Americana Manhasset

The land on which Americana Manhasset now sits was purchased in the 1950s by Gerace & Castagna, Incorporated – now Castagna Realty – which was founded in 1922 by Ferdinand Castagna as a firm specializing in masonry contracting.^[4][7][8] The Shopping Center opened on the site in 1956, known at the time as Fifth Avenue of Long Island.^[7][8][9] At the time of its opening, Fifth Avenue of Long Island included a movie theater, a drugstore, a supermarket, and other businesses – many of which were small family owned retailers.^{[5][8][9][10]} Fifth Avenue of Long Island would be renamed "Americana Manhasset" by Castagna shortly thereafter.^[5] It was constructed during a period of significant population explosion on Long Island, and when many of the large, Gold Coast-era estates in the area were giving way to upscale, suburban housing developments.^[5]

The shopping center was also built adjacent, and attached to New York City-based department store B. Altman and Company's Manhasset branch, which opened in 1947 as one of the company's first branch store locations.^[7][11]

In 1971, B. Altman leased retail space for its expansion becoming one of Americana Manhasset's major anchor tenants, and Americana soon started its transformation into a lifestyle- and fashion-oriented shopping mall.^[4][5][8] Two years later, in 1973, England-based Jaeger opened a store at shopping center; this was the first time that a luxury-brand retailer opened a retail store at Americana Manhasset, and many more luxury- and name-brand retailers subsequently opened up locations at the mall in the years following.^[5][8]

In the mid-1980s, the Americana Manhasset underwent an extensive transformation and overhaul.^[12] Second generation Frank Castagna asked architect Peter Marino to serve as the master architect to inspire the design concept; Marino, was subsequently tasked with the redesign of the shopping center in the 1990s.^{[13][14][15][16]}

One storefront at a time, Americana's exteriors were altered to make the structures more luxurious, with storefront designs similar to those found along Madison Avenue or Rodeo Drive.^[5] This included the extensive utilization of limestone for the building façades. The walkways at the shopping center were redesigned in granite, to be surrounded by gardens; the walkways and the landscaping surrounding them were designed by Washington DC based landscape architects Oheme, van Sweden, and Associates in 1986.^{[2][17][18][19]}

In 1989, the B. Altman department store closed, following the bankruptcy of the company.^{[7][20][21][22]} Following its closure, the former store was sold, and it was rebuilt in the 1990s as a new, separately-owned shopping center.^[23][24][25]

In addition to B. Altman, other major stores located at Americana Manhasset in the past include J.J. Newberry, Escada, Yves St. Laurent, Charles Jourdan, Barneys, and Waldbaum's.^{[12][26][27][28]}

In the early 1990s, Waldbaum's at the eastern end of Americana Manhasset closed, upon the end of its lease.^[5][15] This retail area roughly 29,000-square-foot (2,700 m²) space was subsequently subdivided into nine retail spaces.^[4][7][15] This new retail space was completed and officially opened in 2003, and it contains numerous stores – including Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci.^[4][7][15]

In 2023, the first Ralph's Coffee on Long Island opened at the Americana Manhasset, located inside the Ralph Lauren.^[29]

Americana Manhasset includes approximately 60 retail brands.^[5][30] Some of the retailers include Bluemercury, Bottega Veneta, Brooks Brothers, Brunello Cucinelli, Burberry, Cartier, Chanel, David Yurman, Dior, Ermenegildo Zegna, Fendi, Gucci, Hermès, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Kiton, Kith, Louis Vuitton, MaxMara, Saint Laurent, Salvatore Ferragamo, Todd Snyder, Tesla, Versace, Van Cleef & Arpels, Valentino, and Vilebrequin, amongst others.^[5][6][31]

A large number of the retail tenants are luxury brands. Americana Manhasset offers complimentary personal shoppers and a concierge.^[5][6][31]

Furthermore, as of 2023, the Shopping Center also contains two restaurants, several quick bites, and some stores – such as Hirshleifers and Ralph Lauren feature in-store dining options of their own.^{[6][29][31][32]}

Americana Manhasset is served by the following bus routes – all of which are operated by Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE):^[33][34]

• n20H (Great Neck LIRR – Hicksville LIRR)
• n21 (Great Neck LIRR – Glen Cove)
• n23 (Mineola Intermodal Center – Manorhaven)

All three bus routes serve the mall with stops along Northern Boulevard.^[33][34]

The shopping center is referenced in the book Manhasset Stories, by Suzanne McLain Rosenwasser.^[35]