Lewis County Mall, Chehalis, WA
Posted: 11 Mar 2018 23:05
I recently stopped at the closing Sears in Chehalis, WA and took a walk through this mall. There isn't much of anything left as far as retail in the mall as it is mostly offices now. It won't really qualify as a mall any more when Sears is gone.
I am curious about the history of the mall. I know that the other end has a theater (does not open into the mall) which started life as PayLess Drug, then briefly was a Rite Aid until they built a new store just down the road, and JCPenney at one time had a unique store which was basically split in two by the mall corridor. It closed a long time ago. Not sure what else was in the mall as far as chain stores. But it is on the small side.
My guess is that it was built in the late 1960s or early 1970s. It is more of a neighborhood type of mall than a regional mall. I got the impression that it probably struggled since day one, and am honestly surprised Sears stayed open this long.
One oddity is that there are NO outbuildings of any kind on the mall property.
Yard Birds is practically next door, and this could have had an impact on the mall, but Yard Birds is becoming more run down looking and is mostly a flea market these days. The grocery store there closed within the past year.
I am curious about the history of the mall. I know that the other end has a theater (does not open into the mall) which started life as PayLess Drug, then briefly was a Rite Aid until they built a new store just down the road, and JCPenney at one time had a unique store which was basically split in two by the mall corridor. It closed a long time ago. Not sure what else was in the mall as far as chain stores. But it is on the small side.
My guess is that it was built in the late 1960s or early 1970s. It is more of a neighborhood type of mall than a regional mall. I got the impression that it probably struggled since day one, and am honestly surprised Sears stayed open this long.
One oddity is that there are NO outbuildings of any kind on the mall property.
Yard Birds is practically next door, and this could have had an impact on the mall, but Yard Birds is becoming more run down looking and is mostly a flea market these days. The grocery store there closed within the past year.