When Century III Mall opened in 1979, it was the third-largest mall in America, spanning 63 acres; its name comes from being created near the start of the country’s third century. Built on a portion of an unsightly slag heap used by U.S. Steel Corp., the new mall was an attempt to repurpose local land for a postindustrial future.
In 2018, images of a person dressed-up as the Easter Bunny sitting on a throne, waiting for children amid closed stores at Century III Mall, went viral under the title: “Lonely Easter Bunny in a Dead Mall.”
The mall closed for good in 2019.
Negative news about the mall hit a climax this past spring and summer. In April, a fire raged through the former food court. In June, a teenager sustained critical injuries after falling through the mall’s roof. That same month, West Mifflin Council hosted a condemnation hearing for the mall that drew a standing-room crowd of 100 people.
The borough presented evidence of the mall’s sad state: water damage, graffiti, mold, vandalism and more. During its slideshow, some attendees gasped at the mall images. Police and fire department officials detailed frequent 911 calls about people breaking into the mall and expressed concern about sending officers inside the mall with potentially hazardous air.
For thousands of Pittsburghers, the mall still evokes warm memories. About a decade ago, a man now living in North Huntingdon began co-running the "Century III Mall Memories” Facebook page. There, he frequently posts old photographs, news stories and other information about the mall for its 24,000 followers. A regular administrator of the page, which often publishes negative documentation and opinions about Moonbeam, he asked not to be identified for fear of retribution.
He recalls getting his childhood dog at a pet store in the mall and a time he lost his keys and never found them. Maybe they’re still there.
Another of the page’s most active members, Sue La Barbera, 79, of South Park, spent a lot of time shopping at the mall with friends and family. She and other parents would drop off their teenage children to hang out at the mall, frequenting shops such as the mainstay novelty store Spencer Gifts. For her own part, she spent a lot of time at Kaufmann’s, Sears and JCPenney. Once, when picking up her daughter and a friend, she learned that they had purposely turned back the time on their watches to spend more time at the mall and insisted her watch must have the wrong time.
Even when talking to people who passionately love the mall for what it used to be, it’s difficult to find anyone saying it shouldn’t be demolished. The Facebook page administrator says he believes the mall needs to be demolished, despite all of his own nostalgia and that of the page’s followers.
Demolition of the mall wouldn’t make him or anyone else lose their precious memories of the mall, even though demolition might mean those old keys of his would be lost for good.
