North America cities that have (or had) a pedestrian mall
Friday I asked for help with information on 60 former pedestrian malls (see post). Readers responded with helpful information. Today I’m sharing my complete list of cities that have or had a pedestrian mall built during the period 1959-1984.  A few cities are listed twice because they had two pedestrian malls.
For my purposes a pedestrian mall is the at least partial closure of a commercial street to vehicles. The “semi” mall permitted traffic but on-street parking was significantly reduced or eliminated. Most were in the downtown area but in larger cities they could be found on neighborhood commercial streets such as St. Louis’ North 14th Street Pedestrian Mall (currently being removed).
I now have 134 malls in 136 towns and cities. A couple of sources I have made reference to (nearly/almost/over) 200 malls built.  These sources never document this 200 number. So part of my research is simply to verify how many malls were actually built during this 25-year period.
Here is the list in alphabetical order by city name (italics = removed; bold = intact; red= need more info)
- Allentown Pennsylvania
- Ann Arbor Michigan
- Ashtabula Ohio
- Atchison Kansas
- Atlantic City New Jersey
- Auburn New York
- Baltimore Maryland
- Baltimore Maryland
- Battle Creek Michigan
- Boston Massachusetts
- Boulder Colorado
- Buffalo New York
- Burbank California
- Burlington Vermont
- Burlington Iowa
- Calgary Alberta
- Cape May New Jersey
- Centrallia Illinois
- Champaign Illinois
- Charlottesville Virginia
- Chicago Illinois
- Coos Bay Oregon
- Cumberland Maryland
- Dallas Texas
- Dallas Texas
- Danville Illinois
- Decatur Illinois
- Denver Colorado
- Des Moines Iowa
- Dubuque Iowa
- East Lansing Michigan
- Elgin Illinois
- Erie Pennsylvania
- Eugene Oregon
- Evansville Indiana
- Fargo North Dakota
- Fayetteville North Carolina
- Fort Lauderdale Florida
- Frankfort Kentucky
- Freeport New York
- Freeport Illinois
- Fresno California
- Galveston Texas
- Greenville South Carolina
- Greenville North Carolina
- Hallifax Nova Scotia
- Hartford Connecticut
- Helena Montana
- Honolulu Hawaii
- Iowa City Iowa
- Ithaca New York
- Jackson Michigan
- Kalamazoo Michigan
- Kansas City Kansas
- Knoxville Tennessee
- Lake Charles Louisiana
- Lansing Michigan
- Las Cruces New Mexico
- Las Vegas Nevada
- Lebanon New Hampshire
- Lincoln Nebraska
- Little Rock Arkansas
- Louisville Kentucky
- Madison Wisconsin
- Memphis Tennessee
- Miami Beach Florida
- Michigan City Indiana
- Middletown Ohio
- Milwaukee Wisconsin
- Minneapolis Minnesota
- Monroe North Carolina
- Muncie Indiana
- Napa California
- New Bedford Massachusetts
- New London Connecticut
- New Orleans Louisiana
- New Orleans Louisiana
- New York City (Brooklyn) New York
- Newburyport Massachusetts
- Oak Park Illinois
- Ottawa Ontario
- Oxnard California
- Painesville Ohio
- Palm Beach Florida
- Parsons Kansas
- Paterson New Jersey
- Philadelphia Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia Pennsylvania
- Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
- Pomona California
- Portland Maine
- Portland Oregon
- Pottsville Pennsylvania
- Poughkeepsie New York
- Providence Rhode Island
- Quebec City Quebec
- Reading Pennsylvania
- Redding California
- Redlands California
- Richmond Indiana
- Riverside California
- Rock Hill South Carolina
- Rockford Illinois
- Sacramento California
- Saint Charles Missouri
- Saint Louis Missouri
- Salem Massachusetts
- Salisbury Maryland
- Santa Cruz California
- Santa Monica California
- Schenectady New York
- Scranton Pennsylvania
- Seattle Washington
- Sheboygan Wisconsin
- Sioux Falls South Dakota
- Spartanburg South Carolina
- Springfield Missouri
- Springfield Illinois
- St. Cloud Minnesota
- St. Joseph Missouri
- Tacoma Washington
- Tampa Florida
- Toccoa Georgia
- Toronto Ontario
- Trenton New Jersey
- Tulsa Oklahoma
- Vancouver British Columbia
- Vicksburg Mississippi
- Washington District of Columbia
- West Chester Pennsylvania
- Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania
- Williamsport Pennsylvania
- Wilmington Delaware
- Winona Minnesota
- Winston-Salem North Carolina
- Youngstown Ohio
I believe most, if not all, of those listed in red have been removed with the street re-opened to traffic. I may just need the year it was reopened.   I have no doubt that over 200 were proposed. Built? At this point I don’t think so. If you know of others that are not on this list please share.
