An extant asset
-UPDATE BELOW-
15 February 2025
One of the many quirky things that I've always loved about the Seattle and Puget Sound region of western Washington is all of the unique place names. There are settlements with the monikers Cle Elum, Enumclaw, Index and Mukilteo; Skykomish, Tulalip and Issaquah. And in the middle of it all is the state capital with, perhaps, the most random name of all, Olympia. Over the years, I've become pretty well versed at correctly pronouncing each of these vales, but I've just never seemed to articulate the name of the home of South Hill Mall, Puyallup, on a consistent basis. I mean, is it Pew-yallup? Pee-wallup? It just doesn't roll off of the tongue for some reason. But at least they have a pleasant and prosperous, if not cookie cutter, indoor retail facility.
1 & 2- The southern front mall entrance. 3 to 5- South Hill Mall’s interior. 6- The mall's theater entrance abuts the passing freeway and almost no parking.
One of the things that struck me about South Hill Mall was how far out in the sticks it was. From neighboring Tacoma, we went down a highway whose environs became more and more rural as we passed. Just as the banjo music began playing in my head, we turned off of that highway and onto a two lane country route surrounded by rolling green hills and bored looking livestock. Then we happened upon a small village before crossing paths with an impressive looking roller coaster and ascending a hill. Then BOOM- we were back in the ‘burbs. And there next to a spontaneously appearing limited access freeway and surrounded by acres of peripheral retail was a sprawling, one level facility straight out of the eighties. Our back country adventure had led us to a mall.
-UPDATE- South Hill Mall lease plan, ca. 1989. View the full PDF version here.
The first thing that couldn't be missed was a two story, grey-toned Macy's that towered over the rest of the single level, white-washed building. Then there was a small JCPenney, next to a less small JCPenney which were both tucked away just to the right. I decided to take a stroll around the facility's exterior and it was then that I noticed just how spread out South Hill really is. The walk seemed to take forever. After passing the twin Penny's, there was a Dick's, then a Target followed by movie theaters with an elaborate glass entrance hidden in the back of the facility. Just after, some strange unattached shed came into view neighboring a bland and completely unremarkable Sears.
The two-level Macy’s store dominates the South Hill Mall skyline.
The interior consisted of contemporary stonework, neutral wood tones and gold accents, pretty much the template of other malls in this area. The most curious thing that I noticed is that this is one of the only single level malls I've ever been to with a graded parking lot. The eastern two-thirds of the structure is higher up, while the west third slopes downward with the hill, giving the interior in that corridor the appearance of a gently rising mountain trail, albeit one with Zales Jewelers and Aéropostales in the place of route markers, towering evergreens and Sasquatch.
-UPDATE- South Hill Mall Mallmanac, ca. 2012. View the full PDF version here.
South Hill Mall opened in 1988 in the South Sound town of Puyallup abutting highway 512. It originally opened with only three discount oriented anchors, Mervyn's, Lamont's and Target, and with only about one half of its present enclosed area. In 1994, the “upscale” west wing was added along with the anchors JCPenney, Sears and The Bon Marché as well as the movie theaters.
South Hill Mall Mallmanac, ca. 2013. View the full PDF version here.
In later years Old Navy was added while Office Max came and went. The Bon Marché became The Bon-Macy's before converting to a full Macy's while the Lamont's first became Gottschalk's before closing completely. A Linen's N Things and Circuit City split its space and after each hit the financial rocks, Dick's took over. Mervyn's eventually shuttered its doors along with the rest of the chain, allowing JCPenney to double their footprint from their rather small original location.
1 & 2- The exterior of the Sears store. 3 & 4- The original JCPenney store located in the 1994 expansion. 5 & 6- The second JCPenney outlet, originally a Mervyn’s.
South Hill Mall is a nice little place and continues to perform very well. Along with neighboring Tacoma Mall, it is one of only two enclosed retail facilities in suburban Seattle-Tacoma's Pierce County, so I don't expect it to go anywhere soon. People these days seem to love their malls with plenty of Lane Bryants', Sbarros' and minimal personality, ensuring South Hill's survival for decades to come.
