Southgate Shopping Center
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - 1966
I just love this vintage snapshot of the Southgate Shopping Center (aka Southgate Mall), Milwaukee’s first shopping center, along with its very groovy entrance and movie theater signs.
Here's a bit of opening day background from a 1999 Milwaukee-Journal article on the malls' eventual demise (you can read the whole thing here):
"After two years of work, Southgate was ready for those customers. The $5 million center was an open air marketplace, not a mall; its 20 stores shared a single roof and a canopied sidewalk. The complex covered 105,000 square feet of retail space, and the rest of the 30 acre site provided parking for 2,000 cars.Mall history: 1951 - 1990s (dead)
Milwaukeeans found Southgate irresistible. The center opened on Sept.20, 1951 a weekday and the developers were pleasantly surprised when more than 60,000 people showed up for their 'family party!' The entertainment was vintage Milwaukee: Polish and Italian folk dancers, polka bands on the blacktop. A visit from Alice in Dairyland a world champion flagpole stander and, of course, fireworks.
...The addition of a Gimbels department store in 1954 gave Southgate a genuine anchor. Krambo grocery store, Milwaukee's largest, opened on the south end in the next year, and the center became a regional magnet."
Current website: n/a
Previous entries: none
(Study image courtesy and © The Wisconsin Historical Society)
posted by Keith @ 1/29/2007
29 Comments:
This mall's name almost made me think it was Taubman's Southridge. That was in Wisconsin too, right?
Southridge was originally Taubman, so yes.
SouthGATE, on the other hand, was on S. 27th street in Milwaukee. By 1980 (when you said you went there, Hushpuppy), I believe the mall would have been enclosed, as they did a complete overhaul of the original strip mall, building out another side of shop space and just adding entrances, using the narrow canopy as the 'mall'.
The Gimbles location at Southgate was Boston Store for a very short time, maybe a year or two before they realized it was unprofitable. By that time, the mall was starting to really empty out, mostly due to age, and the areas around the mall wasn't the safest to be around in the city by then, (early 1990s)
They closed the mall in the late 1990s and today in its place, stands....you guessed it, Wal-Mart, though just a regular store, not a 'Supercenter'.
Another much smaller mall next door, Point Loomis Center, was next door. This never really was much of any 'mall' and was torn down a few years back for a Jewel/Osco.
That? That is a big sign. If I was a little kid going to that mall I'd always be afraid whenever the car would pass by it that it would fall on our car, crushing us all.
Yeah, I was a bit afraid of big signs growing up. I can't think of any examples right now though.
I need to set a couple things straight...
I live 5 minutes from Southgate. It still has the original, southernmost side which was connected by a crosswalk. It has Famous Footwear, a ladies healthclub, 99 cent store, etc. WalMart is indeed where the actual heart of the mall was. It is still a shopping area, still referred to as Southgate, and still has a movie theater and a Walgreens across the lot.
We did not lose the "mall" due to it being in an "unsafe neighborhood!" It is a VERY busy shopping area on a VERY busy street known for it's various stores, restaurants and businesses. Boston Store was there for quite a while also.
Point Loomis is also still there, although not an 'inside mall' and is NOT a Jewel/Osco! It is an Office Max anchor with a RadioShack, Edward Jones, Blockbuster, etc. Michael's is across the lot in a strip mall with HOBO, and a couple of other stores.
Thank you for straightening things out, jz. Someone else had told me what I knew about the area. I personally have never lived in Milwaukee, I've only been down there for festivals, the State Fair, and the various shopping malls in and around the city.
Oh my god I LOVE that sign> LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEE!!!!!!!!
Here's more great coverage of Southgate in its early days.
I also disagree with the "safety" of the area; in recent years the Southgate cinemas have become a haven for gang activity after dark and in fact the safest area might be the Omega Family Restaurant in the front of the parking lot, given the large number of Police who eat there.
If I didn't know better, I'd say that sign was the box the shopping center came in!
"Time Stand Still Southgate"
We need more photos like that one, so I can find my way to Kresge's in my dreams, and buy one of those little green turtles, as I did when I was a kid, one last time!
Time does go too fast!..Life is but a dream.
That link was in Keith's post, Bill. In fact, he quoted the article.
I updated the Southgate photo page if interested.
http://www.retrocom.com/retromilw/Southgate%202002.htm
Enjoy,
Retro-Dave
Thank you for the great memories posted by everyone and also for all of the great photos of Southgate! Does anyone have any photos and/or memories of Capitol Court? Also, does anyone have a recipie for Woolworth's "Icebox
Cheesecake"? It would be greatly appreciated!!!! Thank you again!
"Fantastic Shots!"
More pics please!
If I ever come across a "time machine",Southgate will indeed be one of my stops!
Does anyone recall the various names of the disco that was at the back of Point Loomis Shopping Center. During the late 70's and 80's there was a disco. I guess I must be getting really old, because I can only remember the more recent names that the disco went by. They were:
Spatz
Studebaker's
Beneath The Streets
The disco went by several other names prior to Spatz, anyone know what the names were?
thanks.
Lola
http://lolasdiner.blogspot.com
I grew up and have lived in the Milwaukee area all my life (nearly 50 years) and remember Southgate, Gimbels, and almost everything else everyone mentions VERY well(Though, sorry "Lola", I unfortunately can't help you with your disco name search. I only remember the "Spatz" and "Studebaker's" names that you recall. I wonder though, if by chance you remember the "Mainstream" record (and cd) shop that was next door for a number of years?) Anyway, thanks for the memories, everyone!
Now, I have a question for you, "hushpuppy". Loved your story about how you spent your (snowy) day at the Milwaukee Public Library (and you're right, it's quite an impressive old building!), and the information you passed along about Schuster's and Gimbels (I actually worked at the Packard Plaza (Cudahy) store during my college days in the late 70's/early 80's). But one thing you mentioned has me scratching my head, specifically your statement:
"In 1961, Gimbels had 3 stores: Downtown, Southridge, and Mayfair."
Was this something you picked up in the paper (Milwaukee Journal) you read that day, or did you get that elsewhere. The reason I ask, is because there could not have been a "Southridge" Gimbels store in 1961, if memory serves.....Yes, eventually there was a Gimbels store in the Southridge Mall (Greendale, WI), but that particular Mall was not opened until 1970, so that particular store would not have been there until sometime around that year. Is it possible that actually was the "Southgate" location back in 1961 (along with the other Gimbels locations mentioned at "Mayfair" and "Downtown")?
It's possible I could be mistaken, and so am curious as to whether or not you can shed any additional light on this......
The disco was "he and she" I saw Styx there -snuck in when I was 16 I thing (1974)
Styx did not play in Milwaukee until 1981 and it wasn't at any disco on the southside. It was at the Arena.
I don't remember if it was at Southgate or Point Loomis but I remember my dad taking us kids during the summer during their sidewalk days and him buying us a waffle sandwich filled with a slab of neopolitan ice cream. Does this ring a bell with anyone?
please help! i remember SANTA arriving at SOUTHGATE in a helicoper when i was a kid. Does anyone else remember this? have a photo? know the date? anything to help me. I would love to have a picutre of this event. I also remember santa's villiage in the back with "real" deer (supposedly reindeer). some of my best memeories.
I remember Southgate and Point Lomis Malls as a young boy growing up in Milwaukee. We lived on St Francis Avenue off 44th and Morgan and often went down to the malls either with our folks or later on bicycles. I recall the large old sign vividly and the theatre marquee with the three balls on top. The movie theatre was in back and I can still see Mash, Fiddler on the Roof, and if I am not mistaken even Deep Throat advertised. I recall the Gimbels,the All in One Hobby Shop where I got model rockets, and of course Santa's village. The old building stood for a long time in the back parking lot and you could still see the paved over tracks from the small railroad that ran around the building. Point loomis had a JC Penneys back then, a Khols food store, and a Disco downstairs on the other end. I would love to see old photos if anyone has them posted.
In the very early 60's there was a Boston Store and Penny's at Point Loomis.
My favorite memory is of the original movie theatre. It may have been the original I-max format it was so big. Watching the opening sequence it Star Wars with the Imperial Star Destroyer coming right over the top f my 7 year old head is a memory I will never forget...or the line for Return of The Jedi that went all the way around the south end of the mall grounds to the entrance sign.
WOW! What memories... Southgate, Point Loomis, and Packard Plaza in Cudahy, and I grew up in St. Francis.
