to go and a General Cinema (2 screens! Big time!) at the back NW corner. That was the first movie theatre I could go to without an adult. I would go with my friends and one mom would drop off and another would pick up. The movie was 1.25 and you could get a coke and popcorn for the other .75.
I remember in Murpheys there was an ice cream/sandwhch shop on the first floor and a large fish tank wth a giant fish and I think its name was Oscar.
I have only one picture of me and my little brother in front of the mall. Does any one have any old photos of the mall?
Guys - many of you are trashing the "lifestyle malls", but as a native to DFW, I can tell you that this cool old place was actually a forerunner to today's lifestyle malls. I LOVED Seminary South! Also, some lifestyle malls DO have conventional anchors. In fact, the only real difference between conventional malls and lifestyle malls in many cases is a commom roof. Many people like the outdoor element.
MalcomDBC - there was never a Stripling Cox at Seminary South or Town Center - It was a Striplings only.
I just turned 52 and remember being in the Easter style show one year where one of the judges was our local celebrity-style writer/tv personality Bobbie Wygant [sic]. I didn't but should've won (I was a living doll) but my nephew, 3 years younger did. I also remember having an oil painting/caricature done by Avila outside on the mall which I still have. I don't have the memories that some others do and I appreciate the reminders. I do remember the candy counter at Sear's where my aunt always bought bridge mix. Love you Seminary South!
God, this reminds me of how much I loved this mall! I had forgotten. It was so pretty and relaxing, strolling outside. And the walkways by the stores were covered. More outdoor malls, I say.
There was definitely a Striplings...then changed to Stripling & Cox because I remember the dirty wall with "Striplings" still imbedded on it.
Anyone remember, which is still there, the library to the Northeast of the mall?
I definitely remember "Oscar" the big fish in the tank that was downstairs I believe.
Seminary South was the largest shopping center in the Southwest US for the longest time. I remember seein photos on the GC Murphy wall with cars parked up on Seminary Drive--Packed parking lots!
You can still see some GC Murphy photos on their website.
WOW--really miss those days of going to Seminary South!
We used to go Christmas(Sears mainly) and school shopping here when I was a kid. As others have already said ..those were the days.
Ah, yes. I have some good, clean memories about Seminary South back in the '70s.
What I remember the most was the beautiful concrete fountain in the center of the outdoor mall, surrounded by Sears, G.C. Murphy's, and some other strip stores. You could sit on it's lip, relax, and maybe toss a penny into the water for good luck. And if you went there at night, the multicolored lights underwater would turn on and change color in sequence. It was truly a beautiful sight. I also remember some concrete "mini birdbath fountains" that graced the various entrances to the main outdoor mall.
One of my favorite stores there was "Hobby Hub", next to Buddies. I was beginning to discover plastic model kits then, and it was a real treat to visit that store and be surrounded by all those cool models. There was also another toy store toward the northwest of the mall. I believe it was called "Toy Chest", or something like that. And I think I remember a Barber's Book Store there, too.
Back around 1985, a club opened there, next to Sears and facing I-35W, called the "Rox-Z". I remember there was a dance stage in the middle of the club, decorated with gauzy draperies and lit with pinkish-orange lights. The music was LOUD and the babes were HOT (in a superficial '80s sort of way). The last time I went to that club (in '85), there was a bad ass fight on stage. In retrospect, I think about how lucky the patrons (and I) were that the place never caught on fire, given the draperies and hot lights, and some of the club fire tragedies in recent memory.
By the way, in the 7-storey office tower there, in the lobby where the elevators are, you can STILL see the old Seminary South logo in brass, embedded in the terrazzo floor. If I can, I'll get a pic of it before some developer decides to destroy it.
This picture is not from the 1960s. There was not an Oshmans during that time period. I grew up in Fort Worth. I am 53 now. I shopped almost every Saturday at Seminary South spending my allowance as a teenager. The 45 records in Murphy's were under a dollar and I added to my collection often. I loved G. C. Murphy's. They had so many fun and novel gifty things. I remember getting packages gift wrapped there at Christmas time. The photo you have posted brings back memories but I believe it was taken in the mid or late 1970s.
