An extant asset
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Four Seasons Mall, as it was known at the time, was another of those malls that we would zoom past on the interstate on one of our many road trips between Virginia Beach and Huntsville in the late 1980s. Though I looked forward to the likes of Northgate, East Towne, West Towne, Hamilton Place and Eastgate, Four Seasons was both the most impressive and mysterious.
Four Seasons Mall around the time of its opening. (Source for all)
From my vantage point looking south on I-40, the entire complex looked massive. There was the sprawling yet towering (three whole stories!!) shopping monolith in the center with the extensive Four Seasons Convention Center and high rise hotel just behind. Though all dressed in the drab earth tones of the day, it was absolutely stunning.
Four Seasons Mall lease plan ca. 1974. View the full PDF version here.
Of course, all I could ever see from my back seat window was the elongated rear exterior of Four Seasons Mall, so I was fairly disappointed to finally see that this was just a façade. There were no protracted concourses just out of my view; no, this place was simply a barbell shaped building with an additional anchor in the center.
Four Seasons Mall lease plan ca. 1980. View the full PDF version here.
Four Seasons Mall opened in 1974 on the southwestern outskirts of Greensboro. Debuting as a double tiered facility throughout, it was the city’s first enclosed shopping mall. It was envisioned to be the flagship destination of its developers, Koury Corporation, with the mall serving as the centerpiece with a hotel and convention center already at the site.
1- Four Seasons Town Centre mall entrance. (Source) 2- A early shot of center court. (Source) 3- Center Court today. (Source)
The three major anchors were Belk, JCPenney and locally based Meyer’s. Richmond based department stores Thalhimer’s and Miller & Rhoads also opened locations, though these were much smaller than their standard outlets. Also debuting were a McCrory’s, a four screen General Cinemas and a Winn-Dixie Supermarket, among others.
Four Seasons Mall lease plan ca. 1990. View the full PDF version here.
By 1980, Meyer’s had changed to Jordan Marsh first with Ivey’s coming after. Four Seasons Mall saw no other major changes until 1987 when the third level, including a food court, was completed. At this point, with over 1 million square feet of gross leasable area, the retail destination was one of the largest in the state.
Four Seasons Mall lease plan ca. 2011. View the full PDF version here.
The nineties brough more modifications as Dillard’s took over the Ivey’s space in 1990 while Belk opened their own third level not long after. The nineties also saw the exit of both Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimer’s with a major renovation coming late in the decade. The revisions included an amphitheater and fountain added to the center court of what was formerly known as Four Seasons Mall.
Four Seasons Mall Mallmanac ca. 2024. View the full PDF version here.
The new millennium saw the closure of Four Season’s single enclosed competitor within Greensboro, Carolina Circle Mall. In 2015, Belk exited the center with Dillard’s moving into their former digs just a year later. Since then, Round 1 Bowling & Amusement has taken over the first level of the former Dillard’s. JCPenney, the only extant anchor remaining, still has a home on Four Seasons Town Centre’s western end.
1- The JCPenney exterior. (Source) 2- Dillard’s façade, formerly Belk. (Source) 3- Looking toward the food court. (Source) 5- Dillard’s mall entrances. (Source) 5 & 6- Inside Four Seasons Town Centre. (Source for both)
Unfortunately, I have still never visited what is now Four Seasons Town Centre or even been back to the Greensboro-Winston Salem area since those late eighties road trips. Fortunately, with not a whole lot of competition, the mixed use village should be around for a while if I ever make it out there.
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