Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, Illinois. A Comprehensive History.

THE LAND

The land that Woodfield Mall was built on was owned by several different farmers. The largest landowners were Ed Oehlerking, Eddie Freise, Bill Rohlwing, and the Clausings. Oehlerking sold his land for $5,000 an acre, while the other farmers received between $3,500 and $4,000 an acre. The farmers were all compensated for the loss of their land, and many of them went on to become successful real estate investors.

Here is a brief overview of the four main landowners:

Ed Oehlerking: Oehlerking was a dairy farmer who owned 60 acres of land that was eventually used for the construction of Woodfield Mall. He sold his land in 1969 and used the money to retire to Florida.

Eddie Freise: Freise was a corn and soybean farmer who owned 40 acres of land that was used for the construction of Woodfield Mall. He sold his land in 1969 and used the money to start a real estate development company.

Bill Rohlwing: Rohlwing was a corn and soybean farmer who owned 30 acres of land that was used for the construction of Woodfield Mall. He sold his land in 1969 and used the money to retire to Arizona.

The Clausings: The Clausings were a family of farmers who owned 20 acres of land that was used for the construction of Woodfield Mall. They sold their land in 1969 and used the money to start a real estate development company.

The land that Woodfield Mall was built on was owned by Homart Development and Taubman Centers. Homart Development was a real estate development company founded in 1957, and Taubman Centers was a shopping center development company founded in 1950. The two companies partnered to develop Woodfield Mall, which opened in 1971.

CONSTRUCTION

The ground was broken for Chicagoland's nineteenth shopping mall on October 8, 1969. Designed by Charles Luckman Associates of New York City and Los Angeles, Woodfield Mall was developed by Woodfield Associates, a joint venture of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based Taubman Centers, Chicago-based Homart Development and Marshall Field & Company.

The shopping facility was built on a 191-acre plot located 24 miles northwest of downtown Chicago in suburban Schaumburg. The site is adjacent to Interstate 90 (Northwest Tollway) and a newly-opened section of Interstate 290.

Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois, opened on September 9, 1971.

A 2-level (373,000 sq. ft.) Sears anchored the original Woodfield Mall as the largest store in the Sears chain. Marshall Field's 3-level (330,000 sq. ft.) unit began business on September 9, 1971, as the chain's third-largest suburban store. The third anchor, a 2-level (299,800 sq. ft.) JCPenney, opened on October 6, 1971. It was JCPenney's most prominent location.

Woodfield Mall on its September 9, 1971, grand opening day. The bi-level, fully-enclosed complex encompassed approximately 1,640,000 leasable square feet, with an initial 28 stores. By the end of September, there would be 59. At year's end, the tenant list had grown to 160.

The official grand opening of twenty-eight inline stores was held on September 9, 1971.

The aquariums at Woodfield Mall were built during the final stages of construction at Center Court, with a one-half-floor lower-level viewing tunnel beneath the fountain. The "Fish Music" was a unique composition for Woodfield designed to musically mimic the exotic fish swimming in the aquariums. The soundtrack was created by a young woman named Suzanne Ciani.

Vincent Price was the Master of Ceremonies. Singer-actress Carole Lawrence and Robert O. Atcher (Mayor of Schaumburg) also attended. Music was provided by the Conant High School Marching Band.

An early 1970s view of the multilevel Grand Court at Woodfield Mall. The complex was the final installment in Chicagoland's graduating progression of ever-larger shopping malls. This trend began with the completion of Old Orchard Center in 1956 and progressed with the opening of Oakbrook Center and Yorktown Center in the 1960s.

Marshall Field's mall entrance faced the enormous Grand Court. The Facade is a Moorish Modern motif. The entry was accented by seven arches, as is the parking lot's direct entrance.

By the end of September, fifty-nine stores were in operation, including Lerner Shops, Casual Corner, The Limited, Stride-Rite Shoes, Gingiss Formalwear and Waldenbooks. At year's end, Woodfield Mall covered 1,640,000 leasable square feet and housed 160 stores and services.

