The mall opened on October 11, 1961, as the Cherry Hill Shopping Center, designed by architect Victor Gruen and built and managed by The Rouse Company. It was the first indoor, climate-controlled shopping center east of the Mississippi River in the United States. Rouse sold its shopping center portfolio to PREIT in 2003. The mall has a gross leasable area of 1,248,347 square feet (115,975.2 m2),[1] placing it in the top ten among the largest shopping malls in New Jersey. It is currently anchored by JCPenney, Macy's, and Nordstrom.
The farm that was near the site of the Cherry Hill Mall is widely held to be the source of the 1962 renaming of what had been called Delaware Township to its current name of Cherry Hill Township. The town was named Cherry Hill in a voter referendum due to the development of a new U.S. Postal Service office for the region, and historical ties to Cherry Hill Farm, which once occupied land opposite the current mall site, and various locations named for the farm, including the Cherry Hill Estates housing development and the Cherry Hill Inn.[2]
History
Cherry Hill Mall from Macy's
The Cherry Hill Mall opened on October 11, 1961, on the former site of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) George Jaus farm.[3] It was designed by Victor Gruen and built and managed by The Rouse Company[4] at a cost of $30 million (equivalent to $306 million in 2023).[5] Upon opening, it was the largest mall in the nation and is commonly referred to as the first enclosed and climate-controlled mall in the Eastern United States.[3][6][7] The mall featured 90 stores, exotic birds, tropical plants, fountains and a movie theater.[6]
The mall layout was unique for the time. Unlike the dumbbell malls of the time, the mall started from the east anchor, Bamberger's, with a large "Delaware Mall" concourse to the west of it. About halfway along this concourse was an exit way that led back to a twin movie theatre and a children's amusement park with six rides and a mini roller coaster with a giant arcade. The center of the mall featured Cherry Court, a court with high ceilings, more tropical plants, fountains, parrots, plus a staircase leading directly to the second floor into Strawbridge & Clothier. The northern wing featured the "Market Court", Food Fair, and Thrift Drug. There were also a Kresge's, Woolworth's, and two liquor stores.[8]
The mall changed through the years; 1973 brought a detached nine-story office tower. In 1977, a new two-story wing was built in the north part of the mall, following the closure and demolition of Pantry Pride and the Market Court. This wing was anchored by JCPenney. The 1990s brought more change to the mall, with the mall being remodeled once more, featuring a teal/gray color scheme and skylights. The mall received different fountains and the ornate Strawbridge's staircase was replaced with a simple escalator/stairs combination. By 1997, two distinct parts of the mall had formed: an upscale wing near Macy's featuring Banana Republic and Victoria's Secret, while the JCPenney wing featured General Nutrition Centers and several urban shops. In 2003, the mall was sold to PREIT.[9]
PREIT renovation and expansion
The One Cherry Hill office building adjacent to the mall
Under PREIT's ownership, Old Navy moved in early on, but the company had bigger plans for the mall. From the period of 2007 to 2009, the mall underwent a massive $220 million renovation that saw 228,000 square feet (21,200 m2) of new retail added.[10] Jim Ryan and his team at JPRA Architects were brought in to create the mall’s new design.[9] Following Strawbridge's closure after the Macy's takeover, the store was razed and backfilled[11] to make way for the new Grand Court featuring 140,000 square feet (13,000 m2) of new retail, along with a new 138,000 sq ft. Nordstrom anchor store which opened on March 27, 2009.[7]Additionally, the mall added several exterior-facing restaurants in a new section known as Bistro Row. A large-scale entrance to an H&M store to the frontage of Route 38 was also added, while the food court was also moved to the JCPenney wing, in a much smaller configuration than the mall's original food court but now features many eateries. The mall also added The Container Store and Crate & Barrel as outparcel retailers outside the mall's parking lot. Additionally, a three-story parking garage was constructed, while the whole mall was redesigned with a contemporary marble-and-wood color scheme. The new changes created a new tenant mix similar to King of Prussia. The mall today consists of many upscale stores in a newly renovated interior and exterior. Cherry Hill Mall has completely changed its entire exterior and interior, bringing many high-end stores, new restaurants, and a revitalizing theme running throughout the center.[citation needed]
In December 2022, the Cherry Hill Police Department banned shoppers under the age of eighteen from entering the Cherry Hill Mall unaccompanied between the hours of 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. during the last week of December; this was in response to a series of fights that occurred at the mall five years earlier.[12]
^"Cherry Hill Mall celebrates 50 years", Cherry Hill News, October 11, 2011. Accessed March 15, 2022. "'As sentiment for a post office grew along with the population, township officials realized that it could not have a post office with Delaware Township in the name because a Delaware Township post office already existed in North Jersey,' Mangiafico and Mathis wrote. Residents suggested 'Moriville' as the new name for the township in honor of Mori, but Abraham Browning’s farm near the Cherry Hill Inn and Cherry Hill Estates had increasing appeal in the neighborhood. His farm, Mangiafico said, had Cherry trees, which inspired the name of the neighborhood.... The 15-acre mall, located on the former George Jaus farm, had opened just weeks before the official name change, already bearing the new name."
^"Police: Shoppers under 18 banned from Cherry Hill Mall for last week of the year", News 12 New Jersey,December 29, 2022. Accessed January 4, 2023. "Shoppers under 18 are now banned from the Cherry Hill Mall without a parent or adult during the last week of the year.... This came about after an incident at the mall in 2017 that started at JC Penney. Police encountered 700 to 1,000 teens who converged on the mall. Several fights broke out, and five people were arrested."