This picture is not from the 1960s. There was not an Oshmans during that time period. I grew up in Fort Worth. I am 53 now. I shopped almost every Saturday at Seminary South spending my allowance as a teenager. The 45 records in Murphy's were under a dollar and I added to my collection often. I loved G. C. Murphy's. They had so many fun and novel gifty things. I remember getting packages gift wrapped there at Christmas time. The photo you have posted brings back memories but I believe it was taken in the mid or late 1970s.
My friend and I were just talking about Seminary South today @ lunch. I grew up in Ft. Worth, on McCart St. and my grandmother lived off of Hemphill. As a child I walked w/her down the railroad track to the shopping center. (She never learned how to drive!)We spent much time @Seminary South. Ate @ Wyatt Cafe., oohed at Oscar at Murpheys and if it was a good day got some candy there too. Sears was the place to go for clothes. Always liked to look at the shoes in TomMcans but didn't get many shoes from there. And every Easter my brother and I were always dressed to the 9's and entered the pageant that was held by the water fountain. Also I have pictures of me w/the bunny! What good memories!!!!!!!!! Loved going down the big wave slide. Grandma always treated us to that! Those were the days.
I grew up in the Ft. Worth area, but never visited this mall. However, does anyone else recall their radio commercials with the jingle "Seminary South" sung to the same melody as the Beatles "Here Comes the Sun"?
I'm 46 yrs old. I use to go there as a kid. We went almost every weekend. It's to bad they ruined it by closing it in, but I guess they thought they had to because all the other malls were enclosed. I think they should open it back up the way it use to be. People might come back, the folks that use to go there in the 60s and 70s. My Grandmother and I always love Murphy's. We would go there and get candy and popcorn. She would take me to the toy department. I loved my Grandmother. I miss her. Sometimes we would eat at El Chico, that's when the restaraunt was private, before it became the big chain it is today. It's not as good as it was. I remember my family ate at Wyatt's Cafeteria one day. That night we were up puking our guts out. We all got food poisoning. Later, when I was 19 or 20, I worked at Dillards. That was about 1982 just a few years before they enclosed it. The crime was very bad there. I remember the white ladies that worked at Dillards had to be escorted to their cars after work.
I spent a LOT of time at Seminary South. My father owned the bowling alley that was located there. I remember Striplings and Wyatts and a lot of the other places that some of you mentioned. Wasn't there also a Mexican Restaurant...El Chico's or something like that?
That was THE place to shop when we were kids, that and Leonard Brothers downtown & Montgomery Wards on 7th. I like how they really decked it out for XMAS, and how you would freeze your taters off because it was all outdoors. Yes, cool discount records at Murphy's, the DeeJays down in the bowels of the place, the cool music store (C&S?), coin fountain at, I believe, Striplings, being lucky enough to have enough dough to by succulent fried chicken at Buddies.
My family would eat at Wyatt's Cafeteria every Friday night and then we would go to Murphy's to get my nephew and I a toy. There was a Century Bookstore, Baker's Shoes, Russell Stover candy shop where I would buy a box of Rosebud Mints. There was also a Bob's Big Boy for a while, Audra's Crafts and World Imports. In the 70's there was a Foxmoor where all the teenage girls would get their jeans.
I don't think that is Oshman's in the picture. I believe it was a clothing store called Richman.
We went as a family to Seminary South or I rode my big silver bicycle. I slid down the big slide, man it was tall. Bought vynil 45's, Lps and candy at Murpheys upstairs, then downstairs to the toy department. We always met the parents at the water fountain at night when the colored light were on. I have a picture of the water fountain before it was destroyed. I dearly miss the Christmas lights on the outside of Sears, you could see them driving by the shopping center on Seminary Drive. The absolute best years of my life back then.
Wow, this is where Julie Ann Moseley, Mary Rachel Trlica, and Renee Wilson were abducted in December 1973. This shopping center has an incredibly high degree of notoriety amongst those of us who keep up with cold cases because these three girls have never been since again and it's rumored one of the security guards there (not the one interviewed by the PI the families hired) could've played a part in their abduction.
My family owned the gift shop Happy House at Seminary South. We were just down from GC Murphys. Between Us and Murphys, there was a Merle Norman, and a Cooks Paints. The Sears drug store was across the mall from us.
The record dept at Murphys was where I first heard The Beatles. Albums were $2.98, $3.98 for stereo. I bought a Beatle wig there for 98cents. And I can still remember the smell of the roasted nuts when you first walked in.