-UPDATE- South Hill Mall Mallmanac, ca. 2014. View the full PDF version here.
-UPDATE-
15 February 2025
I have to admit that I’m pleasantly surprised by South Hill Mall’s staying power. It helps that the Puget Sound region has never been overmalled, but in today’s market it is inevitable that a few of the extant assets will not be able to survive.
1 to 3- Some of South Hill Mall’s entrances. 4- The movie theaters. 5 & 6- Exterior shots of the center. 7- The rear-most mall entrance next to Macy’s. 8- Target and the northernmost front mall entrance.
I was correct in thinking that Everett Mall would be the first regional shopping mall to fall, as plans have already been made to redevelop and de-mall the Snohomish County facility. And I thought that it was only a matter of time before South Hill Mall, in an area far off from Pierce County’s center of population, would soon join them.
I recently made my way to South Hill Mall for the first time in over a decade to check on the single level, sprawling complex in the shadow of Mount Rainier. It was not long before opening on a Saturday morning and even then, there were significant crowds in attendance.
1- Target’s façade. 2- The outside of Dick’s Sporting Goods, originally Lamont’s then shared between Linens N Things and Circuit City. 3- Round 1 resides where Sears used to. 4- JCPenney’s first store on the expansion wing. 5- DSW and the second JCPenney outlet, originally Mervyn’s. 6 & 7- Macy’s outside. 8- Signs announcing the liquidation and subsequent closing of Macy’s.
On the outside, there were some clear differences made between my last visit in 2013 and this day. Target’s exterior had been updated while what was formerly an Office Max was occupied by a DSW shoe warehouse.
South Hill Mall Mallmanac, ca. 2015. View the full PDF version here.
What was formerly Sears now has a mammoth sized bowling pin outside of its main entrance and, unfortunately, Macy’s store entrances, the only two level portion of the mall, were covered in red and yellow Store Closing announcements in anticipation of their exit.
1 & 2- Dick’s Sporting Good’s mall entrance at center court. 3- The gates to Target. 4- JCPenney’s mall entrance in the original mall, originally Mervyn’s. 5 & 6- The JCPenney access from the new concourse. 7- The Macy’s, soon to be closed. 8- Round 1’s entryway where Sears once was.
Inside, however, there were few changes to be found. The interior décor had been untouched since my last visit with lighter wood tones and crafted stonework still being highlighted throughout.
1 to 4- Center court. 5 to 8- Shots of the interior corridor from the original 1989 building.
The food court remained nearly filled to capacity while strong mall based names such as Hot Topic, H&M, Old Navy, Bath & Body Works as well as Zumiez still brought in plenty of patrons. All of this was quite nice to see.
South Hill Mall Mallmanac, ca. 2024. View the full PDF version here.
But as has been alluded to earlier, there have been a few unfavorable changes. Sears, to absolutely no one’s surprise, shuttered their space in 2018. However, it was converted to a Round 1 entertainment center in 2022.
1- One of South Hill Mall’s barrel vaulted ceilings in the original portion outside of the anchors. This is in front of Target. 2- Long time junior anchor Old Navy. 3 to 6- The food court. 7 & 8- The concourse just outside of the food court.
Another significant departure is happening at the time of this writing. Macy’s announced that the South Hill Mall store would be one of 66 to close nationwide just after the 2024 Christmas season. The closing sales are continuing as of the present.
No plans have been released for what will be a significant, double tiered vacancy in the newer wing of South Hill Mall. In fact, I haven’t seen any mention of any kind of redevelopment over all for the 37 year old property, which is a good thing.
Strolling literally down the newer 1994 expansion.
At least for now, South Hill Mall seems to be enduring the realities of today’s marketplace just fine. Being out of the way from where I live, I don’t make it out to its vicinity much, but I’ll be more than happy to be able to make another visit after another decade has passed. Hopefully.
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