Big Town Mall, just off of U.S. 80 E. and Loop 12 in
Mesquite, Texas, was constructed in 1959 and was the first enclosed, air-conditioned
shopping mall in the
Southwest. Even after
Town East Mall had long since become the new "hotspot" for local and national retailers, the mall stayed active for several years with privately owned shops targeting urban young.
Film appearance(s) The exterior of the mall can be seen in the 1986 film
True Stories as the site of the fashion show. The interior of the mall shown is actually
NorthPark Center in Dallas.
Decline The mall would keep all of its anchor stores occupied until 1989, when
Foley's (in the former
Sanger-Harris) was shuttered; it would never be re-occupied. Further closings occurred in the 1990s with a multitude of inline tenants leaving the plateauing mall behind, the mall's
Woolworth's would jump ship in 1993.
Humanitarian use In September 2005, Big Town Mall was designated a staging point for the victims of
Hurricane Katrina coming to
Dallas for shelter and relief. From there, they traveled along I-30 to I-35 to settle in
Reunion Arena and the
Dallas Convention Center where they were housed until able to return to their homes in
Louisiana. The mall's parking space was utilized as a first stop for evacuees – where authorities searched for weapons, screened them for medical conditions, gave them a light snack and passed them along to any number of shelters in
Dallas,
Fort Worth,
Irving,
Grand Prairie and even
Oklahoma City.
Demolition In early 2006, the decision was made to tear down the mall. The demolition project started on the week of May 22, 2006, and was completed in September of that year. As of September 13, 2011, the Big Town Bowling Lanes were demolished. The only remaining structure on the property is the Exhibition Hall. The Exhibition Hall was remodeled in 2013 to retain current use for shows and conventions. In 2016, the remainder of the site was purchased by FedEx to develop a major distribution hub. == Anchor history (1959–2001) ==