Washington Square Mall

Washington Square Mall opened in October 1974 in Indianapolis. Once a major retail center, it has since experienced significant decline.

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Washington Square Mall, located on the east side of Indianapolis, Indiana, opened in October 1974. Developed by Edward J. DeBartolo Sr., it was the third and final of Indianapolis’ “Square” malls. The mall aimed to serve the growing suburban population and supplanted the nearby Eastgate Shopping Center, which had opened in 1957.

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History

Washington Square Mall opened on October 17, 1974, featuring two major anchor tenants: L.S. Ayres and William H. Block Co., both of which relocated from the Eastgate Shopping Center, which had originally opened in 1957. ^{1 12 15} The mall was designed to accommodate five department stores, 127 specialty stores, and eight kiosk shops, encompassing 1.3 million square feet of retail space. ¹⁵

Architectural features included eight fountains, two waterfalls, carpeted benches and rest areas, tropical foliage, planter areas in each department store court, skylights, mirrored mobiles in the central court, prismatic ceiling tiles in selected areas, and terrazzo flooring with a sandalwood field and a gray, black, and wide perimeter stripe. ¹⁵ The exterior featured eight acres of landscaped space with ornamental and shade trees.

The L.S. Ayres store was designed by Geupel-DeMars of Indianapolis, with interior design by Cy Assad & Associates of Pittsburgh. ¹⁴ It offered ready-to-wear fashions, home furnishings, accessories, and a Budget Store.

In 1975, forty additional stores opened. ¹⁵ J.C. Penney joined the mall in August, and Sears followed in October. ¹⁶ In September 1976, Lazarus announced it would build a $8 million, 143,000 square-foot department store, ¹³ which opened in 1978. ¹¹ The new store featured apparel, soft home goods, a beauty salon, and a restaurant. ¹³

In 1987, Federated Department Stores acquired Block’s and merged it into their Lazarus division. Since Lazarus already had a presence in the mall, the former Block’s space was closed and later occupied by Montgomery Ward.

In 1996, DeBartolo Realty Corporation merged with Melvin Simon & Associates to form the Simon DeBartolo Group (later known as Simon Property Group). ¹ The mall received a minor renovation in 1999.

Montgomery Ward announced on October 10, 1997, that it would close its store in 1998. ^{9 10} The space was subsequently demolished and replaced by Target in October 1999. ^{2 9 18} J.C. Penney announced its closure on January 19, 2001. ¹⁰ In January 2002, Lazarus stated it would close its location by spring. ⁹ The building was later demolished and replaced by Dick’s Sporting Goods, which opened in November 2004. ¹⁸ Kerasotes Showplace 12 opened in April 2005. ¹⁸

In 2005, Federated Department Stores acquired May Department Stores, which had previously purchased L. S. Ayres. ¹⁷ Following the acquisition, the L. S. Ayres nameplate was retired in 2006 and replaced by Macy’s, a brand already owned by Federated. In December 2007, Macy’s announced the store would close in early 2008 due to underperformance.

Decline

Between 2005 and 2010, Washington Square Mall experienced a period of decline, marked by the departure of several key retailers, including Old Navy, J.C. Penney, and Macy’s. ¹ The decline was attributed to poor sales per square foot and the area’s low average household income—$47,855 within a ten-mile radius—the lowest of any mall in the region. ⁹

In 2003, Mayor Bart Peterson offered immediate tax incentives to developers willing to build or relocate to vacant properties on the east side of Indianapolis, including empty anchor spaces at Washington Square. ¹⁸ The incentives attracted Dick’s Sporting Goods and Kerasotes Theatres.

Efforts were made to repurpose vacated spaces: Burlington Coat Factory opened in the former J.C. Penney location in March 2004; ^{10 18} Dick’s Sporting Goods replaced Lazarus in November; ¹⁸ and Indy Wholesale moved into part of the Macy’s space. However, these measures proved insufficient to halt the decline. Indy Wholesale went out of business in February 2013, and several other retailers—BonWorth, Rack Room Shoes, MCL Cafeteria, and Foot Locker—closed in 2014.

