In the golden age of malls, before online shopping helped kill the department store, San Antonio was a breeding ground for the all-encompassing malls, which used to be found on every side of town. The retail apocalypse of the 2010s signaled the end for several of those shopping hubs, including McCreless Mall, which operated on the city’s Southeast Side for more than 40 years.
The doors to McCreless Mall opened in 1962, and at the time, it was the largest shopping center in San Antonio, anchored by major department stores like Montgomery Ward. Over the years, the mall was home to major retailers, food stands, arcades, grocery stores and even a movie theater that many locals remember for its wacky color scheme. Some might even recall the Orange Julius, a popular stop between stores.
By 1995, McCreless Mall had grown to about 478,000 square feet, according to an archival Express-News story. However, much of that growth began to slow by the turn of the century as shopping habits shifted and store turnover increased. On December 28, 2000, Montgomery Ward Inc. filed for bankruptcy and closed stores across the United States, leaving a huge vacancy at McCreless Mall.
Eventually, J.C. Penney, Luby’s, and Eckerd Drugs exited the mall, signaling the end of an era. At the start of 2003, rumors began to swirl that H-E-B was looking to purchase McCreless Mall to redevelop it into a different sort of shopping plaza, and by March of that year, it was a done deal. At the time, a spokesperson for H-E-B said it was “an opportunity to redevelop in an area of town that has struggled.”
McCreless Mall had about 80 tenants when the purchase was made public, according to an Express-News story published on March 18, 2003, but it wasn’t until 2005 that most of the remaining tenants were asked to vacate. Within the year, demolition of the mall began to make way for a new H-E-B store and an open-air shopping center that still stands today.
The site has since been rebranded as McCreless Corner Shopping Center, which, of course, is anchored by the giant H-E-B plus! that opened in 2008. Cinemark McCreless Market, a movie theater, arrived afterward, and today the shopping center is thriving with all sorts of stores and restaurants, including Marshalls, Burlington and Shifu Noodle. Still, for those who knew it, McCreless Mall still brings up rich memories when mentioned in passing, even now.