The pictures are a scan of the directory I picked up in 1989. Being a Taubman mall, you can spot many of the hallmarks, such as lights in the skylights and unique art. On one side, you can make out Miller's Outpost and on the other, Miller Stockman.
The directory is before Sears joined the mall, which included the addition of a food court. Rare indeed for Taubman.
A unique service offered by the mall in 1989 is language assistance in Icelandic. Not many malls go to such lengths to welcome visitors from Iceland (or perhaps, Manitoba?).
Meadowood Mall opened in 1978 with Macy's, Liberty House, and JC Penney. Liberty House closed in 1983 and Macy's South moved in the following year. Sears eventually left the soon to be demolished Park Lane Mall for Meadowood in the Nineties and the rest is history.
The Summit Sierra shopping center is currently competing with Meadowood for top-spot. The Summit Sierra has only one department store (Dillard's) and is an open-air power center. Walking from store to store isn't an option and you must drive. However, being new, The Summit Sierra is currently very popular. Nevertheless, it's the test of time that will eventually tell. Enclosed mall vs. power center. Who do you think will win?
Comments
I think you are right about the 45 degree angles. Even the logo has it!
Maybe some Reno-ites can chime in.
Scott
Granted, I don't know the Reno market, but considering the tenants Sierra got, you'd at least have expected an outdoor format like Santana Row or Victoria Gardens in Southern Calif. But the fact that it's not indoor truly tells the tale.
Perhaps if Sierra had gotten a Macys or Nordstrom to come on board it would have been different. Problem is, there just aren't that many big anchors left. And aside from Dillards, their other anchors are quite comfortable with the strip/big box format. And as long as it was upscale, the smaller retaiers didn't care. Had it been anchored by a Wal Mart, I doubt stores like Abercrombie would have gone near it.
Years from now you could concievably put more buildings in front and convert it to a traditional outdoor mall, but I don't see it ever going indoor.
As for Meadowood, I'm surprised Weinstocks never went there and had Reno been a bigger market, we might have seen it happen. But with Sears as a co-anchor, Park Lane probably did quite well for Weinstocks until the end.
The mall is not multi-story. The elevation varies inside with short ramps and flights of stairs typically three or four steps in total. As someone else said, it was built on a sloping lot.
As far as its appearance, the original outdoor signs are still on at least one street entrance (the font is very 80's) and the inside still looks the same as it does in the scans you see on this page. The only obvious exception if you were to visit today is that the sculpture in the planter pictured on the front of the directory flier was converted into a fountain. Ultimately it was moved to a location near the information desk because its original planter/fountain location was demolished and replaced with a Starbucks a few years back. I was rather disappointed with that decision, but at least they didn't trash the sculpture. The "stage" area was flattened out with risers to eliminate the pit area (kids falling off it perhaps?), but it wasn't filled in and it's still under there.
Other than the Starbucks, all of the planters are still in place, the light fixtures are the same, and the floor still has the same tile. Today Meadowood owned by Simon Malls.
Meadowood is the only mall of its type left in the city. Park Lane mall was demolished. Sparks has the more promising Legends compared to Reno's Summit, in my opinion. The Legends incorporates a lot of Nevada history and sculptures into its walking areas, and it's basically laid out like Meadowood except without a roof. Legends is also bringing the area's first and only IMAX theater, and it's a much shorter drive than Summit.
A memory by
Darrell in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada who lives ten blocks from North Americas largest mall. West Edmonton Mall
The mall has begun a massive renovation that will bring in new, upscale tenants and involve several store relocations. I'm working on updating the Mall's Wikipedia page as info becomes available.