City Center Mall under construction

Grand Forks, North Dakota - '60s or '70s

City Center Mall under construction. I'm not positive what year this mall originally opened, and this photo is undated, but going by the entry on Grand Forks at Wikipedia, I know it must be the '60s or '70s:

"A major downtown urban renewal project during the 1960s and 1970s saw the destruction of whole downtown blocks in favor of new office building, a city auditorium, and a new street overpass spanning the Grand Forks rail yards. Built in large part as a response to the new shopping malls in Grand Forks, the City Center Mall saw the blocking off of one whole block of South Third Street to vehicular traffic. A roof was built over the street and the entire one-block section became an indoor shopping center.

The City Center mall was, in large part, a failure. The 1980s and 1990s saw little development taking place downtown. Indeed, several major businesses such as Griffith's Department Store, Norby's Department Store, and Silverman's clothing store either moved elsewhere within the city or shuttered their doors."

Finally, the Red River Flood of 1997 devastated downtown Grand Forks, including City Center Mall (click here for a few photos), and saw to its sudden and final demise. The mall's roof was removed and the interior opened back up again to street traffic and stand-alone shops.

Mall history: ? - 1997
Current website: n/a
Previous entries: none