Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at thejewishnews.com

62 | MARCH 7 • 2024
J
N

A Premier Mall
B

efore we all shopped online, from our couches
and easy chairs, the ultimate American shopping
experience was the “shopping mall.” In essence, a
mall is a convenient concentration of stores, to say nothing
of restaurants, kiosks with a variety of trinkets, hot pretzel
stands and, often, cultural or artistic programing for adults
and kids.
The largest center in North America is the famous Mall
of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. It has over 500
stores and 50 eateries, in over 5 million square
feet of space, all for your spending needs.
This month marks the debut of the
granddaddy of them all: Northland Mall in
Southfield. It would have been 70 years old this
month. When Northland opened on March 22, 1954,
it was a pathbreaking enterprise.
Designed by Austrian-born Jewish architect Victor
Gruen (1903-1980), Northland was considered to
be the first suburban shopping center. It was an “open-air” mall.
Unlike modern malls where all stores are enclosed inside massive
buildings, to shop at Northland meant going outside to enter the
over 100 original stores. It was not enclosed until 1975.
When it opened, Northland (later called Northland Center) was
the largest retail facility in the world. For the next 61 years, it would
experience various expansions and alterations until it finally could
not stand against dramatically changing retail trends. It closed in
2015.
As I researched Northland in the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History, it became obvious that
there were deep connections between it and Detroit’s Jews. And, the relationship was there from the very beginning. As mentioned,
it was designed by a Jewish architect. Prominent local Jewish builder Alex J. Etkin was involved in Northland’s construction (Dec. 1,
2005, JN).
Northland featured Jewish-owned stores. One original tenant, for example, was Albert’s, a store for women’s clothing. Established
on Detroit’s east side in 1933 by Albert Schwartz, at its peak, there were 80 Albert’s in five states. His son and successor as CEO,
Ernest, said that Northland was a “risky” choice for a store because it was so far from Detroit (Aug. 29, 2019). It was a risk that paid
off for many years.
Moreover, many community members worked at Northland’s various retailers. For just one example, local fashion consultant
Gary Wetternstein began his career there as a teenager at Butler’s Shoes (Feb. 27, 2014).
There are many stories of Jewish communal connections to Northland. In 1966, the Lubavitch Youth Organization stationed a
sukkah at Northland Mall (Oct. 7, 1966). Jewish Family Service’s Resettlement Service Warehouse was at Northland in the 1990s
and the Brandeis Book Sale was held there in the 1960s (Oct. 23, 1992, July 26, 1991).

At the JN, we have our own direct connection to Northland through our Foundation Executive Director Marni Raitt. Her father,
Steve, owned the Four Seasons Suburban Fashion Store.

Former Oak Park Mayor Jerry Naftaly penned the definitive book on Northland Mall in 2016, titled Images of Modern America:
Northland Mall. Born in 1952, Naftaly moved with his family to Oak Park the year that Northland opened and lived in its shadow
for most of his life (Aug. 4, 2016, July 8, 2021).
Prior to the 2000s, in Detroit, all you had to say was: “I’m going to Northland.” We would all know your destination.

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, available for free at thejewishnews.com.

Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair