Shore Mall Grand Opening. The Place To Shop. Egg Harbor Township, N.J. {1968}{Photographs And Story}

The Shore Mall in Egg Harbor Township, NJ, originally opened in 1968 as an open-air shopping center named Searstown. Its grand opening on May 31, 1968, featured an open-air design with shrubbery, fountains, and initial anchor stores Sears, Grant City, and a Pantry Pride supermarket. The mall was later enclosed and expanded in the 1970s and renamed Shore Mall before eventually becoming Harbor Square and subsequently closing. Initial Grand Opening Date: May 31, 1968. Name: Searstown. Design: Open-air shopping center with landscaped areas. Original Anchors: Sears, Grant City, and Pantry Pride supermarket. Number of Stores: Twenty-two stores were open at the grand opening, with the number growing to 29 by the end of 1968. Evolution of the Mall The 1970s: The mall was enclosed and expanded during the early 1970s. Steinbach Addition: A fourth anchor, the regional department store Steinbach, was added after the mall was enclosed. Name Change: The mall was eventually renamed Shore Mall. Decline and Closure: After the opening of a nearby competitor, Hamilton Mall, in 1987, the Shore Mall began to decline. It was sold in 2006 and eventually closed, with most of the structure demolished in 2013. Harbor Square: The remaining portion of the property was rebranded as Harbor Square