Some cities, such as my home town of Oklahoma City, built pedestrian malls after 1984. These tended to be very different. In the case of Oklahoma City they dug out a street in their old warehouse district to create a canal.
– Steve Patterson
Steve,
I believe Montreal has a pedestrian mall, on Rue St. Arthur in the Plateau neighborhood. It's two or three blocks long. I'm not sure when it was created, but it's there now. Was there a few months ago, it looks to do OK, mostly has restaurants along it. Probably more popular in the summertime.
Steve, Mount Clemens, MI is the county seat of one of the largest counties (Macomb) in MI. In the mid-70s, they built a pedestrian mall smack in the middle of downtown and closed 4-6 blocks, which quickly killed what used to be a thriving, traditional “main street” town center. In the mid- to late-90s, they reopened it and are crawling back back from that ill-advised brink. I'll try to find links for you, but with a population of only about 20k in the city proper, it might not hit the population threshold you might need?
Thanks! I was able to find documentation online. It was built in 1980 and removed in 1992. The bulk of pedestrian malls were built in small towns such as this – I have no population threshold.
Tim beat me to it, but many foreign countries have pedestrian malls. In fact, the pedestrian zones I've seen in European cities tend to be thriving, whether in Cologne, Munich, Berlin, Rome or Florence. Should we look at why other countries have had such great success with them and America hasn't? Is it just our love of the automobile?
This was a hard less for many U.S. cities. Just because an idea works in one location doesn't mean it will work in another. Many factors made our ped malls different from European counterparts. Auto use is among the factors. Population density is another.
Pedestrian malls work in America as well, including in small towns. I'm very familiar with the Ithaca Commons, the pedestrian mall in Ithaca, NY. It has an eclectic collection of shops and restaurants, street art, and an informal and frequently used performance space.
For years, I wondered what a shame it was that Ithaca is not near an interstate highway. Later I realized that the lack of an interstate saved it from destruction. Unlike its larger neighbors Syracuse and Binghamton, and their dangerous and hollowed out city centers, Ithaca was able to hold on to much of its charm and human scale thanks to the interstate's absence. So yes, love of the automobile has much to do with it, and I'm glad at least some American towns were saved for people without an automobile fetish.
Pedestrian malls have worked in 'some' American cities and towns. They did not work in more towns than they worked. In looking at maps of each of these towns I see they are so different. One size does not fit all.
I think Boris is right that bypasses are key. I'd like to see a factor analysis of this.
Also, three other pedestrian malls I haven't seen mentioned: Nassau Street (New York City), Fourth Street (Albuquerque) and Washington Street (Binghamton).
Pedestrian malls work in America as well, including in small towns. I'm very familiar with the Ithaca Commons, the pedestrian mall in Ithaca, NY. It has an eclectic collection of shops and restaurants, street art, and an informal and frequently used performance space.
For years, I wondered what a shame it was that Ithaca is not near an interstate highway. Later I realized that the lack of an interstate saved it from destruction. Unlike its larger neighbors Syracuse and Binghamton, and their dangerous and hollowed out city centers, Ithaca was able to hold on to much of its charm and human scale thanks to the interstate's absence. So yes, love of the automobile has much to do with it, and I'm glad at least some American towns were saved for people without an automobile fetish.
I live in Williamsburg, VA, and we have a “sort of” pedestrian mall. We have a main road (Duke of Gloucester street/DOG street) that's closed to traffic that's about a mile long. It runs through an area mostly (but not quite completely) owned by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation which contains a large scale recreation (buildings and actors) of the colonial city that used to exist here. There are also several side roads that are partially closed in the area.
There are also a few remaining private homes, some active churches, about 3 blocks at the west end of the street a modern (but carefully planned to look like a downtown) shopping district, and many of the “colonial” buildings actually contain apartments for employees of the historic foundation.
What makes it a “sort of” pedestrian mall is the fact that one can sometimes park and/or drive on the street at certain times of day. (Generally, after 10:00 PM and Before 5:00 PM. Also, if one is going to a specific business, for example, that only has on street parking on the mall). But it is illegal to drive down the street/through the area without stopping during the day – and there are gates that one must get out of the car, open, move the car forward, and then close manually behind oneself on many parts of the street.