Next to the Sears Drug store, there was a stairway going down to the shopping center offices, the Community Room, and radio station KCUL. I got Ted Williams autograph at the bottom of those stairs when he was there on a speaking tour. Another day, there were two recording artists signing autographs at a table set up at the bottom of the escalator at Striplings. One was John Gary, who had a summer replacement tv show, and the other was Jimmy Gilmer (Sugar Shack) I still have those too.
Sadly, I only have two pictures of our shop in the weeks before it opened. None of the rest of the center.
So many great memories there. Yes, there was an El Chico, and a Bob's Big Boy (next door to the TV store behind Buddies. Would love to see a map of the original layout.
Thanks for this site!!
i remember murphy's i loved that store!!! we used to eat in the cafe in the back...i vaguely remember they would show movies on the wall of buddies in the summer, like the little rascals or the marx bros...i was born in '67, when i was like 3 i think they had mickey mouse and cinderella and other disney characters there promoting disney on ice. wyatt's cafeteria, with the big chandelier...musicland, sears, penneys, i remember the wig shop as well, think it was next to skaggs...i miss that mall!!! it used to be a lake before the city drained it to make the mall, my great uncle swam in it in the 30's....good times!!!
Loved the glowing comments, especially the references to Sears, as I was a Junior Executive at Sears. Seminary South was the first shopping mall built by Homart Development Corp., a subsidiary we created fundamentally for building malls. Wikipedia has some good info on Homart, but the chart of Notable Projects fails to show Town East Mall in Mesquite TX, the mall most notable to me, as it is near my retirement residence.
I remember all that stuff and miss it so much. In the girls' department of Stripling's, there was a mural depicting a Victorian era hot air balloon with passengers leaning over the side of the gondola (or whatever you call the basket thing). I wonder if they preserved it anywhere.
I remember when Seminary South opened. It was a beautiful mall and a fun place to visit.
I began hearing the mall was unsafe as early as 1971.
My car was stolen there in 1974.
I grew up approximately 3 blocks south of the mall. I remember eating lunch at Murphy's with my mother and crawling under the stall to use the bathroom because we didn't have a dime!
I loved the fountains inside of Stripling's as you rode the escalator.
The first movie I was allowed to see without an adult was in the theater there.
I remember shopping at Sears with my grandparents. The signage in bright orange is embedded in my memory.
I remember Penney's with it's turquoise P and buying my garanimals for the start of school.
Loved the t-shirt store. Tons of images to choose from. Took forever to decide on which one I wanted.
Shopping at Buddies was a treat - loved the smell of the bakery and the cashier ladies always made me smile.
I miss those days. Wishing I could find pictures of the mall before it changed from Seminary South to Ft. Worth Town Center.
Three great memories from Seminary South Shopping Center: 1. Buck Owens and the Buckaroos playing a free concert there. 2. The basement of G.C. murphy's, which always featured exotic fish for sale, including giant Oscars. 3. The large model train exhibit in the toy department of Sears every Christmas.
I remember hanging out when I was 16 in 1969 at the mall on the weekends and during summer school break with my girlfriends and sister, we'd always sit at the big water fountain outside Murphy's, I remember the waterslide, there was a clothing store there John's Jeans I think was the name? we loved Spencer's! I saw many movies at the movie theater on the side of the mall. My dad worked there as a mechanic at Sears Automotive around 1967-68 and later in'69 at Penny's Automotive, the mall was THE place to go. We would also catch the bus there at the mall in front of one of the stores and we go to town to the movie theaters in downtown Fort Worth, the Worth, Hollywood and Palace, they were really beautiful old theaters with antiques in them and balconies.
I remember the country radio station there also I dated one of the DJ's, Tony Berta there back in '75 or so ...Ha Ha! what fun..
Hey did you by chance know the name of anyone who worked at the RoxZ? I'm looking for the DJ that worked there around 82 his name was Chris dint know his last name... maybe you have some invite on how I can find paperwork maybe old records of who used to work there... im desperate please help. Thanks
Please respond
I think the name may have been Chris or Scott
I need anyone who knew the dj at the Rox Z club in this mall center to contact me asap... He worked there as the dj around 1982 his name was Chris.. Dont know his last name please help.. or maybe someone can give me insight on how I may find old records of the people who used to work there so I can get his last name.. I heard he was handsome with blond hair.. thank you my name is cassie walker
The bicycle shop was Brownies Cycle Shop owned by Bryan Brown and his wife. The flower bed in the picture replace a fountain. I too remember the lake, but once there, the Mall made a great shortcut to my father's medical office on the Horner of Mason and I35.
