Westmoreland Mall: Origins in the Woods
Before engines, asphalt, and headlights took over Route 30, there was Miller's Woods. Edison, Ford, and Firestone camped there in the early days of the Lincoln Highway.
The ground they pitched their tents on would later hold something entirely different: Westmoreland Mall.
The land that became the mall sat on 103 acres in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
In those days, it was a mix of fields and trees, part of a quiet corridor that only a few small roadside businesses called home.
During the first half of the 20th century, travelers on the Lincoln Highway often stopped there.
By the 1960s, the area still felt rural.
Shoppers went downtown or to Greengate Mall, which opened in 1965 and became the region's first major enclosed shopping center.
Greengate was a hit, but its owner, the Rouse Company, didn't want to expand when department stores Kaufmann's and Sears came asking.
That refusal opened the door for a new project east of town.
Adam Eidemiller, Inc., which owned the wooded land, first considered building a motel but changed course as the shopping-mall boom took off in the 1970s.
Eidemiller partnered with Murray Goodman's development firm from St. Louis, the same company that had just finished Granite Run Mall near Philadelphia, to create what would become the largest retail complex in the Laurel Highlands.
Building the Vision
Construction started quietly in 1975.
Two years later, on February 28, 1977, Westmoreland Mall opened to a crowd that packed the new corridors.
The place was enormous for its time, 850,000 square feet, with Kaufmann's and Sears at each end and close to ninety other stores filling the space in between.
The opening was treated like an event. Local families came out, balloons everywhere, the parking lot jammed.
Mr. McFeely from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood made an appearance, shaking hands and posing for photos.
For a lot of people in Westmoreland County, it was the first modern mall they'd ever seen.
The Kravco Company operated the property.
It represented the new suburban lifestyle rising across America: climate-controlled comfort, free parking, and everything one might need under a single roof.
Early Expansion and Rivalry
The mall didn't stop growing once the doors opened.
In 1978, the South Annex went up across the lot, anchored by a Shop 'n Save.
Locals later called it Westmoreland Crossing.
A year after that, another 80,000 square feet were added, this time including Troutman's Department Store, a longtime name from downtown Greensburg.
That move said everything about where retail was headed.
The old shopping district was losing its pull, and the mall was taking its place.
Greengate Mall tried to hold on.
It put money into renovations in 1981 and spent the rest of the decade fighting to keep tenants.
But it couldn't match what Westmoreland offered.
The layout was newer, the stores were bigger, and the crowds kept coming.
By the mid-1980s, Westmoreland added about 40,000 more square feet for restaurants and smaller shops in a new convenience section.
It was the clear winner by then, pulling shoppers from as far as Pittsburgh on one side and Johnstown on the other.
The 1990s Transformation
By the start of the 1990s, the mall wasn't new anymore.
Other shopping centers were popping up around Pittsburgh, and competition was closing in.
The owners knew it was time to make a move.
In 1993, they started a $33 million overhaul that changed the entire layout.
Crews added 66,000 square feet of retail space, built a big two-level parking garage that could handle more than 700 cars, and carved out a new food court that gave the place some energy again.
In 1994, JCPenney left Greengate Mall and opened inside Westmoreland Mall.
That move basically ended Greengate's run and confirmed who had won the fight for shoppers in Westmoreland County.
The mall looked newer, brighter, more open. It felt like a fresh start instead of a holdover from the 1970s.
Through the rest of the decade, it stood as the main shopping hub for this side of Pennsylvania.
The New Millennium
Westmoreland Mall entered the 21st century strong.
In 1999, Carmike Cinemas opened a 15-screen stadium-style theater next to the South Annex, bringing entertainment into the mix.
The original four-screen theater inside the mall was converted into Kaufmann's Home, later renamed Macy's Home after the 2006 Federated Department Stores rebranding.
The property's flexibility in repurposing space kept it relevant while many malls nationwide began to decline.
Ownership changed in 2002 when CBL & Associates Properties acquired the mall for about $112 million.
The company called it "a viable property and a great investment," signaling confidence in the site's long-term future.
That optimism was justified for a while.
With anchor stores like Macy's, Sears, and JCPenney still drawing traffic, the mall remained a key regional center.