There's also a decent push by local merchants to close more of the side streets
I don't know the dates that these were built, but two that are not on your list are Grand Rapids, Michigan (Pearl Street downtown), and Ottumwa, Iowa (downtown). Both have since been removed.
Steve,
What info do you need about DC?
Glad you asked. in the 70s “Liberty Place/Gallery Place” was built on 1-block. Another added in 1975 and a third in 1976. That is all I know so I need a lot of info: start year? removed? Width of ROW? Exact location?
Steve,
Gallery Place pedestrian street included F Street between 7th and 9th (along National Portrait Gallery) as well as 8th Street just south of F.
In addition, the block just to the west, in front of the DC public library (Mies's firm), was also pedestrianized. I recall both of them in the late 1970s and early 1980s when I was in DC. Neither exist today.
I have been doing research on Charlottesville's Mall designed by Halprin Associates (1973-76). Let me know if you are interested in any sources.
Thanks Beth! I've narrowed my research to just those in Illinois but I do have an interest in the subject.
4th Street in Louisville has seen multiple iterations. You're correct, it's now all driveable, but what's kinda unique/weird is that at one point the pedestrian mall had been enclosed for a block and a half (for a retail mall, a la St. Louis Center), but when the street came back, they kept the roof, so now you have a sort-of drive-thru mall: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&source=hp&ie=…
Pacific Avenue & Bryan Street in downtown Dallas remains a rail transit corridor: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=e…
The two Dallas listings I have are Akard Street Mall and Stoneplace Mall. One block of Akard is still closed in a mall-like fashion (Commerce to Jackson) but all I know about Stoneplace is that it was 1 block with a 50' ROW.
Frankfort, KY – it looks like cars have been allowed back on the St. Clair St. mall: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=e…
Yes, but I don't know the year that changed.
Champaign, IL – looks like the mall's still there and car-free: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=e…
Their mall was called Neil Street. It looks like the street/alley behind Neil is closed to cars – that looks like Freemont St based on their grid. Looking at Neil St the curbs/sidewalks look like something done in the 80s/90s.
Tampa – it looks like Franklin St. remains carfree for two blocks between Whiting and Janckson, and is a semi-mall between Jackson and I-275, for a dozen blocks.
In Elgin IL, it looks like Wellington Avenue and Ziegler Court were once a rail line, and there are a couple of random blocks of Ziegler that are still mall-like, without cars and with “improvements”.
Finally, Milwaukee – they have a dying downtown enclosed mall (http://urbanmilwaukee.com/2009/03/29/grand-aven…) that took over a street or two, and Cass Street has one block closed and two narrowed between Wisonsin and Kilbourn. They also have a pretty cool river walk, which is what we most enjoyed on our last trip there.
Milwaukee's ped mall was not downtown — it was at Forest Home Ave at 13th – it was reopened around 1994. I need to know the year built and removed.
You are missing Long Wharf Mall, in Newport, RI. Street View: http://tinyurl.com/yc8gbmm
Excellent — thanks for letting me know!
You can add my hometown, Grand Rapids, MI to the list. The Monroe Mall was removed in the early 2000s and is now open to one-way traffic with plenty of angled parking.
Ah, my hometown: Dubuque, Iowa, Town Clock Plaza, built 1971, completely closed Main St. to traffic between W 5th and W 9th Streets, 4 blocks total. Reopened to traffic August 2002. No concrete canopies.
Sources:
Built date: http://www.encyclopediadubuque.org/index.php?ti…
Opening date: search of http://www.thonline.com archives for the phrase “town clock plaza open traffic main”. Resulting story had this quote: “The ceremonial opening occurred in August 2002.”
Both sources have good ancillary information on the impact to businesses of both moves… the original plaza displaced 65 businesses.
Google Street View also has nice pictures of the now-open Main St. The reopening still preserved some nice streetscape with additional sidewalk tables/benches, but fewer trees.
You can add Main Street in Salisbury, Maryland to your list, now reopened to traffic. http://www.ci.salisbury.md.us/cityclerk/Ord1915…
There is also such an animal, seldom trafficked and often avoided, in Portsmouth, NH: the so-called Vaughan Street Mall, formerly — of course — Vaughan Street. It's what you pass through after you park your car to get to the main street.
