Lakehurst Mall, Waukegan, Illinois.

The first regional-class shopping mall in Greater Chicago's Lake County was built on 80 acres, 43 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Planning for Lakehurst Mall got underway in late 1968 when the land was acquired. The City of Waukegan soon annexed the property.

Construction on the bi-level complex began in September 1969. Victor Gruen Associates of Los Angeles were assisted by New York City's Sidney H. Morris & Associates firm. Victor Gruen did not have any input in the design of the project. The shopping center was developed by a joint venture of Carson Pirie Scott & Company, Wieboldt Stores and Chicago's Arthur Rubloff, who had built Chicago's Evergreen Plaza Mall in the early 1950s.

Lakehurst Mall opened with 65 stores and services on August 19, 1971.

The mall would eventually house 120. The Mayor of Waukegan, Robert Sabonjian and Pamela Eldred, "Miss America 1970," attended the grand opening celebration.

In 1971, Lakehurst Mall spanned 1.1 million leasable square feet and housed 120 stores and services when fully leased. Parking areas, color-coded as either red, orange, blue or green, accommodated 6,000 autos. Although a Southwest Wing of stores, including a fourth anchor store, was planned, it was never built.

The complex spanned nearly 1.2 million leasable square feet and was anchored by a 3-level (226,000 sq. ft.), Chicago-based Carson Pirie Scott & Co. In a 2-level (191,800 sq. ft.), Chicago-based Wieboldt's, and 2-level (173,800 sq. ft.) JCPenney. 

Stores included Globe Apparel, Chess King, Foxmoor Casuals, Charles A Stevens, J. Riggings Men's Wear, Bresler's 33 Flavors Ice Cream, Orange Julius, Hickory Farms, Singer Sewing Center, Camelot Music, B. Dalton Bookseller and Waldenbooks. An out-parcel Convenience Center was located west of the mall proper. It included a (43,000 sq. ft.) Jewel Foods supermarket, Osco Drug, Lakehurst Liquors, Lakehurst Car Wash and Ace Hardware.

Belvidere Mall (1965) was the nearest major shopping hub, 2 miles northeast of Waukegan. At 300,000 square feet, it was dwarfed by Lakehurst, which was four times its size. Ultimately, Belvidere Mall survived long enough to eclipse its larger counterpart.

A vintage view of the Central Court at Lakehurst Mall. The metal mobile sculpture was created by New York City's Joseph McDonald at the cost of $20 thousand. Behind the escalator, on the Lower Level, is a Wimpy Grills hamburger chain restaurant. Its United States stores were shuttered in 1978.

The General Cinema Corporation Lakehurst Cinema was built on a pad southeast of Lakehurst Mall. The theater opened, as a 3-screen venue, on February 15, 1974. 

The freestanding Lakehurst Cinema 3-multiplex opened for business in February 1974. It was expanded in 1984 and 1987 and demolished in the summer of 2007.

It became a 5-screen operation in 1984 and 12-multiplex in 1987. The Lakehurst Cinema 12 was shuttered in 2001. It operated as the Village Theatres Lakehurst 12 between 2004 and January 2007. The building was demolished in August 2007, and a Holiday Inn Express was built in its footprint.

An exterior view of the mall's northeast corner. JCPenney store is on the left, with a portion of a Wieboldt's store appearing on the right.

A facelift refurbishment had been done to Lakehurst Mall in 1982, with much of its early 70s decor replaced by a more muted color palette. 

A set of "Sunburst" fountains replaced the Central Court water feature.

In 1985, the center was acquired by Cleveland's Richard E. Jacobs Group. They would never renovate the property.

The Lakehurst JCPenney's was one of the last stores to use their 1963 logo, which was retired in 1971. The Lakehurst Mall store was dedicated on August 19, 1971. A store opened in Schaumburg's Woodfield Mall on September 9, 1971, featuring their new (Helvetica font) JCPenney nameplate.

This 1985 diagram shows Lakehurst Mall and its peripheral development.

Meanwhile, the malling of Chicagoland was beginning to take its toll on Lakehurst. This downturn in fortune was exacerbated by the shuttering of Wieboldt's in August 1986. After a brief stint as a temporary elementary and middle school, the lower level of the building was sectioned into six retail spaces. The upper level reopened as an (81,500 sq. ft.) Montgomery Ward, on April 12, 1988.

In the second Lakehurst Mall layout, the north anchor has been re-tenanted. After Wieboldt's closed in 1986, the building was used as a temporary elementary and middle school. In 1988, the structure's first floor was partitioned into six store spaces, the largest leased by Dunham's Sports. Montgomery Ward moved into the second floor.

The Chicago-based Carson Pirie Scott & Co. chain occupied the largest Lakehurst Mall store, encompassing 3 floors and 226,000 square feet. It housed a third-level Budget Store and Heather Room restaurant in its early days.

The completion of Gurnee Mills (1991) 4 miles northwest, in Gurnee, signaled the beginning of the end for Lakehurst. Early in the decade, the retail roster had listed 100 tenants. 

By 1997, this number was down to fifty. JCPenney's was shuttered on December 27, 1997. Montgomery Ward was also out of business by year's end. In 2000, there were a mere five stores still in operation.

Lakehurst Mall closed for good on January 31, 2001. 

The Carson's store remained in business until January 15, 2004. The mall's demolition had actually begun the previous November. By May 2004, the once-mighty shopping venue had been reduced to rubble.

The mall site, now cleared of all structures, was redeveloped gradually. This project was overseen by the Oak Brook, Illinois-based Shaw Company, which acquired the moribund (in terminal decline) mall in 2003. 

Lakehurst Mall had been shuttered since January 2001. Carson's remained in business until January 2004. The shopping center was demolished between November 2003 and May 2004. The first newly built structure was a 1-level (204,000 sq. ft.) Walmart Super Center opened in April 2006.

Walmart was followed by Fifth Third Bank, a Murphy USA gas station, Sweet Tomatoes restaurant, Chili's Grill & Bar and Spring Hill Suites by Marriott Hotel, all freestanding structures. A (50,400 sq. ft.) strip mall, Fountain Square of Waukegan, opened in 2008. The grand opening of this complex was followed by those for Bank of America, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panda Express.

The site has also been redeveloped with two small inline plazas. This image is Fountain Square of Waukegan, which opened in 2008.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.