I was born in Nov 1954. I remember Katy Lake and remember it being drained to make way for the mall. The year it opened was a major event. My dad took slide photos (which I still have somewhere) of the fountains and gardens. When you consider most of the houses in the area were 2 bedroom/ one bath crackerboxes, a place like "SS" was as close to Disneyland as we had! I'll also confirm the music store was named "C&S." Once the Beatles hit in early 1964 most boys wanted to start a band so C&S was quite popular as was the record department at Murphy's and Sears. There was also a place just east of C&S called "Town Hall" which took you downstairs to mall offices and to a large meeting hall that could be rented. One other store that hasn't been mentioned was a small women's wear shop called "Mode 'O Day."
Questions: Does anyone remember the giant World's Fair Sinclair dinosaurs making a stop in the parking lot along I-35? What about the Budweiser Clydesdales? Does anyone remember the "International House of Pancakes" with the high, steep pitched roof (the building is still there) across Seminary from Sears Auto? Or the Pep Boys down the street with the large "Manny, Moe & Jack" statues?
Sadly the area began experiencing "white flight" in the late 60's with many people moving farther south and west. Once Hulen Mall opened further south and west in Wedgewood, Seminary South went downhill dramatically. Even enclosing it it never recovered. At one point it was virtually abandoned... so much so that in 1998 a direct-to-video film entitled "Point Blank" starring Mickey Rourke was filmed inside. The plot reads "a group of escapees from prison take over a shopping mall, only to be stopped by the brother of one of the fugitives." They could do that because the place was basically empty.
Sometime thereafter, the mall was taken over by a group from Mexico and is renamed "La Grande Plaza." It serves primarily the Hispanic community in the area it is absolutely thriving. Average weekends the parking lots are as full as they once were at the height of SS's heyday. A "mercado" full of various independent vendors occupies the old JC Penny building. Early on a giant dance club occupied the old Stripling building on the north end. Combined with a multi-plex movie theater on the east side and other entertainment going on, the parking lot is is literally packed to the freeway after 10pm on weekends. The old theater in the parking lot in the NW corner was torn down and a large "Fiesta Supermarket" built in it's place. I've visited La Grand Plaza several times to wander around, listen to the various music groups performing and eat some truly authentic Mexican food in a safe, family friendly environment. You can still see a few traces of the old beloved Seminary South here and there. All in all, I'm happy the property is being used instead of being abandoned or bulldozed. For the people that frequent it now I'm sure the place will hold equally fond memories for them in years to come.
I grew up only blocks from Katy Lake and used to climb the fence to sneak in and fish there. I remember well when it opened in 1962. It was truly sensational. So many good memories of that neighborhood. I also remember the old Fina's tortilla factory on Hemphill. They closed 5 years ago and by a stroke of luck I went in there and bought the very last tomales they had before closing permanently. So sad. Miss the old days.
Later post says York Steak House.
I knew Chris but don’t know his last name. Sorry!
Okay thank you for responding do you know by chance anybody who might know who he was or a way to get into contact with him?
Do you remember what he looked like? he doesn't even know I exist I'm trying my hardest to find him just to see where I come from. Thank you soooooooo much
Do you remember if there were carnivals there in early 70s around the time the 3 girls disappeared??
It was December 23rd 1974 when they went missing
Did you work at sears at the time the girls went missing December 23, 1974?? Do you know if they had carnivals there around that time??
Wow!! What kind of car was it? Was it ever found??
I used to shop there. I got my buster browns from there
The Bonanza
That was York Steakhouse. I worked there as a hostess many years ago. I am wondering if that is the same place that is now in trouble for drugs being sold.
I (Jeff Burnett) worked at ROXZ from the time it opened until Dec of 1985. Man that was a fun place to Bartend. Lots of hot women and great Bands.
You just played back my childhood connection to this iconic first! When Mom went one day she came back with wide eyed wonder, describing it as “Nothing you’ve ever seen before! It’s beautiful and there’s stores on top of stores and stores inside of stores!” I’m 68 and I grew up there!
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