Building an Icon – Rolling Acres Mall

In 1964, on Akron’s west side, The DeBartolo Corporation was building the city’s first enclosed shopping center, Summit Mall. On the northeast side, Akronite Richard B. Buchholzer had partnered with Cleveland developers Forest City Enterprises and was in the beginning stages of building Chapel Hill Mall. Malls were going up everywhere across the country and it only seemed logical that Akron’s south side would be next. When studies showed the demand existed and with major department stores showing interest in the area, Buchholzer and Forest City concluded that the time to start planning Akron’s third major mall was now.

Two years later the group would settle on a 260 acre site on Romig Road located in the city’s southwest corner. The initial plan was to build a near twin to Chapel Hill. A single layer shopping mall flanked by two anchor department stores. In the acreage surrounding the center the group panned to build a 200 suite motel, medical and office buildings, and some 900 apartment units.

This artists rendering of Rolling Acres Shopping Center showcases Forest City Enterprises second major Akron project – a twin to the already existing Chapel Hill Mall – in which an 800,000 square foot center bordered by apartments and office buildings.

But Rolling Acres wasn’t the only shopping center being planned for the area. In the nearby city of Barberton a group was planning the Austin Mall Development, a smaller enclosed mall that would be surrounded by a new housing development.

Both projects faced major setbacks from area residents with many believing that the shopping centers would reek havoc on downtown retail in both Akron and Barberton. It was also thought that a shopping center would stunt downtown urban renewal projects.

Though Rolling Acres and Austin Mall were both eventually given the green light for rezoning, the Austin Mall never materialized.

The architectural rendering shows the first phase of Forest City’s development at Rolling Acres. Forest city also owned 127 adjacent acres which they had planned for commercial and high density residential.

After years of delays, construction at Rolling Acres would finally get underway in 1973. The shopping center was built in two phases. The first phase being the malls main level and the initial two department stores. The second phase would be the addition of a promenade level and three more department stores.

Original development plan for Phase I of Rolling Acres Mall shows the main level of the mall and plans for a future lower level.

The full first year of construction was spent grading the rugged landscape and transforming it into a workable site so the foundation of the mall could be laid. Once the initial foundation was in the rest of the project took only eleven months to complete.

Rolling Acres was nearing its opening. All of the years of planning and manpower put into the construction were finally becoming clear and the end result was truly beautiful. A modern wonder of retail was finally coming to life.

An excited Ray Kapper who was Chairman of the Planning Committee, speaks to The Beacon Journal on construction finally getting started at Rolling Acres.

Prior to the malls opening there was a special preview ceremony and private reception held at the mall where Rev. V. Stan Hampson pronounced the blessing of the mall and consecration of The Court of the Twelve Trees using a thousand year old Hawaiian chant.

After the mall was given it’s blessing, Ruth Ballard, wife of former Akron mayor John Ballard gave a champagne christening for the spectacular fountain that sat at the center of The Court of the Twelve Trees underneath a massive spaceframe skylight.

Some of the lucky group that was privy to the mall preview celebration.

At long last, the big day had finally arrived. The grand opening. The original twenty stores would be a perfect representation to the company’s philosophy of meeting the needs and demands of shoppers of all ages and incomes. A family could spend the whole day at the mall, take in a movie at the cinema, let the kids play video games at Play Palace, and then cap the day with dinner at Der Dog Haus.

Rolling Acres Mall Grand Opening
Rolling Acres adopted RA, The Friendly Giant as their mascot. Named after the Egyptian sun god, RA would appear in many advertisements throughout the early years. He even made an appearance at the grand opening.

The opening was a success. New stores would open on a near weekly basis. In addition to this success, Rolling Acres was also becoming more than just a retail outlet, the mall was becoming a center of community activity with special activities and events ranging from meeting Santa or the Easter Bunny, to meeting celebrities such as the Budweiser Clydesdales or getting to ring a life-size replica of the Liberty Bell. There was always fun to be had at Rolling Acres and the community loved it.

Rolling Acres Entrance
Originally posted by Tony Parks in the Rolling Acres Mall Memories Facebook group, this photo shows the entrance how it may have appeared at its opening.

