Escalator first brought Southland Mall fame

Before the Southland Mall opened in 1969, Tri-parish residents had few choices for shopping – head to Downtown Houma, Thibodaux or Morgan City, or head out of the community and drive to New Orleans.

“My mother and father, every school year, would take a trip to New Orleans and go to Sears and the different stores to buy school clothes,” said Connie Parr, who served as the mall’s marketing director from 1981 to 1996. “There really wasn’t any place, except the JCPenney on Main Street, that you could catalog order.”

By the mid-1960s, Tri-parish shoppers were breaking away from city shopping centers. It was the trend nationwide at the time.

Malls were cropping up across suburbia, and Houma was no exception.

Kenner-based Sizeler Real Estate Management Company decided to provide a centralized shopping destination for residents of the Tri-parish area.

On Wednesday, Feb. 28, 1969, Southland Mall opened its doors for business in north Houma.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the mall has become a shopping haven for Bayou Region residents.

“Over the years, the mall has welcomed many various types of retailers to service the Tri-parish area and has been the starting point for many local businesses,” said Southland Mall General Manager Dawn Becker.

Southland Mall offers consumers a variety of shopping alternatives including three prominent department stores – Sears, Dillard’s and JCPenney – along with other national retailers including American Eagle, The Children’s Place, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Kay Jewelers and Aeropostale.

With almost 625,000 square feet of retail space on a 29-acre site, Southland Mall consists of nearly 100 stores and kiosks, employs more than 1,500 people and has over 2,700 parking spaces.

It is a far cry from the site’s origins.

“The Sears store was the first building at this location in 1966,” Becker recalls. “The mall was pretty much constructed attached to Sears. It opened three years later with 50 other stores.”

Among the other original mall occupants were Woolworth’s, K&B Drugs (now Rite Aid), Winn Dixie Food Store, Southland Cinema, Gordon’s Jewelers, Miller-Whol, Butler Shoes, Southland Camera Store, The Singer Company, Quave Photography, Arthur Coplon, Shainberg’s, and Kinney Shoes.

Southland Mall marked its grand opening with an elaborate celebration that included a grand prize giveaway for an all-expense-paid trip for two to Mexico City, according to Becker.

Southland Mall has gone through many changes through its 40-year history.

A year after the grand opening, D.H. Holmes (now Dillard’s) department store opened.

WWL-TV’s “The John Pela Show,” a popular Saturday dance show that featured new trends in the New Orleans metro region, did a featured piece from Southland Mall because D.H. Holmes had the first escalator in Houma, according to Parr.

“I remember watching it on TV. I remember the newscaster showing, almost making fun of, the Cajuns on an escalator,” she said. “I remember watching the news report, and they kept going back to that feature because people, especially the kids, were fascinated about going up and down the escalator.”

Southland Mall unveiled a new wing in 1981, including JCPenney and 35 specialty retailers.

In 1994, the mall received a complete exterior and interior renovation. Three years later, Dillard’s added a third floor and received a complete store renovation.

“The mall has always been ever-changing,” Becker said. “The stores in the mall are a reflection of what’s going on nationally. Different national brands have come and gone over the years.”

Before other venues like the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center and the Main Parish Library opened, Southland Mall was the only place big enough to stage large community and family-oriented events.

“My mom and dad would bring the kids to so many of the events,” Parr said. “We had the orchid show that was booked solid every year. Friends of the Library… it was unheard of to have their book fair anywhere else. And fashion shows used to use local girls.”

In 2006, Toronto-based Morguard Revenue Properties U.S. acquired Southland Mall and now manages the property.

There are no immediate plans for further expansion, according to Becker, although a Shoe Lounge store will open this spring next to Dillard’s

While owners and stores have changed, the wide availability of shopping options located under one roof is still the feature that draws thousands of residents to Southland Mall every day.

“Not only has Southland Mall had the privilege of housing many of the area’s key retailers,” Becker said, “but we continue to strive to offer this community the best shopping choices.”