The slide at Woodfield Mall was outside of Chas. A Stevens in the JCPenney wing. The slide had circular cutouts at the top with wooden sides. After sliding down, kids obviously didn't always take the stairs back up to the top. In fact, the brick encasing the slide became part of the whole experience of getting back up to the top. The slide still remains a beloved memory for many people.

Chicago's Marshall Field & Company was one of three anchoring department stores in the original complex. 1971

Retail rivalry was aplenty in over-malled Chicagoland. However, as Woodfield Mall became established as the region's preeminent shopping center, it easily staved off any commercial competition.

Woodfield Mall's 3-Level Atrium. 1971

Randhurst Center (1962), today's Randhurst Village, 5.5 miles northeast of Woodfield Mall in Mount Prospect. Old Orchard Shopping Center (1956), 14.5 miles northeast, in Skokie, held its own, as did Oakbrook Center (1962), 14 miles southeast, in Oak Brook, and Yorktown Center, 14 miles south, in Lombard.

The first Woodfield Mall expansion occurred in October 1972. This project would add a 2-level (118,200 sq. ft.) Lord & Taylor, twenty-five inline stores.

Woodfield Ice Arena 1973-1984. On August 16, 1973, the 2200 sq. ft., 75'x170 ′ skating rink opened. Figure skating lessons for children 3 years through adults were given by Ice Follies performers Mike and Lois McMorran. Hockey lessons were also offered, and figure and hockey skating clubs were formed. Viewing windows between the mall and the rink allowed shoppers to watch the skaters.

The original 1971 mall is shown in black on this 1973 plan. The addition (in dark gray) includes a fourth anchor store and brings the gross leasable area to 1,940,000 square feet, bringing the number of stores to 189. Woodfield Mall would be promoted as the "World's Largest Shopping Center" for several years.

On October 2, 1973, the addition increased the mall's gross leasable area to approximately 1,940,000 square feet. It now contained 189 tenant spaces.

Three separate cinema complexes would operate in or around the shopping hub. First was the ABC Great States Woodfield 1 & 2 Theatres, which opened, as a southeastern out parcel, on July 30, 1971. Next came the ABC Great States Woodfield 3 & 4 Theatres, another freestanding venue. It showed its first features on May 25, 1979. The Ice Arena was rebuilt as the Plitt-Woodfield Mall Theatres. This 5-plex opened for business on June 21, 1985. 

1976 Chrysler New Yorker

Chrysler used to have a showroom in Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois, from 1976 to 1992. It was located on the mall's first floor, near the food court. The showroom closed in 1992 when Chrysler decided to focus on its dealerships. It was 10,000 square feet and featured various Chrysler models, including the New Yorker, LeBaron, and Cordoba. It was staffed by a team of experienced salespeople and was a popular destination for car shoppers in the Chicago area. The closure of the Chrysler showroom was a blow to Woodfield Mall, but it was also a sign of the times. The automotive industry was changing, and dealerships became more important than showrooms.

A second Woodfield Mall expansion was announced in March 1993, with construction underway late in the year. Twenty inline stores opened on March 3, 1995, accompanied by a 3-level (215,000 sq. ft.) Nordstrom and 2-level (124,000 sq. ft.) Lord & Taylor (which replaced the 1973 store).

The Chicago Improv Comedy Club in Woodfield Mall opened on September 14, 1993. The Chicago Improv Comedy Club is a two-story venue with a capacity of 500 people. It has a main stage, a smaller stage, a bar, and a restaurant.

The Chicago Improv Comedy Club in Woodfield Mall.

A major expansion was built between late 1993 and late 1995. A Southwest Wing (in light gray) was anchored by Nordstrom and a new Lord & Taylor store. The original Lord & Taylor (in medium gray) was gutted and reconfigured as an extended mall concourse flanked by inline stores. Woodfield Mall housed 288 tenant spaces, with 10,300 parking spaces.

The original Lord & Taylor was gutted and reconfigured as inline store spaces. These opened in late 1995. With its latest remodeling, Woodfield Mall encompassed approximately 2,224,000 leasable square feet and contained 288 stores and services.

