Preview
Creation Date
11-1975
Identification #
OGL791-330
Description
"A night view, from South Washington Street, of the South Forks Plaza Mall sign and parking lot with Kmart in the background. The lot contains dozens of vehicles. The signage displays the marquee for the Plaza Twin movie theater, advertising ""Part II Walking Tall: The Legend of Buford Pusser"" starring Bo Svenson.
The Grand Cities Mall, originally called South Forks Plaza, was built in several stages. One of the original anchors, Kmart, first opened February 26, 1964, before the rest of the mall, which continued to be built over the summer. The mall was the first enclosed mall in the city of Grand Forks. However, until 1973, the mall's two wings were not accessible to each other from inside. Sears and many of the stores occupied one wing, with Kmart and the remainder of the stores in the other. In November 1973 a connecting portion of the mall was completed, allowing access between the wings.
On April 1, 2015, the entire mall was purchased by Hope Evangelical Covenant Church. A separate company, Land of Hope, LLC, was created to run the mall's daily operations. On December 28, 2018, Sears Holdings announced that Kmart would be closing as part of a plan to close 80 stores nationwide. The store closed in March 2019. In 2000, Sears left the mall and moved to Columbia Mall. The empty Sears space was divided up into several smaller stores including a Zimmerman's furniture store and a Family Dollar. In 2005, Burggraf's Ace Hardware opened a store on the east side of the mall."
Organizations Depicted
Kmart Corporation
Rights
Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks