Apollo Plaza: Monticello, New York on DeadMalls.com

APOLLO PLAZA: MONTICELLO, NY

Jack Thomas' Commentary

Posted February 20, 2008

Apollo Plaza lies on the western end of Monticello, a village about 20-30 miles west-northwest of Middletown, and just south of Liberty off of NY Route 17. In design, it looks like a timewarp from the 1970's. Two spots for major stores on either end(not necessarily anchors, but I guess they could be called that), along with a row of smaller stores in a glass fronted enclosed walkway make up the features of this mall; a very similar set up as Kings Mall in Kingston, NY has.

From the looks of the property and the type of stores that were there towards the end of its life, my guess would be that it served as an outlet mall of some sort. I have also heard things about this mall being the once popular Monteco Mall. Nevertheless, and whatever this propery's history is, what is certain is that this property has died a fast death.

Being there last May to get pictures was an interesting experience. It's right off the highway, so location couldn't have been a problem, but it's not really that close to the major happenings of town. And of course, Monticello has a Wal-Mart supercenter, so that also draws people away. Either way, the mall was not a pretty sight. Potholes littered the parking lot, the mall seemed to be devoid of all life and I believe it was even closed to the public for good.

So, once again, sprawl has taken its toll on this center. With Wal-Mart and other retail centers, as well as the Monticello Raceway, all on the other side of town, this center will most likely not see any life coming back. The only thing I can see saving this mall is the ongoing conversion of NY Route 17 to Interstate 86. This could bring more development to the area, and might even bring a solution to make or break Apollo Plaza's existence. We shall see.

Billy Graham’s Commentary:

User submitted in 2020

The site below suggests that both the idea of being outlets and that it was formerly Monteco are correct. cinematreasures . org / theaters / 11823

Dana Bobalik’s Commentary:

User submitted in 2019

I managed an outlet store Jonathan Logan in this "mall." Apollo Plaza Shopping Center is located at the corner of East Broadway at NY 17 Exit 106, Monticello. I believe it was built in the late 60's or early 70's. It was then considered a Community Center in 1984. It was considered an enclosed shopping mall (which means it is a strip center with all forward facing stores and the front is enclosed with a left, right, and a middle main entrance). It had 450 parking spaces and a food court. The center of the mall was an open area with restrooms, information and tourism desk. I believe there were also vending machines as well. It was listed with an area of 150,000 sq ft. and having about 37 stores, yet it seemed like it had more. My store had a good location as it was just to the right of the center entrance. The mall contained many of the same company owned outlet stores that were found in every other outlet mall, most of which were clothing stores but i recall shoe stores, kitchen wares, sporting goods, jewelry, accessories, and a gift/card store. A few mom and pop low priced stores were added as some of the company stores closed. Of course it was busiest during the summer when families would vacation for several weeks at a time or the whole summer up at the area resorts and bungalow colonies. I don't recall it being that busy at Christmas. Many people would still make the drive to Middletown to the Orange Plaza and then the Galleria, and even as far south as Woodbury Commons Outlet Mall. There were rumors that the ground beneath part of the parking lot and building were slowly sinking but I never had a problem in my store specifically. I know other stores had problems with leaking after days of rain. The mall did have a little bit of mildew and mold smell which increased over time. I left that store in 1990 and have not been back since. SInce the entrance into the mall area and the parking lot was a downward hill towards the mall, it makes sense that water would pool there if there was not adequate or failing drainage. I do remember a few times the parking lot would be an ocean for a bit during bad storms. As with other malls and shopping centers, it had its heyday and then declined as the area declined and newer malls were built and improved within an hours drive. As I worked in retail in management, I have worked in many many malls in the NY/NJ/DC/VA/FL areas...many are on your list and it is sad all around the state of malls and shopping centers today.

AnneLouise Burns’ Commentary:

User submitted in 2019

I remember going to that mall in the summer during the 70's. It was never a big hit, and It always had problems because the ground wasn't stable. The floors had waves! lol

Amber’s Commentary:

User submitted Jul 2011

I worked at this mall from 96 to 2000. It was an outlet mall of sorts, had some regular stores too (I worked for Dressbarn). The mall was closed for a long time before it was reopened in the early 90's (I want to say 92). The problem is that the mall is located on swamp land and parts of the mall began to sink after reopening. During heavy summer rains the roofs would leak in the hallway and rainwater would pool on the carpets because the building got more and more unlevel as the years went by. I heard before it was a mall it was a supermarket back in the 70's. I believe it closed because the building was condemned due to safety.

chris’s Commentary:

User submitted May 2008

I
USED TO LIVE NEAR THERE, AND A SISTER IN LAW WAS MANAGER OF ONE OF THE
STORES, THIS WAS LIKE IN 90 OR 91. THE ROOF LEAKED, AND THE OWNER WAS A
SLUMLORD SO THE ANCHOR STORES PULLED OUT, AND IT THEN BECAME AN OUTLET
MALL.
THEN, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT DUE TO YEARS OF MISUSE, AND THE
FACT THAT IT WAS BUILT ON A SWAMP, THERE WAS A SEVERE MOLD PROBLEM, AND
A CERTAIN SINKING OF THE BUILDING ITSELF. IT WAS CLOSED, AND OF COURSE
THERE WAS TALK FOR AWHILE OF THIS ONE OR THAT ONE PLANNING TO DO
SOMETHING THERE, BUT LIKE ALL THINGS IN SULLIVAN COUNTY, IT NEVER
HAPPENED. I AM AFRAID THE APOLLO IS GONE FOR GOOD. BEEN CLOSED FOR AT
LEAST 8 YRS NOW.

Steve Silverman’s Commentary:

User submitted Mar 2008

I was very young when the original Monteco Mall was built, but my best guess would be that it opened in the very early part of the 1970's, possibly 1971 or 1972. It was anchored by two stores at either end of the mall, with a glass- enclosed strip mall between them.

The two anchor stores did not last long. If my memory is correct, the department store at the left end of the mall was originally called Stars, but was renamed Whites before going out of business. The other end of the mall had a Waldbaums supermarket, which lasted a few years, but eventually closed. The strip mall between them was never fully rented at any point, but did have a pizza restaurant, an ice cream parlor, a gift ship and a few other local stores. There were three entrances into the enclosed mall. The central entrance faced a short corridor that led to the back of the mall which had a barber shop and a beauty salon.

There were also two smaller buildings built at the front of the parking lot near the entrance off of Broadway. The building to the right had a Jerry Lewis Twin Cinema. Banker's Trust occupied the brick building in the center.

The mall was never able to rent either of the two anchor stores again and the remainder of the smaller stores eventually closed. The mall was boarded up for a number of years until it reopened in 1983 as Apollo Plaza. Apollo was a factory outlet mall and had about 40 stores at its peak (nearly fully occupied), which included Van Heusen, American Tourister, Corning, Bass, and other big brand names. Little money was ever invested into maintaining the mall, so the Village of Monticello condemned it and ordered it closed on January 15, 2004. At the time that it closed, only eight stores remained.

While many plans have been proposed for the mall over the years, it suffers from two major obstacles. The first is that the county landfill is located right behind it and the smell constantly permeated into the mall. Second, while it is only yards from a major highway (Route 17), the state never built an exit for traffic headed east (toward NYC). They are supposedly building the proposed exit within the next couple of years, which could make the property more valuable.

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