COLUMBUS SQUARE MALL: COLUMBUS, GA
Eric Hopp's Commentary
Posted September 3, 2006 (user submitted February 7, 2006)
This was the first mall in Columbus Georgia located off of Macon Road in
Columbus. It was located approximately three miles from downtown Columbus and
as built in 1965.
The mall was a landmark and a focal point for the Columbus Georgia area with
Fort Benning being close by. Sears and J.C. Penney were the main anchor
stores. I know it was quite popular in 1967/68 due to my mother telling me
that my grandmother walked her around the mall when she was in labor with me
and it was quite crowded. The demise probably began with the opening and
success of Peachtree Mall a few miles away in the 1970's. This I feel was the
main reason the mall failed, but some argue that Columbus Square's location
near the poorer area of town contributed to the closing as well.
In the 1990's Columbus Square Mall became a "ghost mall" so to speak. Even new
ownership couldn't help the mall and by 1995 things were looking very bad:
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (GA) - December 27, 1995 - A1 FRONT
MORE BAD NEWS FOR MALL
Six stores will close at Columbus Square Mall in the next month, leaving only
18 of its 63 storefronts occupied The Christmas jingle ``It's the most
wonderful time of the year'' still broadcast over Columbus Square Mall's
loudspeakers Tuesday. But the cheery tune couldn't belie that the holiday
shopping season dealt a harsh blow to the ailing shopping center, where six
stores will close in the next month.
This same year J.C. Penney also relocated to the more prosperous Peachtree Mall
as well.
The following year signaled the end:
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (GA) - November 17, 1996 - B1 LOCAL
COLUMBUS SQUARE FLOUNDERING WITHOUT FOCUS
Vacant store after vacant store killing traffic; retailers unsure of mall's
future. It doesn't take long to count the number of stores in Columbus Square
Mall that are still open. More than 70 percent of some 60 spaces at the
500,000-square-foot Macon Road mall are vacant, and only two stores along the
mall's front -- Sears and a pool and spa store -- remain open. Last week, the
mall suffered yet another blow when Hooters of America closed its doors.
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Finally in 2001 the mall closed with Sears departing to the new outdoor "mall"
in north Columbus. The city purchased the mall and shortly afterward it was
torn down. In it's place a new libary will be built.