Washington Square Mall

Story

Washington Square Mall is a shopping mall located in Evansville, Indiana, United States. It opened October 31, 1963 and was the first enclosed shopping center in Indiana. Developed by Erie Investments, the mall was originally anchored by Sears and an A & P supermarket. Louisville-based Stewart Dry Goods was added, as a second anchor department store, in 1969. This store -as well as the entire chain- was merged with Indianapolis' L. S. Ayres chain in 1980.After the larger Eastland Mall opened in 1982, Washington Square struggled to retain stores. In 1987 the mall was remodeled and expanded to help it compete with the newer mall. The expansion was initially successful and the mall was sold a few years later to Facet Financial.Facing even more department store consolidation, L. S. Ayres closed in January 1992. The location was converted into a Dayton, Ohio-based Elder-Beerman, which held its grand opening in October 1993. This store was shuttered in December 2000. As a result, vacancy rates at the mall climbed, with much business being lost to Eastland Mall. In 2002, the struggling Washington Square Mall was sold to local real estate developer Gene Hahn.A portion of the former Elder-Beerman store was home to a Values Unlimited discount mart between October 2004 and March 2007. In July 2010, Merchants Outlet Mall opened, utilizing all of the 2-level store space, until its two-year lease expired in 2012.