The real estate cliche "location, location, location" may be beaten to death; however one cannot argue its truth. Eastwood Mall in Birmingham had the incredible advantage of location and access. The property was triangulated by three major thoroughfares: Crestwood Blvd (US Highway 78; at the time also known as Atlanta Highway), Montclair Road and Oporto Avenue (today known as Oporto-Madrid Blvd). Simply put, Eastwood Mall sat on one of the best parcels of land in the city. Even when the only way to get anywhere in Birmingham was on regular surface roadways, it was still easy to get to Eastwood -- people in the south suburbs of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia could access the area through Montevallo Road or Montclair Road. Folks from downtown Birmingham, North Birmingham or Ensley could get here via Crestwood Blvd. And if you called Roebuck, Pinson or Trussville home, one simply took Madrid Ave. or Ruffner Road, then Oporto ... and you were at Eastwood before you knew it. As icing on the cake, residents of distant areas like Pell City, Ashville, Anniston, Gadsden and beyond took advantage of their proximity to Eastwood Mall. As you can see on the map below left, that convenience was no small feat:

This is from a 1960 Rand McNally street map of Birmingham. I-20 wasn't even indicated as a 'proposed' routing! The first portion of interstate in B'ham would not be open until the late '60s. In fact, I-20 wouldn't be completed through this area until 1984. Inset map of Birmingham, from the 2005 Rand McNally Road Atlas. And looky here -- Eastwood Mall is on the map (although it and Century should be to the right of where the red squares are shown). Of course, there's now one less mall to indicate in the 'big book.' [The "Statue of Liberty" notation seen along the bottom is a miniature version of Lady Liberty which can be seen from I-459, the city's south loop. It's worth looking for.] Prior to Eastwood Mall's opening in 1960, that stretch of US 78 was uncluttered. The only evidence of commerce along 78 in the pre-Eastwood era was the Starlite Drive-In, a couple of gas stations and the legendary Motel Birmingham. On the coattails of Eastwood and all the traffic it generated, other businesses soon began sprouting like mushrooms. Among the first to open was a Howard Johnson's Restaurant, 28 flavors of ice cream and all. Kemmons Wilson put up an impressive multi-story Holiday Inn next to the HoJo's in 1962. A Shoney's Drive-In was built on the property in front of the mall in 1963 ... back when they had carhops, offered curb service, and was part of the Big Boy chain (remember when the "Big Boy" statue used to be outside the front door?) Shoney's became a popular hangout. All of the curb stalls were numbered, and WSGN had regular contests, where the DJ called out stall numbers throughout the evening. If you and your date were parked there, and you were listening, you could claim a free meal. And since this WAS Birmingham, Alabama, and Eastwood was the new growth area, it only made sense for Mr. Jack Caddell to open a location of the upstart fast-food chain bearing his first name. Jack's Hamburgers had its grand opening for the Eastwood Mall store in January 1963. As expected, the kiddie show icons were the stars of the show. Channel 13's "Cousin Cliff" Holman was there, and Channel 6 was represented by Benny Carle. And we all fondly remember the jingle (and if you don't, now you do): Jack's Hamburgers for fifteen cents are so good - good - good ... you'll go back - back - back, to Jack's - Jack's - Jack's for more - more - more! Now if you were hungry after all that shopping at Eastwood Mall, and the lunch counters at Kresge, Newberry or Liggett weren't your speed ... you could swing through Jack's and grab a hamburger or "Fish-on-a-bun" and a milkshake for the drive home (be careful -- no interstates, remember; just stop and go traffic!) In back of Eastwood, a Wagon Ho! restaurant opened somewhere in the 1966-67 time frame. It was a drive-through restaurant ahead of its time, complete with a Conestoga-style roof and "driver" ... Wagon Ho! was a short-lived chain of restaurants, and the Birmingham location eventually became part of Kelly's Hamburgers (another B'ham-based fast-food eatery). When Kelly's bit the dust, it became known as Dilly's Deli.