Goodbye Randhurst Part Two

A short history of Randhurst from Wikipedia.

Randhurst opened in 1962 and got its name from two of the roads that border it: Rand Road (US-12) and Elmhurst Road (Il-83). It is in Mt. Prospect, Illinois.

The original owner was Randhurst Corporation, a part of Carson Pirie Scott & Co. It was the first regional mall in Chicagoland and at one time had the largest enclosed air conditioned space in the United States.

It was designed by noted mall pioneer Victor Gruen. Instead of the standard malls at the time which had a long line of stores anchored by two major ones, Gruen designed his as an equilateral triangle with a major department store at each corner. There was a domed area over a center and stores along the sides of the triangle. Plus, there was a domed area directly over the center. Below it, there was a group of stores a half floor down.

It was built at the during the Cold War and had a fallout shelter below ground big enough to hold the entire population of Mount Prospect.

In 1962, the 1 million square foot mall opened with Wieboldt's, Carson Pirie Scott, and the Fair stores as the major stores. Other stores were Baskins, Charles A Stevens, and Woolworth's. In 1965, Montgomery Ward bought the Fair Store. In 1985, the upper floor offices were converted into a food court. It now has a beautiful merry-go-round as well.

Information from Wikipedia.

Saying Goodbye to a Great Place. --RoadDog