Eastgate Mall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eastgate was the Chattanooga area's first regional shopping mall. Originally an open-air type center, its initial phase was completed in 1962. At this time, there was only one anchor department store Miller Bros.. A second construction phase, finished in 1965, added two more, Loveman's, and J.C. Penney. A single-screen cinema was also included. With this addition, Eastgate Mall encompassed 650,000 leasable square feet, and -for a time- was Tennessee's largest shopping center. The mall was enclosed in the early 1970's.
The three department stores remained in the mall until its decline in the late 1980's. This followed the 1988 opening of Hamilton Place Mall, only four miles away. Proffitt's was one of the last major anchors in Eastgate, before the store closed in 1992. Many of the mall's tenants went out of business or left for the more spacious and accessible Hamilton Place, as Eastgate Mall does not have direct, easy access from Interstate 75.
From about 1990 to present, the mall has undergone many changes including a cosmetic restoration and a change in name from Eastgate Mall to Eastgate Town Center Though a shadow of its former self, Eastgate is still a significant retail center for a growing section of Chattanooga. Eastgate is located on Brainerd Road and can be accessed by CARTA bus route #4. This redevelopment was initially touted as a success, but the process hit many hurdles and the mall is presently (as of 2006) almost completely vacant. Very few businesses remain at the mall, but a few offices hold it up to a degree. The plan for the mall is to create a new "downtown" type streetscape, but so far those plans are on hold.
