Pompano Fashion Square Mall
Pompano Beach, Florida - 1973
The Pompano Fashion Square Mall (as it was originally named), was initially an enclosed shopping center, that was redeveloped in recent years, into an open-air mall layout. It was also renamed, and is now known as the, wait for it... Pompano Citi Centre. How thrilling. Boy, they're really working hard these days to get the "mall" out of the shopping malls, aren't they? Unbelievable.
Anyway, in this nice shot above, we can see the Penneys anchor at this entrance (many thanks to MOA reader, Alex, for finding this fantastic shot for the archive!).Keep in mind that this is the mall that sported that really cool, huge fish sculpture that I featured in the other Pompano Square entry. Of course, this was back many years ago, when the place still had a soul.
For me, this mall would have been worth a trip just to see that weird looking fish in person! Be sure and read the comments in the other entry, too, for some great memories of this mall--and its huge fish.
History: 1970 - present
Developer: Leonard L. Farber
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Previous entries: 1
posted by Keith @ 7/18/2006
58 Comments:
I found that pic about 5 months ago here: http://www.vulcanhammer.org/palmbeach/south-florida.php At any rate, it's a nice pic from the mall in it's heyday. The old Penny's logo is great also.
every entry on here makes me wish so much that i was alive in the 60s and 70s. my mom remembers a lot of the malls on here (the ones here in ny around the city), and also from florida and hawaii where she lived in the 70s.
Wow, did they really ruin this shopping center. Now it's another big ugly power center with the same stores every other power center in the United States has. Of course, instead of the parking once and walking, you can now drive to each store.
Scott
Off topic just for a second if I may. Just look at all those 70's gas hogs. But, hey.. they most likely get better gas milage than todays Hummers and SUVs. My word! Yes, it appears to be a national trend of "open-air" convertions of preexisting malls on the decline in an effort to attract new tennants and maximize profitability. While some may call this revitalization, I call it desecration. I'm fairly certain the photo displayed is facing Federal Highway (east towards the beach). Can someone confirm this? I'm just going on vague memory. Also, what is this Lory's signage I see? Most Penny's did/do have a dedicated entrance for their salon, but this is puzzling. I'm fairly certain it's not a liquor store. I do think it's worth mentioning that this mall did have a 2nd-level parking garage which is not surprising as the Developer was also responsible for The Galleria.
Thanks for posting my image, Keith!
The mall today actually is more of a market place since the stores are in arcades through the center rather than facing the parking lot. The anchors Sears, J.C. Penney (notice what the hurricanes did to the "P" on the sign), and Macy's (though it was Burdines before the merger) are still there with the original store structures (Sears was renovated during the original mall demolition).
When the mall was dying out in the '90s, Ross came in, and Dillard's came out. Now the Dillard's is demolished with a Lowe's in place (WTH?), and Ross is being renovated as the surrounding remains of the mall are being torn down. :(
Anonymous 2, this photo faces Coupans Roads. The main entrance facing US 1 (Federal Highway), is this: http://www.florida-usa.dk/florida057.jpg
Now it looks like this... http://www.faison.com/files/54/PCC.jpg
The original mall was built by the same company who built Orlando Fashion Square (Colonial Plaza's killer). I don't know about the Galleria.
Love that Penney's sign, even with the hurricane damage :-)
Great picture - this really brings back the memories! I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale and was a teenager in the 70's. A big day for me and my girlfriends was to take a bus to the Pompano Fashion Square! There were great stores like Lory's (clothing)and Casual Corner and the anchor stores were Penneys, Sears, and Burdines. As a special treat, we would eat lunch at Morrison's cafeteria. I spent so much time in malls growing up and really resent the fact that today it's all one big cookie cutter mall - the same stores, no regional identity. Thanks so much for your website. It really helps me take a stroll down memory lane!
(To answer a previous poster, this mall does face onto Federal Highway).
-Barbara
Carol Brady...hahaha... great response. Thought it sounds more like something Alice the housekeeper would have said!
My eye for detail noticed those cool parking lot light standards that no one installs anymore. These things used to be all over the place and actually had a little bit of class to them... now they're usually just those generic black boxes.