At the time of this 2001 layout, the mall's three movie theaters had just been shuttered. Two twin complexes had been built as freestanding structures, with a third venue operating inside the mall, replacing the Woodfield Ice Arena.

Mars 2112 Restaurant & Bar officially opened on October 3, 2000, in the old Woodfield Ice Arena area, with an $8.5 million startup investment. The interior decor reflected this Mars theme. Lava pools, Martian creatures and a shuttle ride for 32 guests between the entrance and the dining room were also part of the experience. The shuttle ride, a 747 flight simulator used to train pilots, rocked and swayed as if the passengers were on a trip to Mars. The "voyage" lasted 3 1/2 minutes. The walls were red and cratered when you got to the dining room. The theme was meant to feel like you were eating on Mars. Mars 2112 closed after 11 months on November 17, 2001, for no publicly-stated reason.

Mars 2112 Restaurant, Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, IL.

During the history of the mall, only one anchor store was rebranded. Marshall Field's received a Macy's nameplate on September 9, 2006. In contrast, mall ownership has followed a long, complicated series of transactions and acquisitions.

By 1993, Taubman Centers had entered into a joint venture with the Sacramento-based California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). By the early 2000s, Detroit's GM (General Motors) Pension Fund also had a piece of the Woodfield Mall pie. In November 2012, the CalPERS entity purchased a 50% share owned by the GM Pension Fund. After only one month, they sold a 50% share to Indianapolis' Simon Property Group. Taubman Centers, who had been managing the mall, was superseded by Simon on January 1, 2013.

In January 2015, Simon embarked on a 14-million-dollar renovation. New flooring, elevators, escalators and signage were installed. The Grand Court was refurbished, and mall entrances were also rebuilt. The project was completed in late 2015.

A $14 million indoor-outdoor facelift at Woodfield Mall was completed in 2015. The refurbished Grand Court has new flooring, elevators and escalators.

Sears had downsized their store into a 333,000-square-foot operation. A 2-level (40,000 sq. ft.) section was leased as Level 257, a "Pac-Man-themed" restaurant and entertainment center. The grand opening was held on March 2, 2015. In addition to sit-down dining, Level 257 included bowling lanes, arcade games, foosball and ping-pong tables. Level 257 closed on March 19, 2021, attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2017, work commenced on a new Dining Pavilion. It replaced two Upper-Level stores; For Your Entertainment (FYE) and A'Gaci Ladies' Wear. The 12-bay food facility opened for business in mid-2018. 

A 2019 plan shows modifications made since 2001. Marshall Field succumbed to Macy's in 2006. Sears downsized its store in 2015, as the mall was being given an indoor-outdoor facelift. Lastly, a twelve Restaurant Dining Pavilion opened on the Upper-Level in mid-2018. 

Lord & Taylor filed for bankruptcy in August 2020, closed the Woodfield Mall on December 29, 2020, and went out of business in 2021. The chain had anchored the mall in two different locations for over 47 years. 

Enterrium, formerly known as Pac-m an Entertainment, opened on October 27, 2021. It is an enormous contemporary American restaurant and video arcade. The upscale restaurant features an elevated craft bar, a sports bar, eight boutique bowling alleys, Ping-Pong tables, classic and modern arcade games, and private event space. The interior decor is up-scale modern urban-chic in style.

Enterrium

Sears, the chain's last Illinois store, pulled up stakes on November 21, 2021, after anchoring Woodfield Mall for 50 years. 

According to square footage, Woodfield Mall's 2.2 million square feet is the eleventh-largest in the United States.

In April 2022, it was announced that Dublin, Ireland's Primark apparel chain, was setting up a store on the Upper Level of the vacant Sears. According to the plan, it will open sometime in the fall of 2023.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

---

A partial list of restaurants that were in Woodfield Mall:

[Please comment with any missing restaurants or eateries.]

