PEABODY — Fifty years ago, when the Northshore Shopping Center was dedicated on Sept. 12, 1958, 50,000 people showed up.
The palatial Jordan Marsh, gleaming William Filene's and Sons and host of other shops beckoned the throngs.
"It was the largest shopping mall from Maine to Rhode Island," said Barbara Doucette of the Peabody Historical Society.
It was a landmark event for the North Shore, changing the way people shopped and marking the beginning of the end of local downtown retail districts. Over the years, however, the mall, too, has changed. Once an uncovered shopping plaza, it has evolved into a multi-million-dollar mecca of high fashion, high tech and upscale dining.
Today, the mall nears completion of swanky department store Nordstrom, a new retail wing and upscale Chinese eatery P.F. Chang's.
"Nordstrom is going to add a whole new tier of retail and service to the North Shore, and I'm really excited about that," mall General Manager Mark Whiting said.
When the mall was dedicated, Peabody Mayor Phillip O'Donnell called it, "a symbol of the confidence of the merchants and backers in the future of New England."
His words ring true today.
"What's old is new in a sense," said Whiting.
Shopping & entertainment
In its early days, the Northshore Shopping Center was a destination for more than just shopping. Famous actors and performers like Paul Anka, Buster Crabbe and Jerry Lewis appeared at the mall.
"They had all kinds of things going up there in those days," Doucette said.
Kiddietowne, the mall's own amusement center, captured the imagination of children all over the region until it closed in 1973. Couples met and fell in love there.
The shopping center grew to add a cinema, bowling alley and restaurants in 1963, was enclosed in 1977 and underwent a major renovation in 1993.
One of only two original tenants who are still there, Murray's Hallmark witnessed the transformation from shopping center to mega-mall. Owner Bill Murray is proud that his store weathered the 50 years.
"Murray's is an institution in the Northshore Mall," he said. "We've been here since Day One."
The Carmelite Chapel started serving customers and the faithful in 1960, and like Murray's, has continued its mission since.
Murray's father, William, operated the mall store, and another in Medford Square. The younger Murray, now 57, first joined his father at Murray's Stationery, Inc., after school and later as an employee.
The store has marked the milestones of his life. Bill Murray met his wife in the store, and 33 years later they share the business. His daughter's name, Ashley, graces some of their other stores, and his son currently runs their shop in the Burlington Mall.
"My kids all worked here when they were little, just like I did when my father opened it," Bill Murray said.
Like its landlord, Murray's has adapted to the changing needs and whims of its customers. In the early days the store's core business was office supplies and stationery, he said, but no more.
Today's shoppers come for home decor, gifts and fashion lines like Vera Bradley bags. The store changed its merchandise to meet customers' changing needs.
"It's enabled us to thrive during a range of economic conditions in an increasingly competitive environment," Murray said.
Once a mansion
Long before it was a mall, the property was home to a mansion.
In the late 1700s, Peabody Historical Society President Bill Power said, America's first millionaire, Elias Haskett Derby, built a mansion for his daughter as a wedding gift. The home, with carvings by famed woodcarver Samuel McIntire, was known as Oak Hill. Later it was purchased by the Rogers family, according to Power.
Religious brothers, the Xaverians, bought Oak Hill in 1922, and Cardinal William O'Connell dedicated the property in August 1923. A parade of Catholic societies from throughout the North Shore marched from Peabody Square to the farm, according to news articles.
Retired City Councilor Fred Murtagh remembers it as a Catholic boys school, St. Joseph's Juniorate. "We played basketball there," he said.
Doucette purchased her home in Proctor Circle in 1950 and watched the landscape transform from agriculture to retail giant. Over the years, residents in the once rural section believed the city came to them.
"It was still a farm," she said. "In fact, the cows used to come over in my backyard."
But the mall didn't spell success for everyone.
Local historian Jim McAllister said the advent of the North Shore Shopping Center marked the demise of downtown Salem and many others like it across the region.
"It really finished off a lot of downtown Salem," he said.
Salem had only recently undergone a facelift, he said, only to be supplanted by the destination shopping center just a few miles away.
"They fixed (downtown) all up, and then the mall opened," he said. "It was over for good."
Murtagh said the shopping center transformed the Tanner City, too, though in a good way, arriving as the Leather Industry was gasping for life.
"Peabody was just another typical, industrial city," he said. "All of sudden, this brought a whole new change."
The long-time councilor credited the mall owners over the years for improving their product and keeping it relevant.
"It's kept it a minor attraction this side of the state, you might say," he said. "They're not sitting on their laurels, that's for sure."
More things change
Bill Murray said he misses some of the old-time, family-owned shops. At the same time, he's excited about the way the mall evolves.
"I go through the mall every day now just to see what has been done," he said. "It's exciting. It makes a difference and it's something that needs to be done."
The mall general manager can hardly contain his enthusiasm for the mall's future.
"It's been very exciting to be a part of the evolution of the center," Whiting said.
He said shoppers will see not only major renovations but details like new landscaping and signs. "When you drive onto the property, you're going to say, 'Wow," he said.
Today, the mall employs about 3,500 people at 130 stores and welcomes 14 million customers through its doors annually, according to Whiting.
The mall sees itself as one of the amenities home buyers look for when choosing a community to live in.
"I would hope that the residents, the business community as well local government on the North Shore really celebrate the change over the 50 years that we have been here," Whiting said, "and share our excitement with what we bring forth this year."
