Fulton Mall is a
pedestrian street and
transit mall in
Downtown Brooklyn that runs on Fulton Street between
Flatbush Avenue and Adams Street. It contains 230 stores and
dedicated bus lanes. For the mall's length, only buses, commercial vehicles, local truck deliveries, and emergency vehicles are allowed to use the street. The center of the mall is an open public space known as
Albee Square.
History Fulton Street's first period of great vigor occurred before the era of enclosed shopping malls, the era when huge department stores like
Abraham & Straus,
Frederick Loeser & Co. and
A. I. Namm & Son reigned on the street. The current era dates from the 1970s, when through the persistent efforts of the street's merchants, the city agreed to a revitalization program through which it would narrow the roadway, widen the sidewalk, and create, with the exception of buses, a traffic-free shopping area. Architect
Lee Harris Pomeroy redesigned the mall in the early 1980s: he designed street furniture and equipment for the project including large, free-standing canopies, vendors’ kiosks, directory and telephone kiosks, and high mast lighting. The graphics program he also designed for the project consists of informational, directional and street signage. Pomeroy's renovation was completed in 1984 for $24 million and received an
Albert S. Bard Award from the
City Club of New York. Nonetheless, the mall initially failed to attract tenants. Subway stations at , , , , and and bus lines service the Fulton Mall area. The area is New York City's third-largest commercial center after
Herald Square and a stretch of
Madison Avenue. The mall has attracted major investments from prominent Brooklyn retail real estate developers such as
Stanley Chera,
Albert Laboz, Joseph Jemal, and
Eli Gindi.
Developments Fulton Mall includes major retailers such as
Macy's,
H&M,
Gap,
GameStop,
Foot Locker,
Modell's Sporting Goods, and
Finish Line. The Fulton Mall Improvement Association is the local
business improvement district. According to the Improvement Association, in 2003 the Fulton Mall area saw between 100,000 and 125,000 visitors a day. The mall has spurred additional commercial development in its immediate vicinity, such as the
City Point development, and has become the most expensive place to do business in downtown Brooklyn. Fulton Street's retail space was $301 per square foot in 2016 and $326 per square foot in 2017. The Macy's store at 422 Fulton Street was originally
Abraham & Straus's flagship store. The building was designed in
Art Deco style by Starrett & Van Vleck and built in 1933. It was formerly the showroom for the W.C. Vosburgh Mfg. Co. As of 2017, the building is undergoing a $194 million renovation by
Tishman Speyer. Its new portion will have 10 floors dedicated to Class A office space. Macy's is also renovating its part of the building. The
Offerman Building on Fulton Mall was built in 1893 by
Henry Offerman, a businessman in the sugar industry. It was designed in the
Romanesque Revival architectural style and originally hosted retail on the ground floor. and by 2017 had been converted into a 121-unit residential complex. Across the street is another designated city landmark, the
A. I. Namm & Son Department Store. ==See also==