Packard Plaza had JC Penny's, Gimbel's, and a Sears that pretty much just sold paint, tools, and garden equipment, and if not mistaken you could also pick up catalog orders at the Sears.
Point Loomis... They had a JC Penny's, Minnesota Fabrics, Ben Franklin, Lee Wards, and a pickup station for both Sears and JC Penny catalog orders (each having their own little store front); then in the late 1970's or early 1980's there was a Handy Andy. Mom did a lot of sewing and crafts, and we went to Point Loomis on an almost weekly basis. I remember it as an open mall or partially open mall, then sometime in the late 1970's early 1980's it was fully enclosed.
Southgate... I remember the Woolworth's, the waterfall/ fish pond near the center of the mall... along the south wall of the east branch, the All in One hobby shop (mine and my brothers favorite stop), They had the little bookstore next to the Gimbel's, and the Gimble's... stuck in time. The mall stopped at the foyer that lead to the doors of the Gimbel's; and the foyer was just lined with windows on both sides. I also remember the carpet motif that lead down the mall, carpet squares that made up squares (picture Flor carpet tiles) in red, green, blue, and yellow, that was before a renovation. in the 1980's Gimbel's was taken over by Boston Store, and the Boston Store remained until almost the end of the mall's days.
In some respects I do miss Point Loomis and Southgate. Just too bad that the area became a little unsafe (crime ridden)
I live very near this area and have lived here for around three years. I agree with the others that it is hard to see how this is an "unsafe" area. I am sure it has declined incredibly from the 50's and 60s, but it is a very busy, diverse shopping area. 27th Street was just totally redone, and there are businesses like Chipotle, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Jimmy John's that have opened in the last few years. I have taken my kids to the theater several times. It's not the rich suburban crowd, but I sure don't see the "gang activity." I have seen a few people panhandling around the area, but if this area scares you, you haven't spent much time in a big city.
I grew up in the area living in Southlawn Housing Project a few blocks to the east. I lived in the area during the 1980s, buying things at the Mall from my flight pants from Wooden Nickel to my rock n roll magazines from that news store at north end of the Mall west end next to Gimbels. I really miss Southgate, a big part of my growing up.RIP Southgate!
" buying things at the Mall from my flight pants from Wooden Nickel to my rock n roll magazines from that news store at north end of the Mall west end next to Gimbels."
I too remember that news store.......in fact, I'll never forget buying some magazines there a few days after John Lennon was murdered in NY (December 1980), that had that story splashed all over the covers.
A sad memory, but a "Southgate" memory, nonetheless....
Southgate went downhill when the students (many bused in) from Pulaski High loitered around. Shoplifting increased and a lot of regular shoppers felt uncomfortable. As the good stores pulled out, they were replaced by wig shops and nail trimming shops. That turned even more regular shoppers away, and they deserted it for Southridge, Mayfair, Brookfield Square. Whether or not they were safe was irrelevant. They didn't feel safe. Same thing happened to Northridge and Grand Ave. Mall. Shoppers, mostly women don't feel comfortable with a bunch of teens hanging around and acting intimidating. After a couple of instances of the teens running amuck, Mayfair had to increase security and institute a policy of no one under 18 allowed without a parent in the evenings. I have been to the Walmart where Southgate when looking for a particular item. I dropped my Grandsons at the theater one evening. From the looks of those loitering around, I have no desire to go back, when there are so many other choices. Perception is reality.
Hey ! Styx did play at He & She in 1974 or 1975. I saw them. If you look hard enough on line you can find pic of the advertising poster. I think it admission was $3.50 at the door. Cheaper if you bought advance tickets.
I've read that people claim it was closed due to a bad neighborhood? That's a Crock, a load of B.S., or just foolish. The mall's interior stores were closing down, and the mall itself had lost it's shoppers. All the new "WAREHOUSE" shopping and the easier and more affordable and quick features made it fail. It's sad, I remember Loomis Road multi theater, and the Southgate solo theater, taking the bus there back in the 70's and 80's. I was a kid and my mom, a VERY protective Mom would have NEVER let me go there if the neighborhood was "bad". I remember All in One Hobby, I think it was there. It was a great place. Milwaukee had some amazing Malls. Mayfair with the Ice rink. Southridge Mall was just awesome as a kid! So many memories fading away!
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