JULY 8 • 2021 | 39

F

ormer Oak Park Mayor Gerald E.
“Jerry” Naftaly exhibited his skills in
archiving memories and document-
ing local history in his 2016 pictorial work
titled Northland Mall.
Now, he is releasing an
expanded edition of his book
that includes everything from
the first edition, including the
mall’s founding and a glimpse
at what the future holds for
this iconic property.
I got a chance to ask Mayor
Naftaly about the new edition of the
Northland Mall book, which just won a
“Finalist Award” from the International
Book Awards.

What motivated you to write about
Northland Mall?
I wrote the first edition in 2016. Like
many people in our area, I grew up
with Northland. My life mirrored that
of Northland. I was born in 1952, the
same year as the
groundbreaking.
My parents moved
our family to Oak
Park in 1954, which
was the same year
the mall opened to
the public. My dad,
Bill, took me to
Hughes & Hatcher,
Phillip Shoes and
more. My mother,
Grace, dragged
me to Kresge’s,

Cunningham’s, Hudson’s and others.
As I got older, I rode my bike with
friends to pick up WKNR Keener 13
and CKLW music guides from Sam
Press’ Ross Music. I bought records and
Panasonic reel-to-reel tape recorders at
Chuck Bassin’s Land of Hi-Fi and the latest
cameras at Dunns. Years later, working at
my brother’s CPA firm, I’d pick up client
financial records from some stores. Older
still as a stockbroker, some of the same
employees became my clients. Sadly, my
mother passed away as Northland was
closing in March 2015.
What alerted you to Northland’s
demise?
Major anchors, like TJ Maxx, Target
and then Macy’s, were closing from 2013
to the first weeks of 2015. I had read in
2014 that the mall owners defaulted on a
$30 million payment. The mall went into
receivership, and I reached out to attorney
John Polderman, asking permission to
talk to then mall manager Miles McFee.
I arranged a private meeting and tour
with several friends. The Southfield police
chief assigned officers to join our tour
during their rounds, giving me credibility
in talking with store owners and taking
photos.
So, your book examines some of the
stores?
Yes, the second edition includes every-
thing in the first edition plus another 50
pages. There are dozens of photographs
and memories of businesses, sculp-
tures and activities that attracted us to
Northland. The book contains the history

of the mall, from Victor Gruen, the vision-
ary who created Northland Mall, to the
Webber brothers, nephews of Joseph L.
Hudson who financed the Northland Mall
project.
You’ve shared some of Northland’s his-
tory in Jewish History Facebook pages?
Yes, interestingly, Victor Gruen (1903-
1980), the pioneer of Northland and other
shopping malls was born into a mid-
dle-class Jewish family in Vienna, Austria.
As I researched the businesses, I found
that many Jewish friends were owners,
employees or related to someone who was.
That included the Mummp, a music venue
for teens.
What are the plans for the Northland
site?
The city of Southfield sold the property
to Contour Companies of Bloomfield Hills
(Ascension Health bought 5 acres). I’ve
known the chief architect, Bruce Allen
Kopytek, for many years. (He’s authored

books on Jacobson’s and Crowley’s).
Contour shared renderings for the plans to
revitalize the property, and I’ve included
seven in this book.
Contour announced: “The project con-
sists of two phases. A 1,339-unit apartment
community in 14, five-story buildings. Six
buildings will have a commercial compo-
nent on the ground floor facing Greenfield
Road. The J.L Hudson store, once the
world’s largest branch department store,

continued on page 40

Former Oak Park mayor updates
his book on Northland Mall.

SHARON LANDAU LEVINE
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

NAFTALY

Jerry
Naftaly

The ‘Center’ of It All

ARTS&LIFE
BOOKS
A rendering of the front entrance

CONTOUR DEVELOPMENT GROUP

Northland elephant
with tower in the
background