But the larger retail world was shifting.
E-commerce was on the rise, and major department stores were beginning to falter.
Decline of the Anchors
The next decade tested Westmoreland Mall's strength. Kaufmann's turned into Macy's in 2006.
Sears stayed open for more than forty years before finally announcing it would close in December 2018.
The store shut its doors on March 17, 2019, leaving behind 200,000 square feet of empty space.
The Bon-Ton, which had started as Troutman's and changed hands through several owners, closed in July 2018 after the company went bankrupt.
Losing both anchors so close together was one of the hardest moments in the mall's history.
Even with those losses, the property didn't stay down for long.
Developers looked at the empty buildings and saw room for something new.
Where some saw decline, others saw another chance to reinvent the place.
The Casino Revolution
In July 2018, The Cordish Companies and Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment announced plans to redevelop the vacant Bon-Ton building into a casino and entertainment complex.
Live! Casino Pittsburgh would span about 100,000 square feet, create over 500 jobs, and inject new life into the mall.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved the project in August 2019, and by late that year, demolition began.
Construction continued through the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the casino officially opened on November 24, 2020.
The $150 million facility transformed the site.
It featured a casino floor with 750 slot machines, 33 table games, and a 1,400-square-foot poker room.
Guests could visit high-limit lounges, dine at Guy Fieri's American Kitchen and Bar, or attend concerts and events at The Venue Live!.
The project also included a FanDuel sportsbook and ample parking, connecting directly to the mall's interior.
Live! Casino Pittsburgh was more than a new tenant; it was a reinvention, turning retail decline into entertainment revival.
New Energy and Modern Moves
In 2024, the property began another chapter.
Dick's Sporting Goods signed a lease to take over the former Sears building, planning to open one of its flagship House of Sport locations in 2026.
The concept includes climbing walls, turf fields, and interactive retail experiences designed to merge shopping with recreation.
It will occupy the second floor initially, making it the second House of Sport in the Pittsburgh region.
Westmoreland Mall also attracted smaller, community-focused tenants such as Brand Unique Boutique, Gator JJ 3 Sports Card, Miniso, and the Hempfield Township Parks and Recreation.
These additions reflected a shift away from relying solely on national chains and toward a mix of local engagement and experiential retail.
Present Configuration and Regional Impact
Today, Westmoreland Mall's anchors include Macy's, Macy's Home, JCPenney, H&M, Old Navy, and Live! Casino Pittsburgh. The complex spans more than 1.28 million square feet with over 170 retailers and restaurants.
Surrounding the main structure, Westmoreland Crossing and nearby plazas form one of western Pennsylvania's largest retail concentrations, hosting names like AMC Theatres, Dick's Sporting Goods, T.J. Maxx, Michaels, Planet Fitness, and Levin Furniture.
Altogether, the Greensburg-Hempfield corridor now contains over 5 million square feet of commercial space, making it the dominant retail hub in Western Pennsylvania.
Looking Forward
In August 2025, CBRE Hotels completed a study commissioned by the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce that proposed adding a 200-room luxury hotel and a 50,000-square-foot event center next to Live! Casino Pittsburgh.
The analysis projected that the development could generate more than $720 million in economic activity over ten years and create hundreds of jobs.
Local officials praised the idea as a path to build a tourism economy around the mall's entertainment core.
If built, the hotel and convention center would complete Westmoreland's evolution from a traditional shopping mall into a full-scale destination.
The proposal includes a direct connection to the casino and mall, uniting shopping, entertainment, lodging, and events under one integrated complex.
The Legacy of a Survivor
Westmoreland Mall doesn't fit the usual story.
It never died, but it never really thrived again either. It just kept going.
Every time something shut down, someone else found a new way to use the space.
That stubbornness is the real story.
It's gone from trees to retail to roulette without ever sitting still.
Each version has been a different kind of gamble, and somehow the place keeps breaking even.
Drive along Route 30 after dark and you'll see the glow.
It's not as bright or as endless as it was in the 1980s, but it's still there, steady and alive.
Those lights aren't about nostalgia anymore. They're proof that the mall, against all odds, is still breathing.