The Center Mall debuted 50 years ago, one year after West Acres. It was marketed as “another great place to shop.

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

In its waning days, the Center Mall is a dispiriting destination. Its final occupants are packing up, with Roers Development’s deadline for departure just a month away. A few walkers still pace the cobblestone halls, passing empty – some long-empty – storefronts.
Those hallways once rang with the clatter of feet and the chatter of shoppers’ comparing notes. Now, as the community bids farewell to the 50-year-old mall, it’s time to remember better days.
When Moorhead last dreamed of redeveloping its downtown in the 1960s, the prospect excited the community as much as the city’s most recent dream did in 2019, when renewal began with a pre-development agreement with Roers. Back then, city fathers began to ask “what next” after repeated floods had virtually destroyed the residential area called The Point where the Hjemkomst Center now stands. They turned their eyes toward the wave of urban renewal that was sweeping the nation … that they’d already watched clean up rough, disreputable corners of old Fargo across the river.
A decade of controversy dogged that dream. False starts, political wrangling and questionable alliances roiled the waters. Finally, though, the controversies ended in triumph. In 1973, the wrecking ball took out the last of old Center Avenue between Fourth and Sixth Streets. A few months later, proud merchants and city officials threw open the doors of a handsome new mall and what they believed would be a new era for Moorhead commerce.
Even then, the specter of competition with their larger, better-funded neighbor and its showy new West Acres Mall threw a not-so-subtle shadow. The marketing slogan crafted to promote the Center Mall acknowledged that for all to see: “Another great place to shop.”
Nevertheless, it was true. Droves of shoppers roamed the stores in those successful years – Palace Clothiers, Neubarth Jewelers, Foss Drug, The Classic, Maurice’s, Ox Cart Imports, Vanity, Canary Fashions, Merle Norman Cosmetics, Trade home Shoes, Peggy’s Hallmark, Town and Country Flowers, and so many more. Almost 50 merchants operated in the mall during its early years. So many others have taken their places ever since – some already gone, a few still going.
And not only retailers have drawn visitors downtown. Dakota Clinic occupied quarters there, along with chiropractors, optometrists, insurance agents and hair stylists.
The Highway Host drew such crowds that diners often had to wait for tables, shoppers competing with employees who came down from City Hall for lunch. Young and old snacked at the Bandstand and devoured pizzas at Giovanni’s. If they were over 21 – or just 18 at the time of the mall’s launch – thirsty customers could drain a mug or two at Vic’s Lounge.
Ample shopping, no sales tax on clothing, and open on Sundays – those were the days! Center Mall, rest in peace.
We invited the Extra’s Facebook friends to share favorite memories of the Center Mall in its heyday. Here’s a small sample of their reminiscences.
Ross Collins: Gallery 4 was in the mall for several years. I was a member then, so I worked shifts there for three years. Got pizza for dinner in that corner place on the city hall side that I believe had once been Cinema Lounge, where you could get a drink while watching your movie.
Linda Dregs: I still miss Herberger’s. It was my first go-to because it was much quicker and easier than heading west, and much better organized than the one at the other mall.
Karen Perry Anderson: Herberger’s at both malls, but I loved the Moorhead store much more. It was just comfortable.
Derek Dahlsad: As a young teen, I rode my bike across the Oak Grove bridge to the Moorhead Center Mall for the combination mecca of Radio Shack and Hobby Hut, just a couple doors apart on the east side. I spent soooo much of my allowance there.
Jane Schlicht: The Classic! I miss it every day.
Carolyn Anderson: The Sunshine Tree. I started working there when it opened while I was a student at Concordia. It had new things that were not found anywhere else – so very fun to shop!
Teresa Norwig: We bought my wedding ring at Neubarth’s Jewelry in 1989.
Molly Warren: Herberger’s season-end sales clothed my boys when I didn’t have two nickels to rub together while their dad was in school. I will be forever grateful.
Jane Pettinger: Santa visits.
Karen Olson: There used to be a tall shop there. I’d miss it, except now I’m shrinking!
Jean Hannig: All my jewelry came from Gould Jewelers. I still miss Herberger’s and all the stores. Loved going to lunch at the Highway Host.
Al Aamodt: Herberger’s and Palace Clothiers.
Robin Nelson: I remember riding our bikes across the river to go to the mall when retail was not allowed to be open on Sundays in North Dakota. Merle Norman, a drug store and the Highway Host come to mind.
Tom Krabbenhoft: Highway Host and Cinema Lounge. Radio Shack was a great place to spend money.
Cathy Chial: Herberger’s. The Classic, Puffe’s Jewelry Thai Orchid, Everest Tikka House.
Cher Hersrud: Herberger’s, of course! It was always my go-to store for nearly everything and everyone.