As for what Barbara said, it's really true how there are very few locally owned stores in successful malls anymore. Forty years ago, the ratio was the about the opposite -- sure, there was County Seat, Walgreens, Kinney Shoes, Spencer Gifts and the like... but there were many more mom-and-pop shops that stood on an equal footing with them. If anything, a number of locally owned businesses are a good sign that a mall is on a downward spiral nowadays. "Urban Threads" or "Linda Lou's Arts and Crafts" (store names have been changed to protect the innocent) usually just move into a vacated space, nail up a tacky sign and end up having a GOOB sale in six months! It seems as if the developers of failing malls take advantage of these suckers as a last-ditch attempt to make something back on their investment.
He means the direction the entrance is facing which I said was Coupans. Here's an ariel view prior to demolishion: http://www.pompanociticentre.com/webaerials/image01.jpg
You can on the right the small canopy which that is. Also note the big, bulky, and green main entrance. I remember when you could ride a very narrow "people mover" (as my mom called it since she is British) up to the food court. A think there was a resturant like T.G.I. Fridays or something where windows are but it was pretty cool.
Here's what it sort of looks like now. They got a little further in renovation, but you get the idea.
I think the malls have had to change to outdoor because there competing with all the big box stores, does this make sense? It does seem like the indoor mall is on the decline plus people shop online more. I think someone said this mall was created by the same folks that put Orlando Fashion Square. Does anybody out there remember a local chain of stores called "Uptown Bills" a groovy mens clothing store with lots of chrome furnishings.
Look at this: http://www.icsc.org/srch/sct/sct0905/dept_newsmakers_farber.php
I moved to Coral Springs in 1976 when I was 8 yrs old. I used to love going to Orange Julious (spelling?)inside the fashion square.
Is Orange Julius still in business?
Pompano Square Mall
You should see it now
POMPANO CITI CENTRE
New Face
Every Friday and Saturday they have music
I can wait till 8/26/06 Eddie Cornelius formerly of Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose
For you that Do not remember the name. He Sang "Treat Her Like A Lady and Too Late To Turn Back Now"
Everyday it gets better.
Stopped in at Pompano Citi Centre around Christmas time of 2005, at which time some of the outdoor establishemtns were yet to be opened. While it's not going to have the charm of the PFS at the height of its popularity, it's not bad for what it is - a mixed-use reclamation project salvaging what was left of a decaying mall in a crappy area. It's going to give LHP/Pompano folks a viable (albeit, generic) shopping alternative to going to Boca or Fort Lauderdale.
As for the old PFS...it was the main shopping mall experience of my childhood. Loved the Barefoot Mailman and Orange Bowl/Julius, whatever it was called. By the time I was of age to have disposable income, the mall had lost some of its quirky character, but I still went there fairly often.
The entrace to this Penney's and those columns look eerily similar to the one that is at North Riverside Mall in Chicago, IL.
The fish brings back memories. It's a shame there isn't a photo from when it was part of the fountain in the center of the mall. I remember sitting on the edge of the fountain eating an ice cream cone from McDonald's that cost 25 cents. This was in the late 70s early 80s.
Oh, and it's "Copans" Road. ;-)
looks like this content has been re-used here:
http://radar.planetizen.com/node/1017
I was a kid/preteen in the 70's hanging around Pompano Fashion Square with my family and I had a blast. Remember the carnival train/wagon in the middle of the mall which sells pratical joke novelties? I would like to know the name of the shop and see if it's still there. What about the big mechanical swiss army knive with blades popping up from behind the store window, that was exciting for my childhood.
Yeah, I like to know the name of a carnival/train in the middle of the mall.
What was the name of the german deli...Schnitzers??? or something..used to LOVE that place
Can't find a mention of it anywhere
PLEASE help
PS: Loved the old school Pompano
Fashion Square
My dad opened this mall as general manager during his tenure with Leonard Farber. We lived in Lighthouse Point, but only stayed for about a year and a half. August 1, 1968 was groundbreaking and the anchors were Sear's, Penney's, Burdine's & Jordan Marsh. I still have 2 parasols that were the symbol of the mall. The original colors were purple and white and then change before opening to more tropical color scheme of blue and green.
My family lived a few blocks away on NE 11th Terrace. We used to go to the mall all the time. My sister worked at Butler's Shoes and I worked at Sears.
I remember the fish.
And the glass elevator?
Oh I loved this mall. I lived right around the corner. I wish there were more pics. There was a Renegade with a wooden Indian out front, the Purple Pickle up on the second floor, Orange Bowl, and the Harvest House restaurant in Woolworths. The old fountains had this fantastic tiny tiles and had a sloping edge that you could lie on with your knees on the upper point.
