christiana-mall

Christiana Mall

Constructed in 1978, The Christiana Mall was altered and expanded over the years but nothing as significant as the razing of one of its ‘anchors’ – the Strawbridge & Clothier Department Store.

Founded by two Quakers in Philadelphia in 1862, the stores survived until 1996 when they were purchased by May Department Stores Company and changed the name to Strawbridge’s. Following that, in 2006, May changed the name to Macy’s and since Macy’s was already located in Christiana, the store was closed and sold. The new owners plan to demolish the building and construct a Nordstrom Store and expand to include additional mall space with an opening date in 2011.

Two other Strawbridge & Clothier stores in Wilmington did not survive either. The first store was built in the 1950s around the same time as the John Wanamaker store on the Augustine Cut-Off. It was located in the Merchandise Mart north of the city. That store was closed in the 1980s when a store opened in the Concord Mall. The Mart store still stands vacant in the now Merchants Square and the Concord store is now Macy’s.

We will cover in pictures the demolishing of the Christiana store and continue to monitor the vacant Square store.

The vacant Strawbridge's store in the Merchant Square, November 2005

The corner stone and clock tower of the Christiana Mall store, 2007

August, 2007

Demolishing began December, 2007