former Miller & Rhoads (later Montgomery Ward and Value City), River Ridge Mall, Lynchburg, Virginia. Building demolition. Photographed 9/7/08.
former Miller & Rhoads (later Montgomery Ward and Value City), River Ridge Mall, Lynchburg, Virginia. Building demolition. Photographed 9/7/08.
The Miller & Rhoads store at River Ridge Mall originally opened in 1980 and was the second anchor to open at the Lynchburg mall. At 90,000 square feet on one level with, it replaced a downtown location and eventually a small branch at nearby Pittman Plaza.The exterior design of the building was Brutalist architecture, utilizing grooved concrete blocks, anodized aluminum trim, and heavily tinted glass windows.
In 1990, Miller & Rhoads was replaced by Montgomery Ward, after the former chain filed bankruptcy. Wards stayed until 1999 and was replaced by Value City, an off-price retailer, the following year.
Value City closed their Lynchburg location in 2008 and the space in now undergoing demolition. It will be replaced with a 14 screen stadium-seating theater and additional store space, a project scheduled to be completed in fall 2009.
Wow! Great pictures! Sad, but great nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great store. Most of the things that made it easily identifiable as a M&R were removed after Wards left, so it's not as big a loss, but it's going to be weird for that store to not be there.
ReplyDelete