CORTLANDVILLE MALL (NOW CORTLANDVILLE CROSSING): CORTLAND, NY
Peter Fleszar's Commentary
Posted May 3, 2011 (user submitted November 24, 2008)
I grew up in Cortland, NY, a mile from the Cortlandville Mall. As I recall it was a Pyramid property and opened before the Pyramid Mall in Ithaca.
There were about twelve stores between the anchors. The anchors were Grants and Chappell's. There was also an outparcel that had a Sears catalog store and a Loblaws grocery store. The Loblaws became a Price Chopper then closed, remaining vacant for quite some time. Grants became K mart in the late 1970's, and the Big Kmart is still there.
Inside the mall was an arcade, a hair salon "King's Den" where my hair was cut for years, The Optical Barr where I got many successive pairs of eyeglasses, The Addis Co. which became Flahs and closed, an arcade, a Rite Aid, and a few others of even less interest to a little kid.
As I recall the King's Den was the last to go of the stores between the anchors.
In the early 90's it was converted into a strip center, Cortlandville Crossings, with minimal change in exterior decor. RadioShack went in to the old main entranceway and retains the old doors and high 1970's facade. Chappell's lasted to be taken over by Bon-Ton which lasted for one Christmas then closed. Price Chopper then returned to the anchor end of the old mall. Tractor Supply now occupies the old Loblaws/Price Chopper outparcel.
I wish I knew what happened to the old hard bean chair/planters in screaming 70's colors that lasted in place until the enclosed corridor disappeared. We used to say in the early 90's that Cortland was the only town that killed a mall until the huge implosion of Syracuse malls.
Chris Whittaker's Commentary
Posted May 3, 2011 (user submitted October 13, 2003)
The Cortlandville Mall was a smallish mall located in the town of Cortlandville, just southwest of Cortland NY. The Mall opened sometime around the late 60's-early 70's with a Chappells and a Grants as its anchors, with about 30 stores in between. However, due to the building of the Pyramid Mall in Ithaca, combined with the growth of the malls in Syracuse, as well as the closing of the Smith Corona plant across the street form the mall location, by the early 80's the main building consisted of a K-Mart, the Chappells, and a small video arcade that wet out of business after about 4 years. The outparcels managed to survive, however, with a Golden Skillet replacing the Sambos in the parking lot, and the bank buildings still surviving.
In 1991, this mall was converted into a strip center, Cortlandville Crossing, adding the JC Penneys that was located downtown, having the Chappels become a Bon-Ton and eventually adding A Price Chopper. Somehow, the K-Mart has survived even though a Wal-Mart was built adjacent to this location.