Douglas C. Towne

Special for The Republic

When John F. Long opened the $18 million Maryvale Shopping City in 1959, it was the largest shopping center between Dallas and the West Coast. The open-air mall at 52nd Avenue and Indian School Road featured two supermarkets, a bowling alley, specialty stores and department stores.

Malcolm’s, a two-level department store owned by Long, opened in the retail center in 1961 and replaced Vandever’s Department Store, which moved to Scottsdale. Robert W. Malcolm, who came from Los Angeles with 26 years of retail experience, was the store’s general manager.

Mary Heath was 16 when she began working in the layaway and gift-wrapping department at Malcolm's in 1966. “Malcolm's had free gift wrap and even wrapped packages for mailing,” Heath recalls. “Long lines of customers took advantage of the service and often came back later to claim numerous packages.”

MR. MAGOO AND A BOND GIRL, TOO:Maryvale Shopping City attracted stars

Heath, the sister of Phoenix historian John Jacquemart, soon received a 25-cent-an-hour raise and was transferred to the store’s credit office.

“I was then earning $1.55 per hour!” Heath exclaims. “At age 19, I was frequently the person in charge during the evening shift. Clerks called the credit office to have me approve a customer’s charge purchase. Many irate customers stormed back to the credit office wanting to know who denied their purchase only to find a 19-year-old college kid — me!”

'No spring breaks at the beach'

A full-time student at Arizona State University at the time, Heath worked at the upscale department store from early afternoons until the store closed at 9 p.m. "Malcolm's wanted me to major in business or finance, but I chose to be a teacher instead," Heath says. "Holidays or school breaks meant I could work more hours at the store. There were no spring breaks at the beach for me."

"I have many wonderful memories of Malcolm's — my first experience with a timecard, a retail store, and responsibility at a young age," Heath says. "I literally grew up at Malcolm's. Mr. Bob Malcolm was a great boss and was more like family since I was one of the younger employees. His son, Tom, also worked there. I loved Malcolm's and worked there until I was 29.”

Maryvale Shopping City was booming when Heath was employed. "On lunch breaks, I headed to S.S. Kresge's Dime Store," Heath recalls. "Ryan-Evans was great for a cherry coke at the soda fountain. I visited my Dad, who worked at El Rancho Market. The Lantern Inn was reserved for special occasions."

The idyllic days of Maryvale Shopping City did not last forever. There was turnover with many stores, including the million-dollar conversion of the Bowlero Bowling Lanes to the split-level Pettett’s Department Store in 1974.

Mall reworked in face of competition

To compete with other malls opening in the Valley, the open-air center with shaded walkways was enclosed, expanded, and renamed Maryvale Mall in the late-1970s. The new southwest wing of the mall was anchored by Mervyns.

The opening of Westridge Mall in 1981, now called Desert Sky Mall, at Thomas Road and 75th Avenue, was a significant blow to Maryvale Mall. Long fought in vain against the new mall’s rezoning request at Phoenix Planning Commission hearings in 1978.

Malcolm’s, which also had a store in Flagstaff, was famous for its holiday parties held in conjunction with Long’s construction company. Sometimes, however, not everyone got the memo about the location of the party.

“One year it was at Rawhide,” says Kathy Rons Fink, director of human resources at Malcolm’s during the mid-1980s. “John Long’s wife, Mary, was livid that it wasn’t at a fancy resort so she came all dressed up including a mink stole. We thought that was pretty funny.”

Mall limps into 1990s

Competition from Westridge Mall (now Desert Sky Mall) contributed to the mall’s demise. Once anchored by upscale department stores, Maryvale Mall became home to a Target discount store and the Maryvale Pride Pavilion indoor soccer field. The Maryvale Cinema became a dollar-movie venue.

The mall was almost vacant by the mid-1990s, and Long sold it to the Cartwright School District in the late 1990s.

Douglas C. Towne is the editor of Arizona Contractor & Community magazine, www.arizcc.com.