Richmond Town Square
Built in September 1966, the Richmond Town Square was once the largest enclosed mall. It featured over 90 stores within its first few years include Richman Brothers, now Hugo Boss. We did an article on their factory in Cleveland. This record did not last long though, Randall Park Mall, only a few miles south opened in 1976. Randall Park Mall held the record until the Mall of America was built.
Richmond Town Square continued to thrive until the late 80’s. By 1998, the mall was in need of a serious remodel. At this point, the name replaced “Mall” with “Town Square”. This didn’t save the mall however. Year after year, more stores left. The anchors stores, once held by Kaufmanns, Macys and Sears all closed, one by one. By the time Covid-19 hit, only 3 stores remained, Planet Fitness, Regal Cinemas, and Barnes and Noble.
In May 2021, the mall closed for good, same two stores. Plans were announced to demolish the building in 2021 and to build upscale apartments and hotels on the site. As of July 2022, the building still stands. The movie Theater and Planet fitness both closed in the early parts of 2022. Now that no open stores remain, the mall that has been largely abandoned for a decade, is likely to be torn down in the very near future.