On August 6, 2014, Simon Property Group voluntarily transferred the property’s deed, citing financial difficulties. ^{3 4} This action allowed Simon to avoid a lengthy and costly foreclosure. At the time, Simon’s financial filings showed it held $25.5 million in debt on the mall, exceeding the property’s value. Following the deed transfer, Jones Lang LaSalle assumed management responsibilities. Nevertheless, the decline persisted. Sears closed its store in December 2014 due to a slow collapse of the chain, ^{5 19} followed by the closures of Aéropostale in 2016 and Buffalo Wild Wings in 2018.

In 2016, Kohan Retail Investment Group acquired Washington Square Mall for $2.5 million. However, the new ownership faced criticism for failing to pay property taxes and for neglecting maintenance, further accelerating the mall’s deterioration. ⁶ By 2018, the property was listed for auction due to unpaid taxes. ⁷

In 2019, Durga Property LLC purchased the mall. ⁸ Burlington Coat Factory and Dick’s Sporting Goods announced their departures in January 2020, ^{3 20} followed by Bath & Body Works in 2022.

As of 2025, Washington Square Mall remains in operation, mainly supported by small businesses and family-owned shops. Most anchor tenant spaces are vacant or abandoned, with Target as the remaining anchor tenant.

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Tenants

Tenant	Type	Opened	Closed
Dick’s Sporting Goods	Sporting Goods	2004	2020
J.C. Penney	Department Store	1975	2001
L.S. Ayres / Macy’s	Department Store	1974	2008
Lazarus	Department Store	1978	2003
Montgomery Ward	Department Store	1987	1998
Sears	Department Store	1975	2014
William H. Block	Department Store	1974	1987
Target	Discount Store	1999
Aéropostale	Apparel		2016
American Fletcher National Bank	Bank	1974
Bath & Body Works	Health & Beauty		2022
B. Dalton Bookseller	Entertainment & Media (Bookstore)	1974
BonWorth	Apparel	2006	2014
The Bottom Half	Apparel	1974
Buffalo Wild Wings	Dining (Restaurant)		2018
Burlington Coat Factory	Discount Retailer	2004	2020
Camelot Music	Entertainment & Media (Music)	1974
Cards ‘n’ Such	Gifts & Cards	1974
Carousel Children’s Wear	Apparel (Children’s)	1974
Casual Corner	Apparel (Women’s)	1974
The Children’s Photographer	Photography Studio	1974
Claire’s	Jewelry (Accessories)
Deb Shop	Apparel (Women’s)		2004
Evenson Hallmark/Kirlin’s Hallmark	Gifts & Cards	1974
Finish Line	Footwear
Florsheim Shoe Shops	Footwear	1974
Foot Locker	Footwear		2014
Frederick’s of Hollywood	Apparel (Lingerie/Specialty)	1974
GameStop	Entertainment & Media (Gaming)
Gap	Apparel
GapKids	Apparel (Children’s)
General Nutrition Center	Health & Beauty	1974
Goodman Jewelers	Jewelery	1974
Karmelkorn Shoppes	Dining (Snacks)	1974
Kay Jewelers	Jewelery	1974
Kerasotes Showplace 12	Entertainment (Movie Theater)	2005
Hanover Shoes	Footwear	1974
Harris’ Red Cross Shoes	Footwear	1974
Hickory Farms	Food & Gifts	1974
Indy Wholesale	Discount Retailer		2013
J. Riggings	Apparel (Men’s)	1974
Jeans West	Apparel	1974
J0-Ann Fabric Shops	Crafts & Fabrics	1974
Jose Frog Mexican Bar & Grill	Dining (Restaurant)	2006
Just Pants	Apparel	1974
Kay-Bee Toy & Hobby Shop	Toy Store	1974
Kinney Shoe Store	Footwear	1974
Lemon Tree	Apparel	1974
Lerner Shops	Apparel (Women’s)	1974
Longhorn Steakhouse	Dining (Restaurant)	2005
Max $10	Discount Retailer
MCL Cafeteria	Dining (Restaurant)	1974	2014
Merle Norman Cosmetic & Boutique Studio	Health & Beauty	1974
Mother To Be	Apparel (Maternity)	1974
National Uniform Shops	Apparel	1974
Naturalizer	Footwear	1974
Nobil’s Shoes	Footwear	1974
Old Navy	Apparel		2004
Paul Harris Store	Apparel (Women’s)	1975
Rack Room Shoes	Footwear	2006
The Ranch	Apparel	1974
Regal Shoes	Footwear	1974
Rost	Jewelery	1974
So-Fro Fabrics	Crafts & Fabrics	1974
Smith-Bridenstine	Health & Wellness (Optician)	1974
Spencer’s Gifts	Gifts & Cards	1974
Steve & Barry’s	Apparel	2006
Stride Rite Bootery	Footwear	1974
Sycamore	Apparel	1974
Tash Shoe Company	Footwear	1974
Thom McAn	Footwear	1974
Tiffany’s Bakery	Dining (Bakery)	1974
Tinder Box Pipe and Tobacco Shop	Specialty Retail (Tobacco)	1974
Top Hat Formal Wear	Apparel (Formalwear)		2004
Uno	Jewelery	1974
The Wild Pair	Footwear	1974
World Bazaar	Home Decor / Gifts	1974
Wurlitzer Music Stores	Entertainment & Media	1974
Your Father’s Mustache	Personal Services (Barber)	1974
Zale’s	Jewelery	1974

