East Hills Mall
Saint Joseph, is one of the biggest small cities within the state of Missouri. And as so, the town tends to try and stay at its peak by making a bigger stance for itself. But with trial comes failure time and time again.
With Jesse James being the symbol of our small city, as well as the ups and downs of downtown. Nothing compares to one of the biggest falls of Saint Joseph Missouri. Which still stands as of July 2022, The East Hills Mall.
The East Hills Mall, located slightly between South and North belt. Established in 1965, the mall was one of the few established in the Midwest at the time. According to Wikipedia, "East Hills Mall was built by Sherman Dreiseszun in 1965 as one of the first malls in the Midwestern United States.[2] Original tenants included Montgomery Ward, J. C. Penney, Safeway Inc., Katz Drug, Woolworth's, and Hirsch Brothers department store.[3] The mall was expanded in 1988, and Dillard's and Sears were added then.[4]" But this man "Sherman Dreiseszun" sorta had his way with failures.
Although, he was succeeding with an established bank and another mall set up in Kansas city. East Hills slowly had its downfall, as stores slowly closed down and the mall removed its glorifying interior design for unknown reason. Although as someone who lives in the town myself I can only assume its because the rent for each store is more than the rent for a two bedroom one bathroom house for rent.
On top of stores leaving due to high rent, cuts to the interior would stop the draw of customers. Today, I only see little to no people actually hanging around the mall. Rather than just buying for the sales. Or wanting food from the one "restaurant" left. Which is also where I work and where I get most of my perspective on the people and the downfall. Even in one of the wings or exits of the mall, they have a whole wall dedicated to the history and looking back. And as you look and the large crowds of people along with the cool ✨fountains✨. Which according to a lot of millennials who've lived in the town for quite some time. That was one of the biggest teen grab, as it provided a cool hangout spot. Rather than the lame abandoned cafeteria.
As both of these are equally good reasons for the mall to have a downfall. It wasn't quite the towns fault for it. Just a year after "Sherman Dreiseszun" died in 2007 his banks had a major fall. I can only assume that's why they started cutting costs. Along with the new establishment up towards North belt. With the most memorable name ✨The North Shops✨. Amazing right? Well even though the name wasn't the best the new outdoor mall made a big hit, and all the dedicated East hills members moved there. Leaving East Hills abandoned.
Today the mall is barely standing on two legs and the only recent rise of popularity was the cringey back to school video. And the closing of Dillard's, which has been an on and off idea, going back and forth between sales. I'm super happy to no longer deal with it, since I'm quitting my job soon. I'll right another blog on Chinex next, and try to keep you guys updated on the rest of the city's drama, dumb crime, and people.
{I don't know if other towns understand the difference between the two such as our town. So for the sake of the blog I'll establish the importance; South and North belt is mostly used for location and segregation in the city. Ex; South-poor North-Rich.}