Riding high off their achievement of a successful phase I it was now time for the company to turn its attention to phase II. But that’s a story for another time. Stay tuned!

Need to feed your nostalgic Rolling Acres craze? Be sure and check out this video walkthrough of the mall.

Will that be on your O’Neil’s card today?

In today’s world it’s hard to imagine life without the convenience of credit cards. But it wasn’t until the early 1900s when stores would begin issuing tokens to only their best and wealthy customers. These customers would be given the convenience of presenting their tokens to sales associates at checkout and then be billed at the end of the month, much the same as modern credit accounts.

Charga-Plate employee
Grace Wallace, an employee at Charga-Plates happily operates a notching machine to make new cards for customers.

By 1929 charge accounts would account for nearly half of all retail sales for stores who offered them. It wasn’t long after in 1935 that a standardized card based bookkeeping system known as Charga-Plate would gain popularity. Similar in look to a soldiers ‘dog tag’ these new plates would be notched with the customers name and address. The plate would simply be placed in a machine with a charge slip placed on top and then a ink ribbon would imprint the customers information onto the charge slip.

Employees of O'Neil's Akron preparing the new Charga-Plate system

In 1946, The Charga-Plate system would come to Akron, Ohio. The M. O’Neil Company, Polsky’s, and Yeager’s would all adopt the system and issue an Akron Charga-Plate which customers could use at any of the three stores.

Akron Ohio Charga Plate
Back side of an Akron Charga-Plate. These cards would be good at the three largest downtown Akron department stores.

O’Neil’s would continue to use the system up to the late 50s when they would establish their own line of store credit cards. These new cards would closely resemble the credit cards we are familiar with today though they would function similarly to the Charga-Plate with rollers imprinting the face of the card onto a sales receipt via carbon copy paper. This is the reason that some credit cards still have raised numbers to this day.

Vintage O'Neil's charge card
A 70’s era O’Neil’s charge card courtesy of Leo Noser.

In 1969 the magnetic strip on the back of credit cards would be developed by IBM who still consider the invention one of their 100 greatest contributions to society. Initially this new technology was much to expensive and it wasn’t until the 1980s that many company’s went away from the imprint style machines to the new magnetic strips.

Now with just a swipe of a card an electronic machine would send the customers information to the card issuers computer and within seconds the computer could verify if the customer had sufficient credit to complete the sale.

Oneils charge advertisement akron ohio
Charge it at O’Neil’s Rolling Acres.

Customer’s at O’Neil’s would continue to swipe their cards until 1988 when owner The May Company would merge their O’Neils division into May Co. Cleveland and over time rebrand the stores as May Company.

 

Remembering “The Four Seasons” at Chapel Hill Mall

When an unfinished Chapel Hill Mall with only 19 stores opened it’s doors in late 1966 shoppers must have truly been in awe as the walked into the mall for the first time.

Four Seasons at Chapel Hill Mall
“The Four Seasons” seen in this1967 image from the American Gas Association.

Upon entering the main court the focal point was quite obvious, “The Four Seasons” a sculpted mural that spanned a whopping 218 feet and was 13 foot tall. Designed by local Cleveland artist Brian Plesmid, the sculpture was made of troweled cement over mesh and decorated with multi-colored glass. The sculptures design was to depict the areas seasonal changes in nature.

Chapel Hill Mall in Akron, Ohio
This colorized image from 1964 shows nearly the full length of the sculpture and the hallway coming in from the main entrance.

To complement the massive sculpture, the main court also featured twin musical fountains designed by Jack Erbe of the Roman Fountain Company. The fountains splashed and danced to the sound of music played throughout the court area.

This Forest CIty Enterprises publicity photo shows one of Jack Erbe’s musical fountains.

Sadly, the mall didn’t age well. Even though a market study showed that in 1993 more people shopped at Chapel Hill Mall than at any other Akron area chopping center, merchants and customers alike thought the mall was quite dated. Dennis Weiland of Retail Consulting, a firm from Macedonia was quoted in the Beacon Journal as saying that “It needs something to bring it into the 90s”.

Christmas shopping at Chapel Hill Mall
A Chapel Hill Mall employee cleans up after a long night of holiday shopping.

