Opened just a few years earlier, Crossroads Plaza in 1985 represented a new vision for downtown Salt Lake City. Rather than a conventional suburban shopping mall, it stacked more than 140 stores, restaurants, entertainment venues, and even a sports complex across four levels in the heart of the city. This 1985 directory captures the center during its busiest years, when Nordstrom and Weinstock's anchored one of downtown's most ambitious retail destinations.
Front cover
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| Front cover of the 1985 Crossroads Plaza directory. |
Mall map & directory
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| Mall map and store directory from Crossroads Plaza, 1985. |
Fast facts
- Date: 1985
- Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
- Anchors: Nordstrom and Weinstock's
- Stores and services: Approximately 140
- Layout: Four levels
- Source: Contemporary mall directory
Highlights
- Documents Crossroads Plaza during its peak years in downtown Salt Lake City.
- Shows more than 140 stores arranged across four retail levels.
- Includes anchors Nordstrom and Weinstock's, plus three movie theaters and the Sports Mall Metro.
- Preserves the maze-like Richards Street Marketplace with its restaurants and specialty shops.
- Captures a downtown mall that was later demolished and replaced by City Creek Center in the late 2000s.
About this directory
Published in 1985, this directory showcases Crossroads Plaza as one of downtown Salt Lake City's premier shopping destinations. Located across from Temple Square, the four-level mall combined national retailers, local boutiques, restaurants, entertainment, and office space into a single vertical complex. The directory promotes more than 140 stores, convenient hotel access via the adjoining Marriott, free validated parking, and amenities ranging from movie theaters to the rooftop Sports Mall Metro. It also reflects the optimism surrounding the redevelopment of downtown that defined the project during its early years.
Stores you’ll remember
The directory includes many retailers that were once familiar sights in Salt Lake City:
- Crabtree & Evelyn
- Chess King
- Crossroads Cinema
- Fannie Burnsides
- Jarman Shoes
- Jeans West
- Prints Unlimited
- Radio Shack
- Sports Mall Metro
- Sunset Sports Center
- Susie's Casuals
- The Game Keeper
- The Music Box
- The Record Shop
- The Towne Friar Gifts
- The Wicker Jabberwocky
- Video Concepts
- Waldenbooks
Food & dining
Popular dining options listed in the directory include:
- Bagel Bay
- Dask's Greek to Me
- Lotsa Hotsa Pasta
- Lotsa Hotsa Pizza
- Molly's Cafe
- Orange Julius
- Richard's Street Eatery
- Sardini's
What stands out
Crossroads Plaza feels very different from most enclosed malls of the 1980s. Instead of long, predictable corridors, the lower Richards Street Marketplace twists through a network of restaurants, boutiques, and small specialty shops that rewarded exploration. Wayfinding wasn't always easy, but that was part of the appeal—every turn seemed to reveal another hidden storefront. The layout felt more like a European bazaar than a typical American shopping mall.
Compared with neighboring ZCMI Center, Crossroads Plaza was the livelier and more energetic of the two downtown malls. Although the directory advertises more than 140 stores, the floor plan suggests space for considerably more, and from my visits I remember the mall rarely feeling completely leased. Even so, its unusual layout, dramatic central atrium, and diverse mix of retailers made it one of downtown Salt Lake City's most memorable shopping destinations before it was demolished to make way for City Creek Center.
Collection
Historic shopping mall directories preserving the retail history of shopping centers through their stores, layouts, and services.
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