There are two I know of that may or may not meet your criteria – Centerway Square in Corning NY was created after they closed part of Pine St. to vehicular traffic in 1988. You can get a nice view of this on Bing maps birdseye view, it's Pine street from Market to the river, and the Pine St bridge over the river is also now a pedestrian-only bridge.
In Richmond Va they had the 6th street Marketplace from 1985-2008. If I understand correctly, the block of 6th street between Broad and Marshall had an indoor mall built over it (The Marketplace), and I think the block between of 6th between Broad and Grace was made pedestrian only, but still open-air. Both blocks are now back to vehicular traffic, as the mall building was torn down last year.
Chicago has had a pedestrian mall. Either on State Street in downtown or in the Englewood neighborhood. Neither exists. The Englewood neighborhood in fact had at 63rd and Halsted regular car traffic routed around the shopping area and you will see evidence of that still today. But some might say that if in the 1960s Chicago had never used that plan, the Englewood neighborhood might be in better shape today.
Dubuque, Iowa's Main Street pedestrian mall was converted back to a thru traffic street a few years ago.
Steve, there is a book, For Pedestrians Only by Roberto Brambilla and Gianni Longo that list 70 malls, (Whitney Library, Watson-Guptill Publications 1977) some of which you still have in red. It has at least a paragraph and basic information on each one, including contact information (no doubt dated). The book itself, while it contains other information is basically a treatise on creating these kinds of spaces. You may already know the book, but if not it may be useful.
There is in depth information and analysis on a number of malls, including several you still have in red.
I have that book, that is where I learned about many of these malls. The 1977 book doesn't tell me the year a mall was removed after it was published.
The one in Youngstown Ohio was paved over about 6 years ago and reopened for traffic!
Add Coffeyville Kansas to the list.
I visited Coffeyville in July and saw the concrete awnings downtown but no mall. I suspected they had one. I've yet to find any documented proof.
Raleigh, NC –Fayetteville Street, the main street downtown, was closed in 1977 and reopened in 2006.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayetteville_Stree…)
Also, in Richmond, VA, Virginia Commonwealth University closed the 800 and 900 blocks of Park Avenue to automobiles.
Steve,
What information do you need for Toronto, ON? Off the top of my head, I cannot think of any pedestrian malls besides The Path (underground mall). I have been to the one in Ottawa and I must say it is horrible but feels pretty European.
I need everything. My reference indicates it was on Younge St and has been removed. I need to know if it in fact existed, when built, when removed, and from what street to what street did it run.
The Yonge Street Mall was but a seasonal affair, during the summers of 1972-74.
Steve, I'm a Master's candidate at UVa – just finishing up my Architectural History thesis on Charlottesville's pedestrian mall. I appreciate your count, it is the best I have come across. One to add to the list is Union Square in Hickory, NC. It doesn't come up in searches because they don't refer to it as a Mall, but I've been there and it is. Believe it was built in the 1970s after some dramatic urban renewal but I haven't done the research. Google it – photos show that it is clearly in the spirit of 1970s pedestrian malls.
New London, CT has had its -a stretch of road known as Captain's Walk – removed for many, many years. All that remains are some curb.
small ped zone/mall in silver spring, maryland…only two blocks long or so….but nice fountain, ground level retail, and streetscaping…include it!
I believe someone already mentioned it, but my hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, converted Main St. to a pedestrian mall years ago. It’s still thriving! The street is lined with shops and restaurants (Charlottesville locals love their food), but I think one of the main reasons that it has had such success is that during warmer months, an amphitheater at one end of the mall hosts bands on Fridays. These are called “Fridays After Five,” and they bring a lot of traffic to the mall. When you go downtown on Fridays you’re are guaranteed to see people that you know. There is also an Omni Hotel on the other end of the mall, so visitors to Charlottesville explore the downtown mall (as it is called in C’ville) and spend money in the expensive shops that line the street.
I believe someone already mentioned it, but my hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, converted Main St. to a pedestrian mall years ago. It’s still thriving! The street is lined with shops and restaurants (Charlottesville locals love their food), but I think one of the main reasons that it has had such success is that during warmer months, an amphitheater at one end of the mall hosts bands on Fridays. These are called “Fridays After Five,” and they bring a lot of traffic to the mall. When you go downtown on Fridays you’re are guaranteed to see people that you know. There is also an Omni Hotel on the other end of the mall, so visitors to Charlottesville explore the downtown mall (as it is called in C’ville) and spend money in the expensive shops that line the street.