So bring it into the 90’s is what management did. In a 1994 remodel, the Four Seasons sculpture was either covered up or destroyed, The twin fountains were removed and replaced with an updated single fountain, and a 5 million dollar food court, complete with carousel was added.

This photo from Chapel Hill’s Facebook shows that the main court was still quite nice, though not quite as awe inspiring as when opened.

In 2021 the mall closed it’s doors for good and is being turned into a business park. One certainly can’t say that Chapel Hill didn’t have a good run though as it stayed in business 55 years and outlived its major Akron competitor, Rolling Acres Mall by 13 years.

Rolling Acres Mall – Bubble Elevator

It was a pleasant surprise to come across this old Dover Elevator ad while recently thumbing through an old Architectural Record from 1979. I always thought the elevator at Rolling Acres Mall was special, but I’m glad to see that I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Dover Elevators apparently thought so highly of the elevator that they featured it in this ad which ran for several months in multiple trade publications.

Elevator Rolling Acres Mall
1979 Dover Elevators as featuring the “Bubble Elevator” at Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, Ohio.

With a design similar to what one might expect to find in a big city hotel, The elevator at Rolling Acres Mall was touted as “Akron’s First Bubble Elevator” and would serve customers as they traveled from the main level down to the Promenade Level.

This Beacon Journal clipping from 1976 points out that the mall’s bubble elevator was supposed to be yellow.

Though the ride on the elevator itself only lasted 15 seconds, it was definitely worth waiting for to take in the the beautiful fountains and and the French-styled greenscaped Parc from above before gliding to a smooth landing at the Promenade level.

Rolling Acres Mall Promenade
A 1978 Beacon Journal Ad featuring the Bubble Elevator promoting the opening of the Promenade Level at Rolling Acres Mall.

The elevator was a hit with shoppers, especially children. It was claimed that the because of its novelty the elevator had probably carried nearly as many shoppers up and down as the double escalators that it compliments in the Court of Lights.

promenade court rolling acres mall
A late 90s view of the still dazzling elevator in the Court of Lights at a Rolling Acres Mall in decline.

Head over to The Court of the Twelve Trees or take a video tour of Rolling Acres Mall from 2003 where you can see the bubble elevator and the escalators running.

 

Christmas at Rolling Acres Mall

Rolling Acres Mall Fountain Santa

“Our Christmas wish for you are these: May you always see Christmas with the eyes of a child. May you always know the warmth of love, the joy of giving, the magic of Santa Claus and the wonder of a star. May your days be filled with laughter and your lives be filled with peace.” from the Rolling Acres Merchants (The Akron Beacon Journal, 1991)

Rolling Acres Mall 1998 Gingerbread Man Dillards

Rolling Acres Mall Christmas 1998

Rolling Acres Mall Christmas 1998 Payless Shoes

Lions…

Rolling Acres Mall 1998 Dillards

and Reindeers…

Rolling Acres Mall security

and Bears…

Rolling Acres Mall Dillards Christmas

Oh my!

Zales Roling Acres Mall

Rolling acres mall fountain

Seriously, how long is this going to take?

Christmas Rolling acres mall

Rolling Acres Mall Christmas

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…denim and a black light.

Christmas Rolling Acres Mall

Rolling Acres Mall

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a department store with three Christmas carolers near.

Rolling Acres Mall Fountain

I’m sorry, but that floor, how did they get it so shiny?

Rolling Acres Mall Fountain

Rolling Acres Mall

Well, this is a little sad.

Rolling Acres Mall REindeer

JB Robinson Rolling Acres Mall

 ♪♫ JB Robinson ♫♪

JB RObinson ROlling Acres Mall

Rolling Acres Mall Christmas Train

 Best darn job in the mall!

Rolling Acres Mall Christmas     1998 WQMX Rolling Acres Mall

Could it be the WQMX “Wish Upon A Star” Wish Wheel where you could spin for a free trip, a telescope kit, or a $1,000 shopping spree? I’m in!

Northern Reflections Rolling Acres Mall

That reminds me, I still need to get my Christmas cards.

Rolling Acres Mall Entrance

Wow, that Post Office was also in this great video.

