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 King of Prussia entrance betweenNeiman Marcus andMacy's in January 2017 | |
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| Location | King of Prussia, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°5′18″N75°23′25″W / 40.08833°N 75.39028°W /40.08833; -75.39028 |
| Address | 160 North Gulph Road King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, 19406 |
| Opening date | August 15, 1963; 61 years ago (1963-08-15)[1] |
| Developer | Morris A. Kravitz/The Kravco Co. |
| Management | Simon Property Group |
| Owner | King of Prussia Associates, Simon Property Group (now 100%) |
| No. of stores and services | 450 |
| No. ofanchor tenants | 6 |
| Total retail floor area | 2,793,200 square feet (259,497 m2)[2] |
| No. of floors | 3 (Court on levels 1-2, Plaza on levels 2-3, 3 in Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom) |
| Parking | 5parking lots, 3parking garages,valet parking with 13,376+ spaces[3] |
| Public transit access |   SEPTA bus:92,99,123,124,125,139 at theKing of Prussia Transit Center The Rambler |
| Website | simon |
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King of Prussia, also referred to asKing of Prussia Mall, and referred to by locals asKOP, is ashopping mall located in the community ofKing of Prussia inUpper Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It is thelargest shopping mall in Pennsylvania and thefourth-largest shopping mall in the United States in terms ofgross leasable area. It is an upscale mall with 450 retailers.
The mall opened in 1963, with a complex that became known as "The Plaza". A second, entirely separate complex, "The Court", opened adjacent to it in 1981. In 2016, a major expansion was completed, connecting the two buildings and creating one large shopping mall.[4]
King of Prussia mall is located in thecensus-designated place ofKing of Prussia,[5] inUpper Merion Township,Montgomery County,Pennsylvania, 20 miles (32 km) northwest ofPhiladelphia. The mall is near the convergence of four major highways: the Schuylkill Expressway (Interstate 76), thePennsylvania Turnpike (Interstate 76/Interstate 276),U.S. Route 202, andU.S. Route 422.[6][7] The mall is located northeast of the Schuylkill Expressway and south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike on the north side of US 202 between Gulph Road to the southwest and Allendale Road to the northeast, with Mall Boulevard providing access to and running through the mall grounds between Gulph Road and US 202. Mall Boulevard passes under a portion of the shopping mall. Ramps to and from the westbound direction of the Schuylkill Expressway connect to Mall Boulevard.[6][8]
SEPTA Suburban Division bus routes92,99,123,124,125, and139 serve the King of Prussia mall at theKing of Prussia Transit Center along with other stops in the mall complex. These bus routes provide service to theWest Chester Transportation Center inWest Chester, theNorristown Transportation Center inNorristown,Phoenixville, the69th Street Transportation Center inUpper Darby,Center City Philadelphia,Chesterbrook,Valley Forge, andLimerick.[9] The Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association operates The Rambler, a community shuttle around Upper Merion Township that has two stops at the King of Prussia mall.[10]
The mall has several outparcels, and several luxury and affordable hotels are nearby.[8] Among the outparcels is the Overlook at King of Prussia shopping center, which consists of aUnited Artists Theatres,Saks Off 5th, and an iFLYindoor skydiving center.[11]Lockheed Martin has a campus overlooking the mall area.[8] Also located nearby is theKing of Prussia Town Center, alifestyle center that consists ofWegmans, multiple big-box retailers, and a downtown area with dining, retail, and service establishments and a Town Square.[12][13] The town center is part of the Village at Valley Forge, a 122-acre mixed-use development under construction that consists of retail, apartments, townhouses, condominiums, office space, and theChildren's Hospital of Philadelphia's Specialty Care and Surgery Center.[12][14]
King of Prussia mall isanchored byNordstrom,Macy's,Neiman Marcus,Bloomingdale's,Dick's Sporting Goods, andPrimark and a diverse merchant mix of over 450 stores, including a collection ofluxury retailers. The mall is owned and managed bySimon Property Group ofIndianapolis. A selection of international dining options are available at twofood courts and in multiple casual and fine dining establishments.[7]
The mall is a prominent tourist destination in the Philadelphia area, with an estimated 20% of visitors as tourists.[3] The King of Prussia mall attracts 22 million visitors annually.[15] Several nearby hotels offer mall tourist packages, which typically include mall gift cards. Due to the mall's size, several retailers rent more than one space.[16]
A covered outdoor walkway used to connect Macy's and Neiman Marcus prior to the recent expansion in 2016. The eastern portion of the mall (originally known as the Court) has two anchor stores, Macy's and Bloomingdale's. It originally had a third anchor,Abraham & Straus, which sold its store in 1988 toStrawbridge & Clothier, which subsequently relocated to the formerWanamaker's location at The Plaza in 1996 upon its acquisition byMay Department Stores. Its spot was redeveloped as the Pavilion at King of Prussia. Stores in this section include a double-levelUrban Outfitters,Old Navy, andThe Cheesecake Factory.
