Thomas Mall Shopping Center

Location: E. Thomas Rd. & North 44th St.

Architects:

Copeland, Novak & Israel, Architects. 744 Lexington Avenue, New York City, New York.  

Guy Greene, Landscape Architect. Phoenix, Arizona

Moote, Kempa & Galloway, Inc. Civil Engineers. Phoenix, Arizona

Frank Foltz & Associates, Structural Engineers. Phoenix, Arizona

Sidney W. Barnabel, Mechanical & Electrical Engineer. Long Island City, New York

John Schotanus, Jr., Associate Architect. Phoenix, Arizona

Allan Grossman, Associate Architect. New York City, New York

Job/Commission Number: Job 796 (written very small on 1st sheet E101 only).

Drawings: 28 Sheets--28"L x 43"W. Note: Drawings 1 - 3 are Architectural. Drawings 4 - 28 are Structural.

Condition Report:

Historical Note: Phoenix's second interior mall was completed in 1963. Built on a 55.7 acre plot, 8.9 miles northeast of the Arizona State Capitol, Thomas Mall was anchored by Montgomery Ward and Phoenix-based Diamonds. The original center also featured a J.G. McCrory 5 and 10, Lucky Stores (later Fry's) supermarket, Piccadilly Cafeteria, Revco Drug, Zale's Jewelers and The Photo Shop. The mallway-connected Thomas Mall Theatre was added in 1967. It was a twinplex by the mid-1970s. Competing shopping centers included Biltmore Fashion Park (also opened in 1963) and Tower Plaza Mall (1967). By the mid-1980s, Phoenix had 15 major malls dotting its periphery. Thomas Mall--one of the smaller and more dated of these--could not compete. Its Diamond's, which had been rebranded by Dillard's in 1984, closed in 1987, followed by Montgomery Ward. The mall's proprieter, Vienna, Virginia-based Gosnell Properties, considered redeveloping the center in Camelhead, a 4-anchor, mixed-use facility. However, an economic downturn in the late 1980s resulted in abandonment of the plan. The property went into foreclosure. In came Scottsdale, Arizona's Brown Group, with a new redevelopment scenario. The entire complex, save for its freestanding Ward's Auto Center, was leveled in 1993. A new, open-air power center, Arcadia Crossing, was completed in 1995. The present-day 625,000 square foot complex is operated by Scottsdale, Arizona-based Arcadia Crossing, LLC. Anchors are Target, Costco, Ross Dress for Less, Petco and Fry's Supermarket. (This information is from the Mall Hall of Fame website. http://mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com/2007/09/thomas-mall-east-thomas-road-and-north.html)