Changing retail in Pa.

Many Pennsylvania shopping centers have switched from enclosed malls to open-air shopping plazas. King of Prussia is unique in the state, as it has endured and grown for decades while numerous other malls here went on life support when their anchor stores closed. This list shows some of the dead and dying malls in Pennsylvania. Please tell us in the comments which ones you would add to the list - or if there's one you think doesn't belong here.

PART TWO: Readers submit their picks for dead and dying malls of Pennsylvania.

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Photo: Dan Gleiter, PennLive.com/file

Carlisle Plaza Mall, Carlisle

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Carlisle Plaza Mall opened in the late 1960s and had three anchor stores: Bon-Ton, Kmart and JCPenney. It was also home to Giant’s flagship store. The mall lost its anchors in the mid-1990s and half of it closed in 2002. It was redeveloped into The Point at Carlisle Plaza.

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Century III Mall, West Mifflin

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Century III Mall opened in 1978, about 8 miles south of Pittsburgh at the site of a former steel mill. It had five anchors: Gimbel’s, Horne’s, JCPenney, Kaufmann’s and Sears. It was the only mall in the Pittsburgh area that had Gimbels, Horne’s and Kaufmann’s in one spot. Those anchors started closing in the late 1980s. Macy’s, which purchased Kaufmann’s in 2006, this year announced it was shuttering its Century III Mall doors among a wave of closings. As those anchors have left, so have numerous other stores.

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Clearfield Mall, Clearfield

Clearfield Mall was a community hub in the 1970s. When Ames, one of its anchor stores, closed in 2002, things started to change for this mall. The vacant space was eventually filled by Ollie’s and Peebles, and JCPenney has been an anchor there for decades. While those stores and a Dollar General continue to drive traffic to the mall, the shopping center isn’t what it used to be.

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Columbia Mall, Bloomsburg

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Columbia Mall opened in 1988 with four anchor stores: Bon-Ton, Hills, JCPenney and Sears. Hills converted to Ames, which closed in 2002. Sears closed last year. Bon-Ton and JCPenney are still there, but other stores inside have gradually closed. Most recently, a Hallmark store closed in April.

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Photo: The Associated Press/file

Eastland Mall, North Versailles

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Eastland Mall started out as the Eastland Shopping Plaza in the early 1960s. After a fire in 1973 led to major renovations, it became Eastland Mall. Once home to many popular stores, such as F.W. Woolworth Company, Gimbels, JCPenney and National Record Mart, the mall was demolished in 2007.

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Gallery at Market East, Philadelphia

The Gallery at Market East opened in 1977 as Philadelphia’s downtown mall. It slowly declined throughout the last several decades, losing many of its stores. It’s currently in the middle of a complete, two-year overhaul with goals to reopen next year.

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Photo: The Associated Press/file

Granite Run Mall, Media

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Granite Run Mall opened in 1974 in a Delaware County suburb of Philadelphia and was anchored by Gimbels. The two-floor shopping mall closed in 2015. It is being replaced by the Promenade at Granite Run, a development that includes residential, retail and entertainment.

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Greengate Mall, Hempfield

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Greengate Mall opened as an enclosed mall in the late 1960s with big names including Elby’s Big Boy, G.C. Murphy, Horne’s, JCPenney and Montgomery Ward. As those anchors left – some due to store closures and some jumping ship to the more popular Westmoreland Mall nearby – Greengate Mall started to lose many tenants. It was mostly vacant for years before being demolished in 2003. In 2005, the open-air Greengate Centre opened in its place with anchors Jo-Ann Fabrics, Petco, Ross Dress for Less and Walmart. Several other stores round out its 45 stores and restaurants, such as Five Below, GameStop, Hallmark, Oshkosh B’gosh and Verizon Wireless.

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Laurel Mall, Connellsville

Laurel Mall was built in the early 1970s and thrived when it had three anchor stores: Ames, Montgomery Ward and Metzler’s. After those anchor stores closed, the mall was on life support and couldn’t compete with the more popular Uniontown Mall nearby. By about 2006, Laurel Mall closed. The mall had a grand reopening in 2013 with a few novelty stores, but it pales in comparison to what it once was.

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MacDade Mall, Holmes

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MacDade Mall was built in 1969 and opened with fanfare. Like many other malls in the state, it started to falter when it lost some of its big-name retailers. By about 2010, people described it as “desolate,” “dead” and a “ghost mall.” It has since been redeveloped and now includes Acme, Kmart, Marshalls, Ross, Payless, Hair Cuttery and more.

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North Hills Village Mall, Pittsburgh

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North Hills Village Mall opened in 1957 as a strip mall with Gimbels as its anchor store. By 1976, it became an enclosed mall. Some 20 years later, it lost a lot of business to the more popular Ross Park Mall and reverted back to a strip mall. The addition of Target in 2006 has helped fill the parking lot again, but it’s not what it once was.

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Parkway Center Mall, Pittsburgh

Parkway Center Mall opened in 1982 as an enclosed mall with then-popular anchor stores Giant Eagle, Gold Circle, Thrift Drug and Zayre. It also had Chi-Chi’s, Payless and Radio Shack. As many of those stores closed, Parkway Center Mall declined. Once Kmart closed in 2013, it lost its last anchor store. The mall is now being demolished to make way for mixed development of homes, offices, recreation and retail.

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Richland Mall, Johnstown

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Richland Mall opened in 1974 with anchors Sears, Kmart and local store PennTraffic. It started to lose business in 1992 when the Johnstown Galleria opened. The mall was eventually razed in 2000 to make room for Walmart, Petco, TJMaxx, Bed Bath & Beyond, and other stores.

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Schuylkill Mall, Frackville

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Schuylkill Mall was built in 1980 with anchor stores Hess’s, Kmart and Sears. Hess’s closed in 1995, and more than a dozen other stores have closed since then, including KB Toys, GameStop, Hallmark, Gap and Kay Jewelers.

UPDATE: The mall has closed and is being demolished.

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Photo: The Associated Press/file

Station Mall, Altoona

Station Mall was built in the 1970s and became known for anchor stores BiLo Supermarket and Hills. It eventually included a Revco and many other stores that opened and closed. After Ames, which had purchased Hills, closed in 2002, the mall grew vacant. By 2004, much of it had been converted to medical offices.

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Photo: The Associated Press/file

West Manchester Mall, York

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West Manchester Mall opened as an enclosed mall in 1981 with Bon-Ton, Gee Bee Department Stores and Hess’s. The mall took a serious hit when the larger, more popular York Galleria opened in 1989 on the eastern side of York County. Texas-based M&R Investors bought the mall in September 2012 and announced a $47 million renovation to change the venue into an outdoor shopping center, West Manchester Town Center. The revamped spot still includes anchors Kohl’s and Walmart, and also includes Ann Taylor Loft, At Home, Petco, Burlington Coat Factory, Kirkland’s, DSW Shoe Warehouse and more.

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SEAN SIMMERS

Abandoned places in Pa.

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Pennsylvania has its share of abandoned and spooky places. Here are a few of them.

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