Oh and I wonder if anyone else remembers the yearly easter egg (cardboard hangings in the shapes of eggs) they used to have and hang all over the ceiling. I am trying to remember the name of that Indian style (not American Indian) clothing store that was in one of the entrance hallways. India World or something like that.
I miss Cloth World which was across the street.
I stumbled across this feed and boy, did this bring back memories! My dad was an assist. mgr. at The Barefoot Mailman for awhile. I loved going to visit him at work as a child (I was born in '73). That store seemed huge to me. Remember the counters at the front of the store with the fiber optic lights and other black light things? There were lots of Jesus prints and seashell creations. I also remember Buster Brown shoes and the bleachers that you could sit on when trying on shoes. Also a shoe store with a Q? I was so young then, I can't remember. Spritzel's Deli- yum! There was a dance outfit store next to Burdine's. Was that a Woolworth's? I still remember the smell of that place; a combo of mothballs and soft pretzels. The fountains and pools were the neatest thing ever for a kid. I don't remember the fish sculpture though. I think it was Penney's that had that corrugated type of siding that I would drag my hand along it to hear the noise. I also remember that store, Renegade, with the cigar-store Indian out front. My memories fade as I take the right hand turn down at Sears. I remember the ramp up onto the roof of one of the department stores. So cool do drive upwards in flat Florida! When they renovated it in the 80's, it lost it's mysterious charm.
What a great mall it was. The new replacement can't even compare.
btw, If you remember Shopper's Haven, did anyone else see the dollar bill that was cemented in the front sidewalk? My brother and I would go crazy every time we saw it.
Is everyone aware that this was considered the first mall of it's kind in america? We were very lucky yo have it growing up. I worked there in a little jewelry store UNO in 1978.
This entrance was the north side entrance. It said "Pennys" at the entrance but the store was actually on the south side....you walked in this entrance to the mall, and the Pennys was facing you on the other side of the mall.
As you walked in this door, there was a tabacco shop on the left I think, then a small couter restaurant called The Orange Bowl. The Orange Bowl was on the corner of this entrance and the main mall walkway. To the right at the end was Burdines.
The Orange Bowl was a chain, and the Boca Mall had one too. I remember they served slices of pizza on waxed paper, and the decor of course was orange.
My family moved to Boca in 1968, so we shopped here often. I liked the Morrison's cafeteria, which I recall being at the next entrance to the mall to the right (west) of this entrance.
The mall had rooftop parking too, which as a kid I got a kick out of. Ramps were on the east and north side.
My Dad was a stock broker at Hayden Stone in the mall for a time in the seventies. Hayden Stone was on a second floor wing on the east side of the mall, next to the Purple Pickel restaurant
Found this site after looking up address. When I was in high school my business class put on modeling shows for Jordan Marsh, Penney's and Burdines. Great picture bringing back good memories.
Someone asked about the name of the Indian clothing store. My parents used to own that store...I loved it. It was called Maharani of India. So many memories.
This mall brings back some memories... vacationed in Deerfield almost every year and and a trip to Fashion square (or several) was a must... in answer to a previous question, I do believe the photo is facing Federal Highway to the east. My favorite store was "The Barefoot Mailman". Hard to believe the population was less than half what it is now back in the 70's...
Thanks Keith! As a boy I travelled with my mother and about 40 artists with Jo Palmer Tours and Artist Touring Association, doing art shows in many of these malls, '76-'82. Oh! how I wish I had taken more photos. These were some really good times. We did almost three shows per month for almost ten years from Dadeland to Woodfield to S.Portland and back, allowing us to meet many great people and tour this beautiful country we live in. -Daniel
Hello Fellow Lovers of the original Pompano Fashion Square. My Dad, Leonard L Farber, was the developer. It was his pride and joy. And yes, he went on to develop Orlando Fashion and The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale. But our favorite was always PFS. I especially loved to go visit him in his office on the 2nd floor across from the Purple Pickle. And spend the day visiting stores. So glad yo read some of you loved going there as much as I did.
I found this site by accident, and the memories it brought back! I grew up partly in the area during the 70s, and used to spend a lot of time at this mall. I was obsessed with that fish fountain and had not thought about it in years. I hope it was incorporated into the new "Citi Centre" as a homage.
My mom used to work at one of the clothing stores in the mall and I'd hang out at that novelty store all the time I would have been about 9 or 10 and I would just walk around the mall and it was the freest place in the world
My mom used to work at one of the clothing stores in the mall and I'd hang out at that novelty store all the time I would have been about 9 or 10 and I would just walk around the mall and it was the freest place in the world
I remember Capezio for ballet wear and more, and Orange Julius for frozen orange drink and pizza. Mary Quant for mod clothes. Woolworths luncheonette. The Purple Pickle restaurant on the 2nd floor. Great memories!!!!!!!!