Rolling Acres Mall Fountain

Rolling Acres Mall Fountain 1998

Ahhhh, I think I’m going to rest right here on this beautiful bench and just take in all the glory that is Rolling Acres at Christmastime.

Rolling Acres Mall Elevator

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mall.

Rolling Acres Mall

May your shopping bags be full, and your local malls stay open!

Merry Christmas from everyone at Mallwalkers.net

Frederick's of Hollywood - Rolling Acres Mall

Destination: Quaker Square – Akron, Ohio

Through the eyes of a child, Quaker Square was wondrous. At least that’s how I remember seeing it. Every where you looked there was something to see. There were real trains outside, train cars inside and lots of miniature ones too. However, my favorite was always the mannequin displays depicting what it was like to work in the old factory. It was magical.

Quaker Square Akron Ohio

The complex itself was the original Quaker Oats factory consisting of a mill, factory, and silos. In the early 1970’s, developers saw great potential in “recycling” the building to what would become a unique destination full of shops and restaurants.

Quaker Square store Kitchen Works

The developers wanted to keep as much of the original factory look as possible. The brick walls, massive posts and beams and the overhead pipes through out the building were exposed. The wooden floors were left alone, only to receive a polish to a high gloss finish, and old factory equipment and materials were restored and installed as displays. It really was as beautiful as you are imaging.

Quaker Square Shoe Store

On April 1, 1975, when Quaker Square officially opened, it contained only four shops and one ice cream and sandwich shop. By April the next year, roughly 43 shops and restaurants were in operation with 10 more slated to open by July of 1976. The third and fourth floors contained offices that were accessible by a glass front elevator located in the main building, overlooking downtown. I always wanted to go up there as I envisioned they were the most grand offices in all of Akron. How lucky were you if you actually got to go to work in Quaker Square?

Quaker Square got the blues store

The developers attention quickly turned to one of the oldest buildings in Akron, which sat directly behind the Quaker Square complex. By June 1976, the REA Express building was transformed into the REA Express Spaghetti House and Pizza Parlor. As with the Quaker Square building, all the original brick, beams and posts were exposed. And authentic railroading memorabilia and artifacts were added all around. The best part however was not by design. The train tracks behind the restaurant were still active so chances were always good to hear a train whistle or even see a train pass by through the windows.

By the fall of 1979 it was time to start re-purposing the silos. The initial thought was to convert them into apartments. However with the hotel market starting to rebound at that time, it seemed like a more viable option. So a total of 26 silos were renovated into round hotel rooms with another 10 silos being used for elevators, corridors and storage areas. I never did stay at the hotel, or had an old-timey western picture taken at Magic Lantern Photos. It just goes to show that we should not take sites like this for granted. All we have now are fond memories.

Looking for more Quaker Square? Check out The History of Quaker Square Facebook Group or leave us a comment below!

 

Although you can no longer get a plate full of hobo roasted chicken, you can still get some cool Quaker Square T-Shirts and more…

Rolling Acres Mall – Full Video Tour 1-7-2003

Rolling Acres Mall header logo

Rolling Acres Mall Video Tape

This video cassette was found in the rubble of a mostly demolished Rolling Acres Mall. The tape was supposedly sent to potential buyers to help showcase the many beautiful features of the mall.

I acquired this video in early 2017 but it wasn’t until September that I finally hooked up my VCR to watch it. I had no idea what was on the tape and upon watching I was absolutely flooded with emotion and memories of Rolling Acres Mall. I watched the video at least 5 times that night and dozens more in the weeks that followed, it just never really got old.

Here are a few of the highlights:

  • Smooth Jazz by Pat Metheny
  • The Janitor cleaning the fountain in the court of twelve trees
  • The flickering storefront lights at the USPS store
  • Escalators in motion
  • The chandelier
  • Picnic Place
  • People shopping

This video is around 14 minutes long and it’s really worth watching the whole thing. It’s a full video walkthrough of an alive Rolling Acres Mall albeit long past it’s prime days.

Please let me know in the comments below what your favorite parts were.

This place has some seriously amazing Rolling Acres Mall logo shirts

2000’s Rolling Acres Mall Logo – White Text by turboglyde