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Gallery

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Sources

1. “Washington Square Mall – Indianapolis, IN.” Flickr.
2. “Washington Square.” Simon.
3. “Washington Square Mall Under New Management.” IndyStar, 19 May 2018.
4. “Simon Hands Over Washington Square to Lender.” Indianapolis Business Journal, 22 Aug. 2014.
5. “Sears Becomes Latest Retailer to Bail at Washington Square.” Indianapolis Business Journal, 30 Sept. 2014.
6. “Washington Square owner owes more than $600,000 in property taxes.” Indianapolis Business Journal, 3 Aug. 2017.
7. “2018 Tax Sale.” indy.gov.
8. Crook, Lynn S. “Washington Square Mall to Get Makeover, Improvements.” WRTV, 18 Oct. 2019.
9. Knight, Dana. “Eastside is retail’s least side.” Indianapolis Star, 3 Feb. 2002, pp. E1-E6.
10. Tully, Matthew. “Washington Square Mall to get big cinema, retailer.” Indianapolis Star, 28 Jan. 2004, pp. A1-A6.
11. “Lazarus.” Indianapolis News, p. C4.
12. “Block’s Offers Easy Access From Mall.” Indianapolis News, 16 Oct. 1974, p. 87.
13. “Lazarus Store Slated At Washington Square.” Indianapolis Star, 17 Sept. 1976, p. 1.
14. “Ayres 11th Store Has Full Range.” Indianapolis News, 16 Oct. 1974, p. 86.
15. “Grand Opening.” Indianapolis News, 16 Oct. 1974, p. 82.
16. “Washington Square Mall.” Indianapolis News, p. 3.
17. Evanoff, Ted. “Macy’s to close Eastside location.” Indianapolis Star, 29 Dec. 2007, pp. C1-C2.
18. “Mall Makeover.” Indianapolis Star, 8 Jan. 2007, pp. C1-C2.
19. Swiatek, Jeff. “Washington Square Mall will lose Sears.” Star Press, 30 Sept. 2014, pp. 6A-6B.
20. “Washington Square Mall losing 2 anchor tenants.” Daily Reporter, 10 Jan. 2020, p. A4.