257 Restaurant

A&W Restaurant

Arby's

Argo Tea

Au Bon Pain

Auntie Anne's Pretzels

Beer & Brats

Black Forest Finer Foods

Blaze Fast Fire’d Pizza

Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe

Bumbleberry Restaurants

Burger King

Cafe Bistro

California Cafe Bar & Grill

Charleys Philly Steaks

Cheesecake Factory

Chill Bubble Tea

Chipotle Mexican Grill

China Bowl

Chopsticks

Cinnabon

Coldstone Creamery

Coney Dogs

Dunkin Donuts

Farrell’s Ice Cream Shoppe

Fuji Grill

Garrett Popcorn

Gloria Jean’s Coffee

Godiva Chocolatier

Grandma’s Soup Tureen

Granny’s Donuts

Greener Fields  (Marshall Fields restaurant)

Hot Sam’s

Jimmy John's Restaurant 

John's Garage Restaurant

Junior Hot Shoppe Snack Bar

Kinfork BBQ & Tap

Kirby’s (Kerby’s) Koney Island

Konee’s

Le Creperie

Leeann Chin’s

Level 257

Limbo Lounge

Lucky’s Diner

Magic Pan

Mars 2112 Restaurant & Bar

Maoz Falafel and Grill

McDonald's Hamburgers

Mickey’s Kitchen

Mr. Submarine

Nestle Tollhouse Cafe

Nic’s Organic Fast Food

Nordstrom Ebar

Nuts on Clark

O’Connell’s Restaurant

Olga’s Kitchen

Orange Bowl Restaurant

Orange Julius

Panda Express

P.F. Chang's China Bistro

Rainforest Café

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers

Roy Rogers

Ruby Tuesday Restaurant

Sbarro Italian Eatery

Sears (Interior restaurant)

Seven Arches (Marshall Field’s restaurant)

Skolnik’s

Spinnaker’s

Starbucks

Stir Crazy Cafe

Sweet Factory

The Skewer

The Slicer (Slicer’s Deli)

The Soup Bar (At Lord & Taylor’s)

Stan’s Donuts & Coffee (coming)

The Submarine

Subway

Suki Hana 

Surf City Squeeze

Taste of Baker’s Square

Texas de Brazil

T.J. Cinnamons (Precursor to Cinnabon)

Tidbits

Tiffany’s Bakeries

Todai

Tropical Sun Nut and Fruit

Uncle Julio’s

Van’s Belgian Waffles

Vie de France

Vinny’s

Wetzel’s Pretzels

Wimpy Grills Hamburgers

Wok A Holic

Yogen Fruz

Randhurst Shopping Center, Mount Prospect, Illinois

Victor David Gruen (Viktor David Grünbaum) was an Austrian-American architect best known as a pioneer in designing shopping malls in the United States. In February 1957, he visualized Randhurst Center, his eleventh retail center project.

The following year, Chicago's Carson Pirie Scott & Co. department store chain purchased the Burmeister Farm, 22 miles northwest of downtown Chicago.

In July 1959, two additional Chicago retailers joined Carson Pirie Scott & Co. to form the Randhurst Corporation. The idea was to build the nation's largest, fully-enclosed and air-conditioned shopping center, which would be the first to feature three major department stores. Construction commenced in June 1960 at Rand and Elmhurst Roads in the Village of Mount Prospect, Illinois.

Randhurst Center's Grand Opening on August 16, 1962.

Grand Opening on August 16, 1962.

August 16, 1962

The fully-enclosed, air-conditioned complex was one of the most unique shopping mall designs in the country. Parking areas were divided into seven "fruit-designated" lots.

---

Carson Pirie Scott & Co. had four eateries in Randhurst Shopping Center, Tartan Tray Cafeteria, Birds Nest Cocktail Lounge, the Pancake Coffee Shop and Tree Top Restaurant in the Restaurant and Concourse levels. 1962.

People ate at the Tree Top Restaurant in the heart of the triangle formed by Wieboldt's, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. and The Fair stores at Randhurst Center in August 1962.

Randhurst Center would occupy 100 acres. The 1,200,000 sq. ft complex was to be anchored by a 2-level (198,400 sq. ft) Wieboldt's, their 11th store, 3-level (200,000 sq. ft) Carson Pirie Scott & Co. [28th in the chain] and a 3-level (154,000 sq. ft) The Fair [5th in the chain]. There would also be an S.S. Kresge 5 & 10 and Jewel supermarket.

Gruen's design for Randhurst was based on an equilateral triangle, with an anchor store at each apex. Inside the triangle was a 3-level Galleria with an enormous dome at its center, supported by six steel columns. Anchored to these was a "floating platform" Pavilion Level, with a restaurant, coffee shop and cocktail lounge.

Chicago's The Fair Store was acquired by Montgomery Ward in 1957. It took several years to rebrand all The Fair stores. The Randhurst Fair store opened in August 1962 and became a full-fledged Montgomery Ward in November 1963. The freestanding tire and repair shop, south of the mall, also changed its name to Wards Auto Center in November 1963.

A 1962 view of the Randhurst Center's Galleria. Steps coming off of the Mall Level descend to the Bazaar Level. A section of the Pavilion Level can0 be seen on the far left of the photo. We're overlooking the entire area is the Professional Terrace.

Beneath this was a Bazaar Level of seven boutiques. The Concourse Level, below the Galleria area, included public restrooms, meeting rooms, a 300-person Town Hall auditorium, barber and beauty shops, mall offices and the Tartan Tray Cafeteria. Around the dome, along the roof line, was a row of clerestory windows with an inner ring of stained glass windows of various shapes. These directed beams of colored light into the Galleria of the mall.

The shopping hub's Mall Level housed forty-one inline tenant spaces, along with the main levels of the three anchor department stores. There were also five kiosk retailers. A Professional Terrace overlooking the Mall Level corridors had nine office suites. Gruen oversaw the acquisition of over 100,000 dollars worth of sculpture to grace the interior spaces. Moreover, the Galleria and adjacent department store court areas were lavishly appointed with fountains and tropical plants.

The center was serviced by a twin-lane, subterranean freight tunnel following the lines of the triangle, which would also serve as a fallout shelter in case of a nuclear holocaust. A state-of-the-art monitoring system kept tabs on what was happening at the mall. A huge electronic display board had one hundred positions of flashing lights. If anything went awry, a mechanical typewriter printed out messages describing the problem and indicating its location.

Randhurst Center was dedicated on August 16, 1962, with sixty-two stores and services. In keeping with the times, there was a tremendous amount of fanfare and media hoopla. Opening festivities included a parade, balloons release, and cannon blasts.

The first anchor store change at Randhurst occurred November 7, 1963, when Montgomery Ward rebranded The Fair. On September 16, 1971, Montgomery Ward dedicated a 60,000-square-foot expansion of their store, which now encompassed 214,000 square feet. Meanwhile, the General Cinema Corporation Randhurst Cinema, a freestanding structure adjacent to the mall's northeast parking area, had opened for business on July 23, 1965.

By the mid-1970s, the complex had adopted the official name Randhurst Mall. 1974 completed the Randhurst Ice Arena, built as a southeast out parcel. The Arena was a temporary home for the World Hockey Association Chicago Cougars (1972-1975). It, the adjacent Wards Auto Center and a Child World toy store, would be replaced by a Home Depot in the mid-1990s.

An interior facelift was done in 1977, with white terrazzo flooring, new lighting and ceilings installed. In July 1981, Maryland's James Rouse Company assumed management of the property owned by the Morgan Guarantee Trust Company of New York. The Rouse Company completed a second renovation in October 1984, which included the installation of the 13-bay Picnic Food Court on the Upper Level (or Professional Terrace) of the Center Court.

In 1987, a second phase of alternating anchor stores got underway; Wieboldt's was acquired by Peoria-based Bergner's, with the Randhurst store rebranded on August 7, 1988. Two newly-built junior anchors were also added to the mall at this time. A 1-level (60,000 sq. ft) Bonnockburn-based MainStreet opened in November 1987 and was rebranded by Kohls in March 1989. Elgin-based Joseph Spiess Company dedicated its 1-level (70,000 sq. ft) location in March 1988.

