Opened In 1964, The Winter Park Mall Offered Shoppers A Chance To Browse In Cool Comfort
By Gayle and Steve Rajtar
July 2009

Central Florida was in the midst of a growth spurt in the 1950s, thanks to a booming technological economy. Two large enclosed shopping malls were built to meet the growing population’s retail needs. A former T.G. Lee cow pasture south of East Colonial Drive along Bumby Avenue became the home of Colonial Plaza, and about four miles to the north along Orlando Avenue (U.S. Highway 17-92) the Winter Park Mall was built.

Shopping malls were a relatively new concept when the Winter Park Mall opened Aug. 20, 1964. The beautiful, modern mall was considered a symbol of progress, and – with nearly 400,000 square feet of retail space – it also was the largest climate-controlled mall in the Southeast, according to news articles at the time. Anchored by two popular department stores – J.C. Penney Co. on the south and Ivey’s on the north – the mall was expected to compete with shops along Park Avenue in downtown Winter Park.

The main entrance on the west side, facing Orlando Avenue, was flanked by two tall white towers that gave the mall a distinctive look. After a trek across a hot parking lot, shoppers were greeted with cool air, lush foliage from numerous large planters suspended from the hallway ceilings, and the sound of water falling.

The mall’s centerpiece, located at the junction of the north-south and east-west hallways, was a tall fountain described by some as a “champagne glass” or a tall black “spilling chalice.” Water flowed over the edges of the top of the fountain into a stone base, producing a fine mist. When the mall opened, the base of the fountain was encircled by a wooden barrier that also functioned as a low planter. Eventually the barrier was removed and nothing stopped shoppers from walking into the stream of cascading water. Near the fountain was a pet store from which small birds often escaped, giving the mall a tropical ambience with the mist, the rich greenery high and low, and wildlife chirping and flying overhead.   

In addition to the anchor stores, the mall had a Woolworth’s and a Walgreens, each with its own busy luncheonette. Other restaurants came and went over the years, but dining out was not as popular in the 1960s as it is today, and food courts had not yet been developed. The Mall News sold newspapers, magazines, chewing gum and tobacco. Lillie Rubin’s was a women’s upscale clothing store with well-dressed saleswomen and sold dresses more likely to be seen on Park Avenue than to be worn at McCrory’s, a five-and-dime store a few doors down. Children begged their parents to take them to Toy & Hobby Chest.  

Community and civic events – as well as fashion shows – were held near the center of the mall. Local businessman Bill Baer sold televisions and other appliances and had a gigantic stuffed bear – not a man-made toy but an actual bear – in his store window that drew crowds of onlookers. Baer’s store originated in downtown Orlando. The store was equipped with listening booths – each with two pairs of headsets – to listen to the latest records. As a result, the mall became a place to hang out on a Saturday night with or without a date. One corridor of the mall catered to the artsy crowd and featured paintings and prints for sale.

The Winter Park Mall was well-known locally during its first five years, but it had no real national reputation. That all changed Easter morning, April 6, 1969, when it became the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States to have a major fire, according to published reports. Winter Park police were alerted to a problem by a burglar alarm in Lawton’s Jewelry that was monitored at the police station. It most likely was triggered by the start of the fire.  
Officer Tyler Copeman heard the report on his police radio at 5:04 a.m. while he was patrolling the area and was the first to respond. Once he and another officer were inside they noticed smoke coming from the roof above the Keller Music store. Suddenly the smoke thickened as the fire spread. The officers radioed for the fire department. By the time the first unit from the Winter Park Fire Rescue Department arrived, the fire was visible outside of the mall. Flames were shooting 30 to 40 feet above the roof when firefighters heard a loud hiss, followed by an explosion and the sound of breaking glass.  

The firefighters called for assistance, and two more units from Winter Park, as well as firefighters from Orlando, Killarney and Maitland, responded.  As they battled the blaze, a large part of the mall roof collapsed, and it was after 11 a.m. before the fire was under control. Thousands of spectators – dressed in everything from pajamas to Easter bonnets – gathered to watch what was, at the time, the costliest fire in metropolitan Orlando’s history.

The exact cause of the fire was never determined, but it was thought to have started in either the Singer Sewing Machine Co. or the Taylor-Carlisle Book Store. The state fire marshal ruled out arson, and Winter Park Fire Chief Robert Bair later said firefighters were hampered by “structural features” that allowed the fire to spread quickly and contributed to the roof’s collapse.  

The only two stores with sprinkler systems at that time were J.C. Penney and Ivey’s.

Robert Jacobs, the head of the Winter Park Mall Association, asserted that the mall “met all the code requirements when the mall was built in 1963,” but there was little in the code that dealt with enclosed shopping centers. Mall-wide sprinkler and fire alarm systems were not included. Bair said, “They sort of had to write the code as it went along,” referring to the original construction of the mall. Jacobs assured the public that the association would meet all the amended requirements to prevent another similar disaster.            

Several stores were able to open the next day – a Monday – and did a booming business. A target date of Aug. 1, 1969, was set for the damaged areas to reopen. Those portions were rebuilt, and the Winter Park Mall was a popular place until the 1980s, when Park Avenue and other area malls appeared to win the battle for shoppers.

By the 1990s the mall was merely a shell of its former self, with few remaining retailers. Developer Casto Lifestyle Properties suggested the mall be resurrected as a big-box power center, but city leaders had another vision. They hired consultants Dover, Kohl & Associates to plan a redevelopment as an urban village with offices, shops, restaurants and living space, which would turn the enclosed Winter Park Mall into the rambling Winter Park Village, complete with sidewalks for strolling and parking spaces just a few feet from each store. The final store in the mall closed in the late 1990s, and the Village opened a few years later.

Nearly all of the Winter Park Mall was demolished. The sole remaining portion, which had been Ivey’s and later Dillard’s, was redesigned to become the Lofts of Winter Park Village. The 58 rental units feature a curator to manage the art displays upstairs; there is retail space below that includes The Cheesecake Factory. The Village also has several other restaurants, bars and the Regal multiplex cinema, in addition to stores that vary from small, quaint shops to nationally known retailers.  

What was once the site of the largest enclosed mall in the Southeast is now enticing visitors and residents to stroll the “village” streets and enjoy restaurant or sidewalk dining.

Gayle and Steve Rajtar are the authors of A Guide to Historic Winter Park, Florida, published by The History Press. To contact them or order a copy of the book, write to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .