The Idea That Became West Town Mall
In the summer of 1965, three Knoxvillians named Oliver Smith, Dr. John L. Montgomery, and Mrs. P. A. McGinnis bought a large piece of pastureland eight miles west of downtown.
The city hadn't reached that far yet, but they believed it would. Four years later, on May 28, 1969, bulldozers rolled onto sixty acres, starting Knoxville's biggest commercial project.
Smith worked with Detroit's Chrysler Development Corporation to plan the project, creating an unlikely team with the same hopes for the suburbs.
After the first years of planning, when the economy slowed down, Chrysler left, and Ralph Biernbaum from Stamford, Connecticut, took over.
The plans from New York architect Robert W. Kahn Associates then showed a one-story, U-shaped building that was new, air-conditioned, and very big.
Miller's of Tennessee was the first to move in. On March 13, 1972, its doors opened to 181,000 square feet of shiny tile and bright escalators.
For a company that began in Maryville, this step marked a major entrance into city retail. By summer, Knoxville grew fascinated with the new mall.
The Grand Opening and the U-Shaped Dream
West Town Mall officially opened on August 2, 1972, with speeches, a ribbon-cutting, and high hopes for economic growth.
Mayor Kyle Testerman said it represented Knoxville's future. The local paper predicted $60 to $75 million in yearly sales and crowds of 20,000 people each day.
The main stores were some of Tennessee's best-known businesses: Miller's, JCPenney, Sears, and Proffitt's.
Frankenberger's, a smaller department store, was located in the center where a food court would later appear. Proffitt's, which started in Alcoa, used this chance to open its new flagship store.
For shoppers, the mall felt more like a small town than just a building. Morrison's Cafeteria was a favorite spot for Sunday lunch.
There was a candle shop with the scents of hand lotion and pine, and a Hamilton Bank branch for quick deposits.
Outside, an A&P grocery store sat at one end, and the WesTown UltraVision Theatre, a single-screen movie theater, opened that December with "The Getaway."
Hess's, Food Gardens, and Petro's: The 1980s in Bloom
In 1985, West Town Mall changed things up. The old Frankenberger's store was torn out and replaced with a Food Garden that had twelve restaurants.
It was part of the new trend of giving people more reasons to hang around.
That same year, Petro's Chili & Chips opened its first real spot inside the mall.
They served chili poured into a bag of corn chips, and people lined up for it. The mix of something local and something new gave the mall its own rhythm.
Next was a change in anchor stores. In 1987, Miller's of Tennessee, a longtime local favorite, was sold and became Hess's.
The neon signs changed, but most loyal customers stayed. Department stores were changing quickly, though.
Hess's closed in 1992, leaving a large empty space that Dillard's soon took over. When Dillard's opened its new 243,000-square-foot store on November 3, 1993, it brought together both old and new styles.
At the same time, national developers took an interest. In April 1991, the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation from Ohio bought a share of West Town Mall and quickly announced plans to expand.
The mall, which once seemed huge, was about to get even bigger.
Expansion Fever: The 1990s Reinvention
Big changes came in the early 1990s. As Knoxville's population moved west, the mall grew with it. Construction began in 1992, adding a new south wing that would soon include JCPenney and Parisian department stores.
These years transformed the mall. JCPenney opened on July 16, 1994, and Parisian opened that September in a space originally meant for Parks-Belk.
The mall added thirty-two new stores, a six-story parking garage, and a sense of pride.
By 1998, it had grown to 1.33 million square feet, becoming the largest indoor shopping mall in Tennessee.
The expansion wrapped up that November when Regal Cinemas opened a nine-screen multiplex with a family fun area on top of the old Penney store.
The theater was bright at night and easy to see from Kingston Pike. Inside, the mall had new floors, a bigger food court, and more comfortable benches.
Knoxville had turned its suburban mall into a place that felt like its own small city.
When Sears opened in July 1973, Knoxville finally had what many Southern cities wanted in the seventies: an indoor main street.
The Belk Era and the Suburban Steady State
Malls are often known for their anchor stores, and West Town had several over the years. In 2005, Belk bought Proffitt's and took over its stores by early 2006.
Later that year, Belk also bought Parisian, so the mall ended up with two Belk stores: one for women, one for men, home, and kids.
It was an unusual setup, almost like the store had made a copy of itself on the other side of the mall.
The change left some empty spaces. Belk closed the lower level of the old Proffitt's, and Forever 21 combined several smaller stores to create one of its large two-level fashion spaces.
By late 2007, when Simon Property Group and TIAA refinanced the property, West Town's size was measured at exactly 1,333,000 square feet, a number that sounded impressive.
Apple opened its Knoxville store in the center of the mall on July 1, 2006, drawing lines of teenagers with iPod minis.
The Cheesecake Factory arrived in 2013, bringing stylish decor and a big menu. The mall kept changing, balancing old memories with new ideas.
Cinemas, Closures, and the Reinvention Cycle
By the late 2010s, Simon started making new plans for West Town Mall. In 2017 and 2018, workers replaced the floors, updated the lighting, and made the food court cleaner and brighter.
They also built a new public entrance near the theater and gave the mall a look similar to a hotel lobby.
Regal, based in Knoxville, changed its space. In July 2018, the theater reopened as Cinebarre, a mix of restaurant and movie theater where servers brought drinks during the movie.
The walls had warm wood and Knoxville murals, showing that malls were trying to be more than just places to shop.
Then the expected happened. On October 15, 2018, Sears announced it would close as part of a national bankruptcy.
The store closed on January 6, 2019, and demolition began the following year. Workers took down the last sign of one of the original anchors.
For a mall that once seemed permanent, the sound of jackhammers felt like a loss.
The New West: Dick's House of Sport and Beyond
The empty Sears site became a place to try new ideas. Dick's Sporting Goods chose West Town Mall for its second House of Sport, testing out a new kind of shopping experience.
Instead of just rows of shoes, there were climbing walls, batting cages, and an outdoor track.
The company hired almost 300 people for the May 2021 opening and invited Knoxville to see what shopping could be like when it included exercise.
Across the street, Tesla turned the old Sears Auto Center into a service center and showroom.
The smell of motor oil was replaced by the quiet sounds of electric cars. In just a few months, the west side of the property changed from old-fashioned to modern.
In 2025, West Town Mall covers 1.34 million square feet and is owned and managed by Simon Property Group.
At this point, it has six anchor stores: Dillard's, JCPenney, two Belks, Dick's House of Sport, and Cinebarre. Despite everything, the mall is full of life.
The Mall That Outlasted Its Predictions
More than fifty years after it opened, West Town Mall is still full of life. People come to walk, eat, and browse the same way they always have.
The mall's strength has never been about shopping alone. It's the way it keeps changing without losing its place in the city.
What started as farmland became a new kind of gathering place. Over time, it became a routine, a place people visit just because.
Across Tennessee, a lot of malls have become empty, their doors locked and signs fading. West Town never did.
The glass still shines, the crowd still comes, and every year brings another small sign that it is still going.
