Lazarus opened on February 5, 1981, two weeks before the mall itself opened on February 18. It is located east of downtown near
Interstate 64. Initially, Lazarus,
Stone & Thomas,
Sears, and
JCPenney, which opened in April 1981, were the anchor stores. When the
Foot Locker store opened,
Bobby Riggs made an appearance, challenging mall employees to a game of tennis.
Phar-Mor, a discount pharmacy chain, was later added to the mall as its fifth anchor in 1990. Stone & Thomas was converted to
Elder-Beerman in 1998 when the chain was acquired. A year later,
Borders Books & Music opened its first West Virginia store at the mall.
Old Navy,
Steve & Barry's and local chain
Dawahares were later added to the mall as well. After Phar-Mor closed in 2002, the location became the second
Dick's Sporting Goods in the state. Borders closed in 2011, due to the company's bankruptcy and was replaced by
Books-A-Million.
The Bon-Ton closed Elder-Beerman in 2016, and the space was split among
Forever 21,
TJ Maxx, and
HomeGoods. Sears closed its store in 2019, as did Forever 21.
Dave & Buster's moved into the mall in 2024, at the prior Fun City location. Woody Williams Center for Advanced Learning and Careers is now located on both floors of the former Sears. ==Impact==