Pennsylvania · Pittsburgh · Century III Mall

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh

Century III Mall

Fig. 1. “The exterior of the closed Century III Mall taken from a drone . . . in West Mifflin.” Photograph by Benjamin B. Braun, May 11, 2023, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,^[1] fair use.

Fig. 2. Century III Mall no longer appears on Google Maps; on the ground, however, its remains are impossible to miss, on the other side of Century III Mall Road (which is in inexcusable condition), from Century III Plaza and the Walmart, between Clairton Road and Clairton Boulevard (Pennsylvania Route 51). Screenshot from Google Maps, taken by author, May 21, 2023, fair use.

This mall, located near the apartment I first moved into when I returned to Pittsburgh in 2019, soon got my attention; the JC Penney store was still open but everything else was closed^[2] and the JC Penney would close the following year.^[3]

Sam Bojarski, “Century III Mall boarded up; only JCPenney remains,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 5, 2019, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/century-iii-faces-uncertain-future-with-one-tenant-remaining/

Jacob Tierney, “Century III Mall’s JCPenney to close,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, August 5, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/century-iii-malls-jcpenney-to-close/

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “Century III Mall: Video showing mall’s current state of disrepair hits 1 million views,” September 29, 2021, https://triblive.com/business/century-iii-mall-video-showing-malls-current-state-of-disrepair-hits-1-million-views/

Cara Sapida, “Century III Mall named to Pittsburgh’s ‘Top 10 Buildings to Save’ list,” WPXI, December 30, 2021, https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/century-iii-mall-named-top-10-buildings-save-list/TPI7BWWG7NCOTA5GMO2FDDRN6Q/

Mark Belko, “Amazon might have its eye on Century III Mall, Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills sites,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 5, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2022/05/04/century-iii-mall-galleria-at-pittsburgh-mills-amazon-west-mifflin-churchill-frazer-new-stanton-north-versailles-warehouse/stories/202205040074

Neena Hagen, “Officials set to discuss whether Century III Mall should be condemned,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 20, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2023/05/19/century-iii-mall-west-mifflin-condemn/stories/202305190077

Neena Hagen, “The fall of the Century: Once a retail shopping jewel, the West Mifflin mall has been left to rot,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 21, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2023/05/21/centuryiii-west-mifflin-mall-slag-heap-kaufmanns-sears-police-closed-crime/stories/202305210039

1. ^[1]Neena Hagen, “The fall of the Century: Once a retail shopping jewel, the West Mifflin mall has been left to rot,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 21, 2023, https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2023/05/21/centuryiii-west-mifflin-mall-slag-heap-kaufmanns-sears-police-closed-crime/stories/202305210039↩
2. ^[2]Sam Bojarski, “Century III Mall boarded up; only JCPenney remains,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 5, 2019, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/century-iii-faces-uncertain-future-with-one-tenant-remaining/↩
3. ^[3]Jacob Tierney, “Century III Mall’s JCPenney to close,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, August 5, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/century-iii-malls-jcpenney-to-close/↩