Fashion District Philadelphia

Pre-construction and development

In the mid-20th century, Market Street was home to the "Big Six" department stores: Strawbridge & Clothier (now Macy's outside of Philly), John Wanamaker, Gimbel Brothers, Lit Brothers, N. Snellenburg & Co., and Frank & Seder. These stores were central for Philadelphia's urban life and drew shoppers from across the region.^[3]

Urban renewal in Philadelphia began in 1946, with the formation of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA). In 1947, The Better Philadelphia Exhibition showcases grand redevelopment plans by Edmund Bacon, building public support. In 1948, the Greater Philadelphia Movement (GPM) is formed, uniting business leaders to support renewal. The first urban renewal sites are certified. In 1949, the Federal Housing Act provides crucial funding for slum clearance, boosting local efforts. The era of major federal funding and large-scale projects begin in the 1950s, with initial actions targeting areas like East Poplar and West Philadelphia (University City), for clearing "blighted" areas for new development, including university expansion.^[4]

In the 1960s and early '70s, the post-World War II migration, along with the rise of suburban shopping malls, drew shoppers away from downtown Philadelphia as new malls opened in Pennsylvania and nearby New Jersey, such as Exton Square Mall, King of Prussia Mall, Plymouth Meeting Mall, and Cherry Hill Mall which is 15-20 minutes away from downtown Philadelphia.^[3]

As a result, urban planner Edmund Bacon proposed a massive redevelopment to bring the "suburban mall experience" into the heart of the city.^[5]

Unlike Bacon's open-air shopping centers, he wanted this mall to be enclosed for a climate-controlled, suburban mall experience.^[5]

The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) partnered to develop this mall. The Gallery was approved in 1964, and a commitment was to develop an underground mall specifically on the north side of Market Street.^[6]

The Rouse Company, founded by James W. Rouse, who also developed Pennsylvania's Exton Square Mall and Plymouth Meeting Mall, entered in a joint venture with the PRA and PIDC, and was officially selected as the developer for the project, founding 39 subsidiaries (TRC Gallery at Market East 1-39, LLC^[7]) and Gimbels signed a deal to have its new flagship store in The Gallery.^[8] Rouse hired Philadelphia architectural firms Bower & Fradley Architects (the predecessor to Bower Lewis Thrower Architects or BLT Architects) and Cope Linder & Associates. Construction began in 1974.^[6]

The Gallery had its grand opening on August 11, 1977, which involved a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Upon opening, the mall included the Market Fair food court with 22 stalls, and was in the basement level under Gimbels. It also included 40-foot-tall trees, and direct underground connections to SEPTA regional rail and subway lines. ^[6]

After opening

The Gallery was so successful enough that the city approved an expansion of the mall. The Rouse Co. expanded the mall in the 1980s in partnership with JCP Realty, Inc., the development arm of JCPenney, with the construction of a second phase called The Gallery II, which opened on October 12, 1983, and the mall was renamed to The Gallery at Market East to better reflect that it is part of the Market East complex, and to avoid confusion from The Gallery at Harborplace in Baltimore, Maryland, which was also developed by Rouse and in its planning phases at the time. As part of the expansion, the basement concourse was extended to more blocks, and the food court was moved down to the end under Gallery II which was directly connected to the 11th Street SEPTA station. The Phase I building was dubbed The Gallery I after the expansion. The Gallery II was anchored by a three-story JCPenney.^[6]

Gimbels closed its Gallery location on August 18, 1986 due to liquidation. The chain itself became defunct one year later, and it was once the largest department store in the world. It was replaced by Stern's, but that closed in 1990.^[8] Stern's was later replaced by Clover in 1995, but the chain was liquidated one year later. It was finally replaced by KMart in 1997.^[9]

JCPenney closed their Gallery store in January 2001 due to profitability problems^[10], and it is no longer listed on their official website.^[11] It was replaced by Burlington Coat Factory.^[12]

PREIT acquired The Gallery in April 2003 from The Rouse Company and Gallery II in the third fiscal quarter of 2004 from the state's Public School Employees' Retirement System. The total complex measures approximately 1,100,000 square feet (100,000 m²) of retail space and at its peak had over 230 stores.

The space was originally anchored by Strawbridge & Clothier department store at 8th Street and Gimbels (previously Gimbel Bros) department store at 9th Street.

It later became part of the entrance to access SEPTA's Regional Rail Lines with the opening of the Market East Station, later rebranded for Jefferson University as Jefferson Station. The mall also provided access to the underground concourse that connects to the Market-Frankford Line, PATCO Speedline to New Jersey, Broad Street Subway Line, the SEPTA subway–surface trolley lines, and others.

Decline and closure

The number of the mall's stores has changed from over 230 to over 130. In September 2008, the developers of Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia changed their proposed casino location to The Gallery at Market East after receiving opposition from residents near the original proposed site in South Philadelphia. The new proposal was endorsed by both Mayor Michael Nutter and Governor Ed Rendell. The original proposal for the Foxwoods Casino at The Gallery at Market East was for a 3,000-slot-machine casino on two floors that were occupied by Burlington Department Store (formerly Burlington Coat Factory) which would have necessitated moving the store. However, on February 26, 2009, it was announced that the developers had instead decided to locate their new casino on three floors of the former Strawbridge's building.^[13]

In January 2014, it was announced that Kmart would be closing its Gallery store in late April.^[14] At the time, it was announced that there were plans to turn the former Kmart space into multiple street-facing stores centered on an atrium, and to redevelop the mostly vacant top level of the mall in other ways.^[15] In April 2014, Century 21 Clothing announced that it would open an anchor store at the mall, which has since closed.^[16]

Redevelopment as Fashion District Philadelphia

Pre-construction and development (Fashion District)

In July 2014, Macerich acquired a 50% stake in The Gallery at Market East and invested $106.8 million to redevelop the mall as part of a joint venture partnership with PREIT. When the developers were planning redevelopment, they once considered demolishing the entire mall.^[17][18]

As of June 19, 2015, the $325 million remodeling of The Gallery had been officially approved by the city council, and the legislation had been approved by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

The Gallery officially closed its doors in August 2015 and began demolition of the interior and some exterior elements. Particularly, the Gallery's main entrance was razed because it had stairs that would descend shoppers below ground level before entering the mall, creating a "sunken" effect. Construction was expected to last for two years and a grand opening sometime in 2017.^[19] The Burlington and Century 21 anchor stores would remain open during reconstruction.

In August 2017, the developers announced that the outlets plan has been abandoned and the mall would instead feature a mix of retail, entertainment, and dining venues, much to that of a traditional shopping mall. The mall would effectively be renamed Fashion District Philadelphia. It was initially slated to reopen in the spring of 2018.^[20] However, the decision to move Burlington and add an AMC Theatres multiplex on the third floor of the former JCPenney/previous Burlington space^[12] led PREIT to delay opening most of the revamped complex until 2019.^[21][22] The grand opening for Fashion District Philadelphia took place on September 19, 2019, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held.^[23]

Fashion District Philadelphia's new main entrance is known as The Cube, a four-story glass atrium structure replacing the Gallery's original main entrance.^[24]

Current anchors

• Burlington
• Primark
• AMC Dine-In Fashion District 8
• Round One Entertainment

Former anchors

• Strawbridge's (1977–2006)
• Gimbels (1977-1986)
• Stern's (1986-1990)
• JCPenney (1983-2001)
• Burlington Coat Factory (in former JCPenney location; relocated)
• Kmart (November 26, 1997–April 27, 2014)
• Clover (1995–1996)
• Century 21 (closed 2020)
• GIANT Heirloom Market (closed 2024)