Remembering Colorado’s Westminster Mall: Fond Childhood Memories

Westminster, Colorado, was known for many things when I was a kid. One of them was the Westminster Mall, the most significant and nicest mall on this side of Colorado at the time. 12 years after its demise, only one store remains...

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What Happened To The Westminster Mall In Colorado?

Maybe it was the balloons at the center court or the old Westminster 11 Movie Theatres (where I saw both Home Alone movies). Maybe it was the arcade, the only Chick-fil-A in town, or the giant food court. There was just so much to love about the former Westminster Mall when I was a kid. That was the place to hang out and hook up with friends because you could literally spend hours there and never get bored.

Built back in 1977, the Westminster Mall, located on Sheridan Boulevard in Westminster, Colorado, opened with a Joslin's (which was rebranded to Dillard's) and 30 stores. Just three years later they added a May D&F and increased the mall to 75 stores. Soon the mall had over 100 stores including the additional anchor stores Mervyn's, Foley's (Macy's), Sears, JCPenny, and a giant Montgomery Wards. The mall would flourish as one of the best and most popular Malls in all of Colorado. Unfortunately, in 1997, the Mall would begin its impending demise.

Westminster Mall Video With Old Pictures

Once most of the anchor stores vacated the mall, the smaller stores began to see the writing on the wall and began to vacate as well. With the lack of stores and shopping options, came a lack of customers, and the once mecca of indoor malls was heading towards a point of no return. In May 2011, the City of Westminster purchased the mall to redevelop the area and the 34-year-old mall was to be demolished. Even though 99% of the mall was gone, one store remains untouched and open for business in 2023.

Are Any Westminster Mall Stores Still Standing?

Opening in the former Westminster Mall in 1987, JCPenny is the only store left standing from the old popular North Denver Mall. As seen in the pictures below, it's now surrounded by apartments, a parking garage, and the new "Downtown" area that the city created in place of the old mall.

It's pretty nostalgic for me to stop in this particular JCP because I would shop there as a kid. The JCP was in the same hallway as one of the mall's two Orange Julius locations. There was also a record store near JCP's indoor mall entrance and I was (still am) a music hound so I was in that area of the mall quite a bit. I was sad when they knocked the mall down as it was like a piece of my childhood went with it. If you're in need of some old-westy mall nostalgia, pop by the JCP, the only part of the legendary mall that remains.