Galleria at White Plains

The Galleria at White Plains was a shopping mall located in downtown White Plains, New York, US, a commercial and residential suburb 20 miles (32 km) north of New York City. The mall featured the major anchors Macy’s and Sears, and junior anchors Forever 21, H&M and Blink Fitness. On December 21, 2022, it was announced that the Galleria at White Plains would permanently close and be replaced with a mixed use site.[5] The mall closed its doors on March 31, 2023 after 43 years.[6]

The Galleria at White Plains
Galleria at White Plains in 2014
Address100 Main Street, White Plains, New York, United States
Opening dateAugust 4, 1980[1][2]
Closing dateMarch 31, 2023
DeveloperCadillac Fairview
ManagementPacific Retail Capital Partners
OwnerFarallon Cap. Mgt.
No. of stores and services85[3]
No. of anchor tenants4
Total retail floor area865,000 square feet (80,400 m2)[3]
No. of floors2-3 with small lower level
Public transit accessBee-Line Bus System: 20
Metro-North Railroad: White Plains station[4]
Websitegalleriaatwhiteplains.com

History

Built by Cadillac Fairview, a Canadian developer, the 900,000-square-foot (84,000 m2), a four-level mall is located on two large city blocks of former urban renewal land. It opened in the summer of 1980 and was the first of three Gallerias to open in the fall of 1980 around the nation, the others being Sherman Oaks and Fort Lauderdale. Its anchor stores were Macy's and Sears, which were relocated to the mall from nearby locations on Main Street to replace the original anchor stores. Abraham & Straus occupied the east anchor spot until converting to Stern's in 1995 and being replaced by Macy's on July 15, 1996.[7] The west anchor JCPenney closed on April 28, 2001, and was left vacant until August 2003 when Sears moved in.[8]

Martin Luther King Blvd. runs directly underneath the mall. The Galleria was constructed adjacent to a large two-block-long parking garage that is connected directly to the mall at various levels. Shopping floors were color-coded blue, green, yellow, and red representing Street Level, Garden Level, the Garden food court area, and Fashion Level 1 and 2, respectively when the mall opened. During the holiday season, the mall's promotional slogan was "We bring more good things to Christmas."[9]

The Galleria underwent a substantial renovation throughout the early-mid 1990s that undid many original elements; the glass elevator is the only significant feature dating from the mall's opening that survives relatively untouched. During the 1990s remodel, the waterfall and stage in the center court were replaced with two miniature fountains between the escalators. In later years, the mall experienced competition from newer and more upscale retail developments, such as The Westchester mall and The Source at White Plains.[10]

On September 18, 2006, Philip Grant, a homeless convicted rapist, was convicted of murder as a hate crime for stabbing Concetta Russo-Carriero to death in a Galleria parking garage on June 29, 2005, because, according to Grant's videotaped confession, she was white with blond hair and blue eyes.[11]

Interior shots of the mall were used in the 2018 film Eighth Grade as well as the 2022 film Somewhere in Queens.[12]

On November 10, 2020, it was announced Sears would close.[13] On January 5, 2021, Macy's announced as part of a strategy to focus on the highest achieving locations that they would be closing.

In November 2022, it was announced that the owners of The Galleria at White Plains were teaming up with two prominent development firms to update the mall as a vibrant mixed-use center that will be enfolded by residential development and amenity-based retail. One of the developers, Louis R. Cappelli, has had a presence in White Plains for decades and is known for developing the nearby 46-story Ritz-Carlton towers.[14] On December 21, 2022, PRCP announced that the Galleria at White Plains would close the following March for redevelopment.[5]

The Galleria permanently closed on March 31, 2023.[6] Some of the last stores operating before its closure included Claire's, Famous Footwear, GNC, Jimmy Jazz, Kay Jewelers, LensCrafters, Lids, Cohens Fashion Optical which was the only store to run the full 43 years in the Mall and Rainbow.

In May 2023, the mall was used as the filming location for the internet horror show Generation Loss.[15]

Former anchor stores
  • Abraham & Straus (opened in 1981 and closed in 1995 and became Stern's)
  • Stern's (opened in 1995 in the former Abraham & Straus space)
  • JCPenney (opened in 1981 and closed in 2001 and became Sears)
  • Sears (opened in 2003 in the former JCPenney space and closed on January 24, 2021)
  • Macy's (opened in 1996 in the former Stern's space and closed on March 21, 2021)[16]
  • Forever 21
  • H&M (opened 2001, reopened 2014)[17]

References
  1. Barmash, Isadore (March 29, 1981). "Has Galleria Achieved Its Goals?". The New York Times.
  2. "Decisions and Orders of the National Labor Relations Board". 1982.
  3. "Galleria at White Plains". Pacific Retail Capital Partners. 26 September 2021. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  4. "About | Galleria at White Plains". 9 April 2018.
  5. Wang, Helu (December 21, 2022). "A final holiday season: Galleria mall in White Plains is closing in March". lohud. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  6. Solis, Marcus (31 March 2023). "White Plain's iconic Galleria mall closes after 40+ years". WABC-TV. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  7. "STERN'S SITE IN WHITE PLAINS TO BECOME MACY'S IN JULY". WWD. 1996-04-01. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  8. "Good Life. Great Price. Grand Opening". The Journal News. White Plains. August 15, 2003. pp. 14–15 – via newspapers.com.
  9. "The Galleria White Plains New York Christmas Commercial". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  10. Brenner, Elsa (12 April 1992). "Face Lift for Galleria in White Plains". The New York Times.
  11. "Man gets 25 to life in racial killing at mall". msnbc.com. September 18, 2006.
  12. Zucker, Dave (July 24, 2018). "Spot the Local Scenery in Bo Burnham's Debut Film 'Eighth Grade'". Westchester Magazine.
  13. "Last Sears in Westchester to close its doors in February". News 12 - Westchester.
  14. Pezzullo, Rick (2022-11-07). "Developers to Explore Mixed Uses for White Plains Galleria". The White Plains Examiner. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  15. Vinesauce. [Vinesauce] Vinny - My Generation Loss Experience + Abandoned Mall Exploration (YouTube video). Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  16. "POSTINGS: The White Plains Macy's Is Moving;Downtown Centerpiece Packing Up for the Galleria". The New York Times. 1996-04-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  17. "The Journal News 17 Jan 2001, page Page 27".

41.031262°N 73.770876°W / 41.031262; -73.770876

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