Berkshire Mall (Pennsylvania)

The Berkshire Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, a suburb to the west of Reading in Berks County. The Berkshire Mall is accessible from US 222/US 422 (Warren Street Bypass) at the Paper Mill Road interchange or the State Hill Road interchange. The main entrances to the mall are located along Woodland Road or State Hill Road. The mall first opened in February 1970. The mall's only anchor store is Boscov's, with two vacant anchor spaces.

Berkshire Mall
North entrance to Berkshire Mall
LocationWyomissing, Pennsylvania, United States
Coordinates40°20′29.45″N 75°58′13.03″W
Address1665 State Hill Road
Opening dateFebruary 10, 1970
DeveloperGoodman Company[1]
ManagementAllied Properties
OwnerAllied Properties
No. of anchor tenants3 (1 open, 2 vacant)
Total retail floor area910,000 square feet (85,000 m2)[2]
No. of floors1 (2 in former Sears and former Bon-Ton, 3 in Boscov's)
ParkingParking lot
Public transit access BARTA bus: 15
Websiteberkshiremall.com

History
The Berkshire Mall looking from Sears

Planning for the mall began in the late 1960s. Sears was announced to be the first major planned tenant in November 1967, to replace its nearby Shillington location which had opened in 1956.[3][4] Construction got underway in 1968, with an "official" kickoff in November of that year.[1][5] The mall opened in February 1970, and was the first enclosed shopping mall to open in eastern Pennsylvania outside of the Philadelphia area.[1][6]

The mall's name is taken from the source of the name of Berks County, an abbreviation of the English royal county Berkshire. The old fountain in the center of the mall had been choreographed by local Reading company "Symphonic Fountains".[7] An upper level food court, The Terrace Cafe, held its grand opening December 7–10, 1989.[8][9] It replaced a Victorian themed mini-mall known simply as "Lamp Post Lane".[10]

The original owner and developer of the mall was the Goodman Company, which sold the property to Equitable Real Estate Management in 1985.[1][6] In July 2002, the mall was acquired by Allied Properties.[11]

In January 2002, Boscov's purchased the Strawbridge's store, originally a Wanamaker's until 1995 and later Hecht's until 1996, at the Berkshire Mall; the Boscov's store at Berkshire Mall opened in August 2002.[12] The Boscov's store at Berkshire Mall replaced the Boscov's West store in Sinking Spring, which opened in November 1962.[12][13]

On the night of November 2, 2009, a fire broke out in a display window of the Victoria's Secret store. Before firefighters could arrive, the sprinkler system activated in the store and the adjacent hallway. The store suffered smoke and water damage; everyone was evacuated safely without any reported injuries.[14] On April 14, 2010, there was a fire inside of Boscov's. A worker was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital for severe burns to the face. Firefighters had controlled the fire in 30 minutes.[15]

On January 12, 2011 at 4:20 PM according to leaked security footage, a mall patron fell head first into the fountain in the Boscov's court due to being distracted because she was walking and text messaging at the same time.[16] Days later the video uploaded to YouTube with titles such as "Girl Falls In Mall Fountain While Texting" went viral and received international news coverage. The "fountain lady" was later determined to be Cathy Cruz Marrero, who reportedly threatened legal action against the mall because nobody came to her aid after falling, however she never filed the lawsuit.[17] As a result of this incident, the security guard who posted the video was fired.[18]

On May 22, 2014, the mall was hit by an unusually severe spring thunderstorm. Golf ball-sized hail ripped through the ceiling causing interior damage by shattering skylights which left glass and debris covering walkways, plants and the fountain in the Sears court, while cars were dented and windshields smashed in the parking lot.[19]

The Bon-Ton store, originally a Lit Brothers until 1976 and later a Pomeroy's until 1987, at Berkshire Mall closed on August 28, 2018 as part of that chain's liquidation.[20] On November 8, 2018, it was announced the Sears store at Berkshire Mall would close in February 2019 as part of a plan to close 40 stores nationwide, leaving Boscov's as the only anchor store.[21]

Berkshire Mall West

The Berkshire Mall West is a strip plaza across Woodland Road from the Berkshire Mall. The "mall west" contains A.C. Moore, the only Premium PA Wine & Spirits Shoppe in Berks County, One Stop Beverage, TJ Maxx, Outback Steakhouse, Bank of America, and Berkshire Bank. There was a Circuit City until 2009, which closed after the chain folded. The former Circuit City store served as a Halloween Adventure for the 2009 season. The former Circuit City has reopened as hhgregg in 2010. hhgregg was an Indianapolis-based retailer of consumer electronics and home appliances. hhgregg closed in 2017 after the chain folded; the building is now vacant, until September usually when Halloween Adventure once again fills in the building.

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References
  1. (22 November 1968). Berkshire Mall Building Starts, Reading Eagle
  2. "Berkshire Mall". Allied Properties. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  3. (26 November 1967). Sears Going to Berkshire Mall With Enlarged Store, Reading Eagle
  4. (25 October 1956). Sears, Roebuck Opens New Store on Lancaster Avenue, Reading Eagle
  5. (14 November 1969) This aerial view ..., Reading Eagle (aerial view of mall under construction in November 1969)
  6. (2 November 1985). No Real Changes Expected Due To Berkshire Mall Sale, Reading Eagle
  7. http://www.labelscar.com/pennsylvania/berkshire-mall
  8. Andrews, Connie (19 February 1989). Sales up at Fairgrounds Square and Berkshire Mall in 1988, Reading Eagle
  9. (15 November 1989). Taste What's Coming To Town! (Advertisement for food court opening in December 1989), Reading Eagle
  10. http://mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot.com/2010/02/berkshire-mall-warren-street-bypass-us.html
  11. (27 August 2002). Walkers dislike new Berkshire Mall schedule, Reading Eagle
  12. "Boscov's history, highlights". Reading Eagle. September 18, 2009. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  13. Negley, Erin (March 27, 2009). "Plans submitted for former Boscov's West site in Sinking Spring". Reading Eagle. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  14. "Berkshire Mall evacuated after fire at Victoria's Secret". Reading Eagle. 2009-11-03. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
  15. "Boscov's worker hurt in explosion released from burn center". Reading Eagle. 2010-04-16. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFOk22c_ltk
  17. "In deep water: Woman who fell into fountain while texting admits to spending thousands of dollars on stolen credit card". Mail Online. 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  18. "Security Guard Fired For Sharing Mall Surveillance Video". WFMZ-TV. January 20, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-01-22. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  19. "Berkshire Mall, hit hard by hail, reopens to shoppers". Allentown, PA: WFMZ-TV. May 23, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-05-24. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  20. Staff (August 27, 2018). "Tuesday will be last day for Bon-Ton at Berkshire Mall". Allentown, PA: WFMZ-TV. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  21. Staff (November 8, 2018). "Sears at Berkshire Mall to close". Allentown, PA: WFMZ-TV. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
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