FRANKLIN MILLS

'Franklin Mills' is an enclosed shopping mall located in northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bordering Bucks County and 15 miles outside Center City.^[1] Named for Benjamin Franklin, the mall houses 200 stores, a movie theatre, two food courts, and seven theme restaurants^[2] and was visited by an estimated 18 million people in 2006^[3].
Opened in 1989, Franklin Mills was built and formerly owned by the Mills Corporation and is now managed by the Simon Property Group.^[4]

Contents

Location

Branding and design

Anchor stores

Former anchors

References

External links

Location

The Franklin Mills site was formerly home to Liberty Bell Park, a race track.^[5] It is located approximately one mile west of Interstate 95, at the intersection of Pennsylvania State Route 63 and Knight Road.
In August 2006, unconfirmed rumors circulated that the mall was being closed and sold for residential redevelopment.^[6]

Branding and design

Franklin Mills mall is designed in the shape of a thunderbolt in commemoration of Franklin's kite-and-key experiment. The mall's logo includes a red kite with a lighting bolt on the right side and the string ending on the letter "A" of "FRANKLIN".
The 1.7 million-square-foot mall consists primarily of factory outlet stores.^[2] The entrances are individually color-coded, for quick reference to the specific location of entrances and exits located around the mall; they are the Blue, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Aqua. Each color corresponds to "neighborhoods" within the mall.
Stand-alone stores adjacent to the main mall include Walmart, Super Fresh, Dick's Sporting Goods, and, Raymour & Flanigan in a failed Carrefour building, plus various fast food eateries and restaurants. In addition, there is a neighboring strip mall called "Franklin Marketplace" (former Home & Design Center) Also included on site are a Bally Total Fitness gym, a non-denominational church, a Sam's Club, and a Toys "Я" Us.

Anchor stores

The following anchor stores can be found at Franklin Mills:^[8]

★ AMC Theatres Franklin Mills 14

★ Bed Bath & Beyond

★ Burlington Coat Factory

★ Dave & Buster's Grand Sports Café

★ Group USA

★ H&M

★ JCPenney Outlet Store

★ Last Call Neiman Marcus

★ Liz Claiborne Outlet

★ Marshalls HomeGoods

★ Modell's Sporting Goods

★ Off 5th-Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet

★ Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse

★ Old Navy Outlet

★ Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store

★ Sam Ash Music

★ Sears Appliance Outlet

★ Steve & Barry's University Sportswear

★ Woodward Skatepark (formerly ESPN)

Former anchors

The following stores were formerly anchors at Franklin Mills:

★ Ports/Boscov's Outlet - now Steve & Barry's

★ 49th Street Galleria - now Burlington Coat Factory

★ Filene's Basement - was in Yellow Neighborhood 3

★ General Cinema - Became AMC in 2002.

★ Nordstrom Rack ^[9]

★ Office Max - now Sears Outlet

★ Phar-Mor - vacant

★ Spiegel Catalog Outlet/Jillian's - now Dave & Buster's (formerly Jillian's)

★ Reading China & Glass

★ SYMS

References

1. "Simon: Franklin Mills." Accessed July 20, 2007.
2. "Franklin Mills Mall." Accessed July 20, 2007.
3. Van Allen, Peter. "Franklin Mills Mall lines up as major tourist destination." Accessed July 20, 2007.
4. "Simon: Find a Mall." Accessed July 20, 2007.
5. "Cinema Treasures: Franklin Mills 14." Accessed July 20, 2007
6. Kenny, William. "Is Franklin Hills on the market?" Accessed July 20, 2007.
7. "Franklin Mills Mall." Accessed July 20, 2007.
8. "Franklin Mills: Mall Directory." Accessed July 20, 2007.
9. Walker, Julian. "Nordstrom registers ring in an unhappy new year." Accessed July 20, 2007.

External links

★ Franklin Mills

★ Simon Property Group

★ GoPhila.com: Franklin Mills Mall