In 2018, King of Prussia was valued at $2.77 billion and hadsales per square foot of $773, making it the 8th most valuable mall in the United States.[17]
The first portion of King of Prussia Plaza opened on September 18, 1962, as a modest open-air shopping mall. It consisted of an "A-Frame"-styleAcme supermarket and a 172,000 sq ft, 2-storyE. J. Korvette discount department store.[18] The mall carried an American Colonial theme, due to its proximity to the Revolutionary War encampment atValley Forge State Park.[19]
The mall expanded rapidly over the next few years. On August 15, 1963, a 152,000 sq ft, 3-storyJCPenney anchor store was opened, along with 14 adjacent inline stores. A grand opening that day was attended by Morris A. Kravitz, developer of the mall and W.M. Batten, president of the J.C. Penney company. Batten cut a ribbon opening the store, while the managers of the other 14 new stores cut ribbons surrounding it. 6 more inline stores opened a week later, on August 22, followed by five more in September and five more in October.[1] Among the inline stores was a 46,000 sq ftWoolworth's.
The 1400-seat Stanley Warner Plaza Theatre cinema opened on May 19, 1965, showing theCharlton Heston epicMajor Dundee as its first feature. AJohn Wanamaker anchor store opened on August 16, 1965, in a striking 194,000 sq ft, 3-level octagonal structure.[19]Gimbels opened a 229,000 sq ft, 3-level anchor store on May 2, 1966.[20]
By the 1970s, the mall was the largest shopping center in the east, with over 1 million sq ft, over 100 stores and parking for 27,000 cars. It consisted of a small, fully enclosed section (connecting the three department stores) and a sprawling outdoor mall.[19]
On August 6, 1981, Kravco, the mall's parent company, opened a second sister mall, The Court at King of Prussia, directly across the street.[21] The combined size of the two malls was 2.4 million sq ft.[21] The Court was fully enclosed, anchored byBamberger's (which had opened before the new mall, on March 12, 1981),Bloomingdale's, andAbraham & Straus (A&S).
Korvettes closed on December 24, 1980.[21] It was demolished and replaced[18] by a food court and a 212,000 sq ft 2-story Sears "store of the future" anchor, which opened on July 25, 1983. Sears had moved from the Logan Square shopping center in nearbyNorristown.[22]
In the 1980s, The Plaza featuredHerman's World of Sporting Goods, and aLionel "Kiddie City" toy store. The Plaza also featured two 1980s stylevideo arcades, each named Spaceport, and the RKO Stanley Warner (later Sam Eric, and thenUnited Artists Plaza) movie theater which, in an era beforemultiplexes, had only one extra large 70 m screen.
Gimbel's closed in June 1986 and was replaced withStern's. Bamberger's was renamed Macy's on October 7 of that year.[21] Abraham & Straus closed in 1987 and was replaced withStrawbridge & Clothier in 1988.
Stern's was replaced with JCPenney in 1992, moving from their original building in the middle of the Plaza, which was turned into mall space.[23]
Further expansion took place in the early 1990s. During this process, the oldest portions of The Plaza were demolished and replaced and the two malls, The Court and The Plaza, were connected by a pedestrian bridge and walkway. Marketing from then on presented them as a united entity. The new Plaza was fully enclosed and had two levels throughout. The rebuilt Plaza celebrated its grand opening on November 2, 1995.[23] Three new anchor stores were added. Lord & Taylor opened in the fall of 1995, while Neiman Marcus opened on February 24, 1996[23] and Nordstrom opened that spring.
