Closing Up Shop: Lincoln Mall To Be Shuttered Wednesday

Dennis Robaugh contributed to this report.

In its final holiday season, Lincoln Mall was just a shell of its former self.

Banners hung from ceilings, touting retailers that would never come. Storefront signs touted “everything must go sales” in the few remaining shops. A paltry Christmas scene stood, but with no spot for a mall Santa, as kids would never come. Some stores were already gated and locked, with Bath and Body Works drawing the most business.

A deflated end for a once bustling shopping center.

The mall will shutter permanently January 7 after a judge in November ordered its closing. The deteriorating condition had not been addressed despite changes in ownership and promises to bring it up to operating standards. The mall’s Carson Pirie Scott store will remain open.

“As a village, we have done all that we can to keep Lincoln Mall open,” Matteson Village President Andre B. Ashmore said in November.

Its beginnings in 1973 were bright, with 100 stores to draw customers from Matteson and the surrounding areas. Shoppers and employees have watched as the complex crumbled before their eyes, with retailers fleeing and the interior suffering from lack of maintenance.

“We understand Judge Condon’s decision,” Ashmore said in November, “but this is incredibly disappointing for the local residents who make their livelihood at that mall.”

Will you miss the mall? Tell us in the comments.