Just remembered: the Paper Tree gift shop, Lenders (i think that's what it was called) for kitchen gadgets, Morrison's Cafeteria.
I just remembered that Lerner's was the name of the clothes store for teenage girls. They had the cutest clothes!
Great memories in the early 70s. If you lived in Margate or Coral Springs this was THE place to shop. It would be a day at the mall and a trip that would require detours to Atlantic or Sample as Copans wasn't extended thru Royal Palm yet. Back to school clothes at Sears and Burdines. Our favorite store was the Sony - Panasonic electronic store near the south end. Got a bright red Panasonic cassette recorder for my 10th birthday. We also got a Sony fm am and shortwave radio that lasted forever. Loved stopping at Sears for 45 rpm singles and to get the current WQAM or WMYQ top 40 radio survey. We could spend hours alone or with parents and were safe. I think the German deli may have been Mr. Dunderbacks. My parents ALWAYS had to have coffee and lunch at the Harvest House at Woolworths. And across the street on Federal Hwy was the Pompano Bowl (bowling alley.) It was great to grow up when life wasn't so hectic, pretentious and "ironic.' I'll take those times over all the internet shopping and entertainment options we have now.
I remember going to a Restaurant at the very end of the mall with my Mom they had a bar and great food closed shortly after 1974, 1975, please help me cannot remember the name ?
Gallaghers lol
Gallaghers
My parents owned the Indian store. It was called Maharani of India. We loved it, too.
Are you in the Citi Centre? If not, you don't belong here.
Nobody had mentioned about the times in the 1980's and the 1990's. I think the 1980's was the peak of the shopping mall industry. After 1990, nobody went... which is strange because right now would make more sense for anyone not to go to the shopping mall anymore since we got ebay and online amazon and stuff. So, shortly after 1995, stores were declining in their sales, which resulted in them becoming ghost malls for the next 7 or 8 years before being demolished.
This store was not taken off of the face of the earth. It was just renovated. But it could of been renovated better. I have been coming here throughout the 2000's, remembering the christmas sales and the music. All the christmas trees bunched up together in the center for sale. The christmas music echoing in the distance. The cold sunset breeze making it harder for me to wake up after sleeping in the car. We would take a walk around stores. All the products, luxury red LG clothes washing machines and clothing stores. This was back on 2007. Lovely childhood. I was 7. I would recieve tons of coupons from Norcrest elementary that were for the restuarants, like discount panara bread.
Then after 2009, it just went downhill. It got all nasty and boring and just blah. Even today, there is just absolutely nothing here. Nothing but card stores, boring clothing stores here and there, a gym, and some boring restuarants. 90 percent of the mall is just empty rooms of stores that used to be. I came back after some time last hall o ween and found that after 7 years, nothing changed. It ain't worth it anymore.
I would love to go back in 1973 and experience the predecessor building. I had a neighbor who lived in pompano almost all of her life. She would talk about this place all the time. Too bad I was too young to listen.
8/16/20 4:29PM
Yes did you ever find out the namr
Did anyone remember the name of the German deli that was there? I remember going every other week there with my mother and she bought me Gummi bears as a treat. It was very late 70s early 80s then when I was a teen I practically lived in that mall. I took the bus from pompano Beach high to the mall to goof off. It was awesome
Mr. Dunderbak’s. It was a dark Bavarian/German deli with a bar that had baskets hanging over all of the beers, cheeses and souvenirs.
No, it wasn't. Shoppers World in Framingham, MA was the first mall. But maybe this was the first one west of the Rockies?
I worked at the Spectacle Shop for 8 years starting in the late 70’s. Trying to think of the German deli I can’t remember the name not sure if it was Spritzels??? Does anyone remember???
Hi everyone. Does anyone remember the name of the entertainment center they had onsite in the early 80's. Had laser tag, restaurant, bar, arcade, etc.
I remember parking on the roof and watching the July 4th fireworks in the 1970’s.
I believe it was called Spritzels. I loved that place.
Spritzels and Woolworth were my favorite places to eat when I was younger.
Not Orange Julius! It was called The Orange Bowl and they served pizza, salads and orange julius.
Do you remember that name of that pizza place that was upstairs where the arcade where
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