In June 1995, Wanamaker's went bankrupt. After early reports that they might be sold toBoscov's,[24] the chain was instead sold toMay Department Stores, which rebranded all Wanamaker's asHecht's, their Baltimore-Washington regional nameplate. The Plaza's John Wanamaker store was renamed Hecht's on September 3, 1995.[23]
In April 1996, Strawbridge & Clothier was sold to May Department Stores as well. They renamed the store Strawbridge's and rebranded their Hecht's at The Plaza, after only a year, as Strawbridge's, in addition to the existing Strawbridge's at The Court. Woolworth's closed in 1997. The Strawbridge's at The Court closed in January 1999.[23]
In 2001, the former Abraham & Straus/Strawbridge's building at The Court was converted into a mall expansion named "The Pavilion."[25]
In 2006, May Department Stores dissolved Strawbridge's and their remaining anchor store at The Plaza (the former Wanamaker's) became a second Macy's anchor store.
The mall served as the home of thePhiladelphia Freedoms tennis team ofWorld TeamTennis in 2008 and 2009. Whenever a tennis event was to occur, a temporary tennis stadium that seated 3,000 was constructed in the parking lot of the Bloomingdale's anchor store. The Freedoms left forThe Pavilion atVillanova University in 2010.[26]
In 2011, Simon increased its ownership of the King of Prussia mall from 12.4 percent to 96 percent, buying Lend Lease's 50 percent ownership of the mall. Lend Lease had bought its stake in the mall in 1996, with Kravco, Simon, and three family trusts owning the remaining 50 percent at the time.[27]
Macy's at the Plaza closed in favor of the location at the Court. The Macy's building and adjacent parking garage were demolished in fall 2011, to make way for over 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2) of retail space and additional parking.[28]
On November 29, 2011, Simon Property Group announced plans to create an additional 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m2) expansion/connector to connect The Court and The Plaza.[29] This new retail connector features 50 stores, restaurants with an upscale dining pavilion, and a customer lounge. Upon completion, this project made King of Prussia mall the largest official shopping mall in the United States (larger thanMall of America in overall square footage, though not in quantity of shops), and placed the mall under one roof for the first time in its existence. The 155,000-square-foot (14,400 m2) expansion also includes a new parking garage "with speed ramps, space location technology and valet service."[30] Construction on this expansion was estimated to cost $150 million.[31] Several outparcels were also proposed for this expansion.[32]
On November 18, 2014, construction began on the expansion to connect The Court and The Plaza.[33] The expansion opened August 18, 2016, with two ribbons joined from The Court and The Plaza.[34] Simon Property Group COO Rick Sokolov and U.S. RepresentativeBrendan Boyle were present for the ribbon tying ceremony.[35]
In January 2014, Sears announced that it would sublease some of its space toDick's Sporting Goods.[36] Sears closed this location entirely in early December 2014. It was announced that Irish retailerPrimark would be on the first level of its space while Dick's Sporting Goods would take parts of the second level.[37] The Primark store opened on November 25, 2015.[38] In 2015,Sears Holdings spun off 235 properties, including the Sears at King of Prussia, into Seritage Growth Properties.[39] Portions of the former Sears Auto Center are now Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings andYard House. On March 17, 2017, JCPenney announced that its store would be closing as part of a plan to close 138 stores nationwide;[40] the store closed on July 31, 2017.[41]
The western section of the mall (also known as The Plaza) went under renovation in April 2018, which added new flooring and handrails, LED lighting, and additional soft seating areas and restrooms. The renovation was completed in May 2019.[42]
On October 5, 2019, Happy Place opened on the second floor of the former JCPenney building. It left on February 29, 2020, as part of a national tour.[43][44]
On May 3, 2021, during theCOVID-19 pandemic, Montgomery County opened a COVID-19 vaccination site in the former JCPenney space, which has since shut down.[45]
In June 2022, it was announced thatWayfair, an online retailer of furniture and home goods, would open a brick-and-mortar store in the previous JCPenney outpost. The store was to feature a cafe and a rooftop deck with a bar. The Wayfair store was planned to open in 2023 or 2024 before plans were cancelled.[46]
In 2023, it was announced thatEataly, a chain of Italian food halls, would be opening at the mall in 2025.[47] It will be located in an area formerly occupied byRite Aid, a portion of the formerForever 21, and a mall entrance, due to the requirement of a large space for the store.
In August 2020,Lord & Taylor announced it would close all its stores, as a result of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.[48] On June 18, 2024, it was announced thatNetflix will open a Netflix House venue in the former Lord & Taylor space in the later part of 2025. Netflix House will feature set replicas from shows and movies, as well as themed restaurants, a theater, and gift shops. The venue is the first-of-its-kind, alongside another set to open atGalleria Dallas inDallas around the same time.[49]
In March 2025, it was announced that Simon was nearing a deal to bring retail and entertainment venues to the former JCPenney building.[50]
