Hillside Center, Hillside, Illinois.

Hillside Center

Chicagoland's fourth shopping mall was built on a 63-acre site 15 miles west of downtown Chicago in suburban Hillside. The ground was broken for Hillside Center in April 1955. The 428,000-square-foot, open-air complex was designed by Chicago's Bruce A. Gordon & Company and Welton Becket & Associates of Los Angles, California. It was developed by Hubert E. Howard, Senior, Hubert E. Howard, Junior and Chicago-based Carson Pirie Scott & Co.

A 1-level (72,000 square foot) Chicago-based Goldblatt Brothers store opened for business on September 26, 1956.

Hillside Center Map 1956

The mall, and an initial thirty stores, were officially dedicated on October 3, 1956. Carson Pirie Scott's 3-level (125,000 square foot) unit was dedicated, along with six inline stores, on October 25. The store opened with a grand celebration. The Scots Kiltie Band played bagpipe music, accompanied by six folk dancers and Tartan-clad lassies. Hubert E. Howard, Senior and Junior, John T. Pirie, Junior and Michael Yundt (Hillside Village President) attended the grand opening festivities.

Hillside Center Map 1957

By late 1958, fifty-eight stores and services were in operation. These included Bond Clothes, Fabric Fair, Kinney Shoes, Thom McAn Shoes, Karroll's Mens Wear Shop, Burny Brothers Bakery, Hillside Center Barber Shop, a Slenderella Figure Salon and F.W. Woolworth 5 & Dime.

An out-parcel structure in the northwest parking area housed Kroger (21,000 sq. ft.) and Strickland (72,000 sq. ft.) supermarkets which opened in September 1956.

Illustration of the Hillside Center Kroger Supermarket.

The Brotman & Sherman Hillside Theatre was built on a pad across Harrison Street from the mall. The single-screen venue opened on July 13, 1962, with the first feature film being The Music Man. 

Architectural sketch of the exterior of the Hillside Theatre in 1962.

The theater was split into two, then three screens before being shuttered in late 2000.

Meanwhile, the mall had been sold to the Greenfield Real Estate Investment Trust in the mid-1960s. They initiated a $600,000 remodeling. Goldblatt's was expanded by 30,000 square feet, and the mall concourse and entryways were enclosed and climate-controlled.

By the mid-1960, Hillside Center's popularity began toppling because of the nearby Yorktown Center and Oakbrook Center malls. A $600,000 renovation was completed in August 1967, with all courts and concourses enclosed and climate-controlled.

A re-dedication ceremony was held on August 17, 1967.

Hillside Center Map 1967

The complex now incorporated approximately 471,000 leasable square feet. Among sixty stores and services were Fannie May Candies, Sun Drug, Parklane Hosiery, Lyon & Healy Music, Armand's restaurant, Candies From Around The World and the Household Finance Corporation.

Unfortunately for Hillside Center, newer, larger, and more expensive shopping malls proliferated in its trade area. Oakbrook Center, 3 miles southwest in Oak Brook, had opened in 1962. This was followed by Yorktown Center (1968), 6 miles southwest, in Lombard, North Riverside Park Mall (1976), 5 miles southeast, in North Riverside, and The Brickyard (1977), 7 miles northeast, in Chicago.

An interior facelift was given to Hillside Center in 1977, but this failed to stave off the mall's eventual decline. It was sold to Unicorp American Corporation of New York City in 1981. By this time, the center was in dire straits. A third remodeling, envisaged by the Chicago Design Group, was performed between May and November of 1983.

Hillside Center Map 1983

Center Court ceilings were replaced as part of this $3 million project. The Oasis Food Court was set up in vacant store space beneath a newly-installed arched skylight. Eateries in the food facility included Dog Patch hot dogs, Mazzone's, B.G. Burgers and 1 Potato 2 Potato. On the outside of the shopping venue, a grid of tubular framework topped a newly-built Main Entrance. The exterior was also covered in a light concrete finish. Lastly, the official name of the complex was changed to Hillside Mall.

Goldblatt's closed on January 1, 1982, and was replaced by Zayre in November 1982. This store was rebranded, as a Rocky Hill, Connecticut-based Ames, in October 1989. It closed for good in 1990.

The mall's downward spiral continued into the new decade. It was purchased by Northbrook-based New Castle Partners in January 1992. They decided to reposition the complex as a value-oriented shopping hub, changing its name to "West Point Center" in February. Chicago's Green Hiltscher & Shapiro firm was hired to redesign the facility.

A third Hillside Center remodeling was done in 1992, with the mall's official name being changed again to West Point Center. Menards Home Improvement also replaced the vacant Goldblatt's, former Zayre and Ames stores.

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West Point is a neighborhood in Hillside, Illinois, named  when it was platted in 1893. It was named after the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York (est. July 4, 1802). The name was changed to "West Point Center" in 1923. 

By 1996, the 40-year-old West Point Center was virtually vacant. It was razed in 1997, leaving Menards standing. Newly-recruited inline stores included The Book Market Inc. and Gifts For Success Outlet. 

The Village of Hillside demolished Carson's and the remainder of the mall proper. The old supermarket building and Menard's were left standing. 

Unfortunately, the remarketing of the mall was unsuccessful. After the shuttering of Carson's in mid-1997, the end was at hand. The Village of Hillside and Richmond, Virginia-based CarMax devised a de-malling plan.

Eventually, CarMax opened in 1999 on the 20-acre Carson's site, aided by a Tax Increment Financing arrangement with the Village of Hillside.

In 2010, West Point Center housed thirteen store spaces besides CarMax and Menards, Harlem Furniture, Allstate Insurance, Ideal Home Mortgage, Hillside Currency Exchange and an out-parcel CIB Bank.

In 2012, Menards closed and was demolished shortly after that, eliminating the last original building that was part of the Hillside 'Shopping' Center. This caused the property owners to place a 13-acre section, not including CarMax, on the open market.

Hillside Town Center

The Hillside Town Center, located at 30 South Mannheim Road in Hillside, Illinois, opened on May 17, 2010. It's a 36-acre retail development situated immediately southwest of Mannheim Road, Eisenhower Expressway (I-290) interchange.

Hillside Town Center 2018

The Hillside Town Center includes a Super Target, Michaels, Petco, HomeGoods, Ross Dress for Less, and Krispy Kreme.

Krispy Kreme, Hillside Town Center, 110 South Mannheim Road, Hillside, Illinois.

The center is also home to several smaller retailers, restaurants, and service businesses. The Hillside Town Center development includes 1,568 new parking spaces and new entrances off local and state routes for a new hotel and 21 new retail stores.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Hillside Town Center, 200 South Mannheim Road, Hillside, Illinois, opened in 2004.

It's a reminder of the changing retail landscape in the Chicago area. As shopping habits have changed, so too have the types of shopping centers built. The first Hillside Center was once a popular destination for shoppers but could not compete with the newer, giant malls.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.