Remember the Norco Mall?

by Lesley Misko

Remember Norco Mall? 

If so, you were living in this area from October 1967 to 1974 when "the mall" was nothing more than an outdoor strip of stores, including Sears, Britt’s Department Store, Thrift Drug, and 13 smaller stores. 

Though this group of stores that could only be accessed from the outdoors did not officially become "a mall" until the stores were enclosed in 1974, from the beginning, Norco Mall was destined to change the nature of life in small local towns like Boyertown. The mall became a retail and entertainment destination, a central place where people could get everything they needed without struggling with weather elements or inadequate  parking. It was also a place where friends could meet to socialize.

The result was that downtown areas were negatively affected. Robert J Gibbs, author of Principles of Urban Retail Planning and Development, points out that "malls were disastrous for the main streets and urban centers once found at the heart of local communities."

 "The first generation of malls built in the mid-1950s to mid-1960s devastated small towns," he explains.  “They pulled out the department stores from the city centres and shifted the centre of commerce from downtown to the mall. Most of the downtowns then struggled for about 25 to 30 years. The effect was devastating." 

In Boyertown, the toy store closed, the department store closed, the grocery store closed, ... and so many others. It is only in recent years that visionary individuals and groups like Building a Better Boyertown have begun to rebuild the town and showcase its unique aspects, making it a destination once again. 

Ironically, as the town's future is thriving, the mall is struggling, trying to find new purpose.  Recently, a digital news service called NewsBreak published an interesting story by Spencer Walsh, about the history, development, and evolution of the Coventry Mall. We think old-timers would enjoy revisiting this history and younger folks would enjoy learning about it, so we invite you to access the story by clicking here.*/**

* The NewsBreak site interrupts articles with lots of photos and ads, just keep scrolling to keep reading.  

** While we are sharing this story because it is about something that has local impact, and it is well-researched and interesting, if you regularly read Newbreak, we hope you will read this other article about NewsBreak by clicking here.. It was recently published by well-respected news source Reuters.

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