In 1990, Carson Pirie Scott & Co. took up shop in a vacant Wieboldt's and Bergner's. The original Carson Pirie Scott & Co. reopened, as a JCPenney, in the Fall of 1990. Joseph Spiess closed in late 1991 and reopened as a short-lived Wickes Furniture. This store was shuttered and subdivided into Circuit City and Old Navy stores, which opened in 1995.

People gathered in the Randhurst Shopping Center food court on January 2, 1991.

The Randhurst Cinema was divided into a 4-multiplex theater in 1983. A new venue, the General Cinema Corporation Randhurst Cinema 16, was built as a northwest out parcel. It showed its first features on November 22, 1996. The original theater was razed and replaced by a 1-level (85,200 sq. ft) Jewel Osco supermarket and pharmacy.

Around this time, Randhurst Mall began to feel the crunch of competing shopping centers. Woodfield Mall (1971),  5 1/4 miles southwest, in Schaumburg, completed a major expansion in 1996. There were also Old Orchard Shopping Center (1956), 9 miles southeast in Skokie, Golf Mill Shopping Center (1960), 5 miles southeast, in Niles, and Northbrook Court (1976), 7  miles northeast, in Northbrook.

Deer Park Town Center, 8 miles northwest of Deer Park, was dedicated in 2000. This complex drew away even more business from Randhurst. To add insult to injury, the shopping hub lost three anchors in the early 2000s; Ward's (March 2001), JCPenney (May 2001) and Kohl's (September 2003).

A large-scale renovation was completed soon after. The vacant Carson Pirie Scott & Co., JCPenney's and Kohl's were razed and replaced by a 1-level (151,400 sq. ft) Costco, which held its grand opening on October 13, 2004. The old The Fair Store - Montgomery Ward building was partially demolished, and a new "Promenade Entrance" was built nearby. The mall housed over 100 stores and services.

Promenade Entrance 2004

The Circuit City and Old Navy stores went dark in 2005. Bed Bath & Beyond leased the Circuit City space. Steve & Barry's University Sportswear took the old Old Navy spot and adjacent mall space and created a new store out of them. This was shuttered in late 2008.

Randhurst Mall had been in a downward spiral since the late 1990s. The facility was acquired by a joint venture of New York City-based J.P. Morgan Chase and Columbus, Ohio-based Casto Lifestyle Properties in early 2007. They envisaged a lifestyle-like reinvention.

In 2008, Mount Prospect officials approved a $150 million proposal to demolish the enclosed part of the mall and rebuild it in an entirely different style. The bulk of the complex was bulldozed, leaving Carson Pirie Scott & Co., Costco, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Jewel Osco, Home Depot and five peripheral structures standing.

A $200 million-dollar venue, known as Randhurst Village, was created from the rubble. In addition to the surviving structures, it included 200,000 square feet of retail space, a 120-room Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel with office space, 200 residential units, an underground parking garage created from the basement, and an old fallout shelter.

Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel, Randhurst Village 

The first stores to open were in business by August 2010. These included Jersey Mike's, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants and the Sports Authority. Tony Sacco's Coal Oven Pizza, the Billy Goat Tavern, T.J. Maxx, PetSmart and Wet Seal opened in 2011, as did Old Navy, returning to the mall after a 6-year hiatus.

Randhurst Village Map - Click for a Full-Size View.

Randhurst Village opened in 2011 as an open-air shopping center with a prominent dining and entertainment component. The center still features department stores but is structured in a walk-up, Main Street style.

The state-of-the-art American Multi-Cinema Randhurst 12 showed its first features on April 29, 2011. Store openings between 2012 and 2014 included Blackfinn American Grill, Cost Plus World Market, E+O food & drink, Famous Footwear, Massage Envy, Maurice and Orangetheory Fitness.

Randhurst Village, Mount Prospect, Illinois.

Randhurst Village was sold to Tarrytown, New York's DLC Management, in June 2015. Carson's (formerly Carson Pirie Scott & Co.) was an original Randhurst Center anchor store. A division of Pennsylvania's Bon Ton Stores since 2006, Carson's chain closed due to that company's 2018 bankruptcy.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.