On Oct. 7, 1982, Marketplace Mall opened in Henrietta on what originally was marshland and from 1939 to 1971 was home to Hylan Airport, where thousands of pilots learned to fly.
Airport founder Ray Hylan, a cigar-chomping aviation pioneer, moved his school to the Rochester-Monroe County Airport and worked with the Wilmot family (owners of Wilmorite) to develop Marketplace.
The road fronting the mall is named for him, and he was one of the VIPs in attendance on opening day, described this way by the Democrat and Chronicle: “More than 15,000 people roamed the $75 million Henrietta mall, shopping at the more than 100 stores that are expecting $110 million in sales in the first year. It was hard to find a parking space in the 6,000-space lot.”
At the time, Marketplace, also bounded by Jefferson and West Henrietta roads and I-390, was the largest shopping mall between Long Island and Cleveland.
The original anchor stores were Sears (now the site of the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Saunders Center for Orthopaedics & Physical Performance) and local department stores Sibley’s, McCurdy’s and B. Forman (all long gone).
JCPenney, which is still open, became the fifth anchor a few months after Marketplace opened. It was joined by Galyan’s Trading Co. in 2001. In 2004, Galyan’s was bought by Dick’s Sporting Goods, which recently left the mall.
Smaller original businesses included hard media giants Fotomat, Record Town and Tape World. Among the clothing stores were 5-7-9, Lerner, Barbara Moss and Old West. Sporting goods retailer Marjax had a Marketplace location, as did gift store Lock, Stock & Barrel. And how’s this for a blast from the past?: Waterbed World (“For the rest of your life”).
Original restaurants included Oakley’s American Restaurant & Tavern, Zoe’s, and Luca Pizza, the forerunner to food court business Cosimos Pizza, which lasted until May 2024. Gadgets, featuring a stage where animatronic Warner Bros. puppets performed while people dined, opened in May 1983.
Malls began to suffer in the mid-2000s because of market saturation and consumers increasingly turning to online shopping sites. The financial crisis of 2008 brought additional challenges.
Plans announced in 2016 to turn Marketplace into an outlet center never materialized.
In 2018, there was talk of IKEA opening a store at the mall. Hopes were high, but they were quickly dashed.
Plans for the URMC facility were unveiled in 2019. The coronavirus pandemic delayed the start of construction until 2021, and it opened in early 2023.
There have been countless additions and subtractions to the mall over its life. During a recent visit, we counted fewer than 20 active businesses within the original mall footprint, and some of them were closed the day we were there.
What are your favorite Marketplace Mall memories? Please share them under this story on our Facebook page.
(This story was updated to correct a typo.)
Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments and has an interest in retail news. Send story tips to [email protected]. Follow her on X @MarciaGreenwood.
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