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

