Local history: Things you might not remember about Rolling Acres Mall
Greater Akron residents of a certain age have fond memories of Rolling Acres Mall.
They remember it as a bustling shopping center, a marvel of consumerism in the late 20th century, and prefer not to dwell on its sad decline and ruin.
Akron businessman Richard B. Buchholzer and Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland developed the two-level mall in the early 1970s on a 260-acre site off Romig Road after opening Chapel Hill Mall in North Akron in 1967.
Architect Keeva J. Kekst, whose other works included Great Northern Mall and Richmond Mall, incorporated natural beauty in the sleek contours of the $75 million complex (about $420 million today).
Here are some things you might not remember about Rolling Acres:
What’s a Romig?
The mall’s address was 2400 Romig Road.
Barberton farmer Isaac Romig (1827-1907) owned more than 100 acres, including some of the land that became Greenlawn Cemetery and Rolling Acres. He was the brother of 16 siblings and father of 10 children.
Isaac’s 1888 farmhouse still stands on Hazelwood Avenue in Barberton.
According to ancestry websites, Romig is a German surname that means “descendant of Remy.” And Remy is the French form of the Latin name Remigius, which translates to “oarsman.” Romig also means “creamy” in Dutch, but that’s neither here nor there.
The first Rolling Acres stores
Rolling Acres opened for business Aug. 6, 1975, with over 20 stores:
Sears, Rite-Aid Drugs, Kinney Shoes, Akron Savings & Loan Co., Der Dog Haus, Robinson Jewelry, Chess King, Thom McAn Shoes, Waldenbooks, Foxmoor Casuals, Claire’s Boutique, General Nutrition Center, Dalton Books, Play Palace, Nobil Shoes, Recordland, Alice’s Women’s Wear, LeRoy’s Jewelry, Carousel Snack Bar, The Limited and Jo-Ann Fabrics.
Over the decade, it added 100 more!
RA the Friendly Giant
Rolling Acres’ official mascot was RA the Friendly Giant, a Paul Bunyan-style character who wore a yellow shirt, red vest and knee-length breeches.
While the character’s initials stood for “Rolling Acres,” RA also was a nod to the Egyptian sun god Ra. The mall’s logo featured the sun rising over a valley. The shopping center featured RA in early advertisements and hired a tall man to portray him at stores.
A 15-foot talking RA, a rival of Archie the Snowman at Chapel Hill, debuted at Christmas in 1976. “He is believed to be the largest talking giant in the world,” the Beacon Journal deadpanned.
Archie is beloved today, but RA is mostly forgotten.
The Court of the Twelve Trees
This was the regal name bestowed upon the center of the mall. Twelve Indian laurel trees were planted under a steel-lattice skylight to create a “rustic garden effect” with lush greenery, fountains and waterfalls.
Three days before the mall opened, a former Honolulu minister delivered a blessing in Hawaiian at the Court of the Twelve Trees: “How fragrant are the trees and flowers here. A place nestled in beauty and wreathed in comfort. Now that you have arrived, love comes with you. Love abundant. God’s love be with you. Amen.”
The mall stopped using the plaza’s official name in the 1980s.
Effie the Elephant
Rolling Acres had parking spaces for 6,000 vehicles. It was easy for shoppers to forget where they left their cars.
Fortunately, elephants never forget.
Ellie the Elephant was one of six characters featured on color-coded signs in the parking lot to remind motorists of their locations. Bruin the Bear and Donald the Deer were two other characters.
Does anyone (besides Ellie) remember the names of the other three?
The anchor stores
Naming all of the anchor stores is complicated.
Sears, the first anchor, opened in 1975 and closed in 2011.
J.C. Penney opened in 1976, converted to an outlet store in 1999, became JC’s 5 Star Outlet in 2011 and closed in 2013.
Montgomery Ward (1977) became Higbee’s (1986), which became Dillard’s (1992), which became an outlet store (1995), which closed in 2006.
O’Neil’s (1978) became the May Co. (1989), which turned into Kaufmann’s (1992), which became Macy’s (2006).
The final anchor store, Target, arrived in 1995 and moved to Wadsworth in 2006.
The first movies
We can still smell the popcorn.
Rolling Acres Cinemas 1, 2 and 3, operated by General Cinema Corp., featured 376-seat auditoriums.
The theater opened Aug. 27, 1976, with the films “The Apple Dumpling Gang,” “St. Ives,” “The Man Who Fell to Earth” and “Treasure of Matecumbe.” Matinees cost $1.50.
The trifecta
With Sears, J.C. Penney and Montgomery Ward, Rolling Acres became the only mall in the nation to have all three competitors under one roof.
The Court of Aquarius
Built in 1977, a new wing to the Ward’s store featured “oasis-like planters,” “a beautiful sunken living room seating arrangement” and, most impressively, a “uniquely designed aquarium.”
The floor-to-ceiling aquarium was stocked with tropical fish, inspiring the name “The Court of Aquarius.”
Hey, it was the 1970s. The name didn’t last for long and neither did the aquarium.
The Promenade
The lower-level Promenade, “a pedestrian avenue of continental gardens, sculptures, shops and eateries with a decidedly European flair,” opened in November 1978 at the south end of the mall, bringing the total number of stores to more than 100.
The food court, Prom-N-Eat, featured Altieri’s Pizza, Aw Shucks, Big Top Deli, Cap ’N Chicken, Charlie Chan, Dip ’N Dog, Flaming Gyros, Frontier Fruits and Nuts, Samir’s, Sandwich Board, Taco Place and The Yogurie.
The name changed to Picnic Place in the 1980s.
The bubble elevator
It was like something out of “Star Wars.” The chrome-and-glass elevator, rimmed with lights, transported riders from the Main Level to the Promenade Level or vice versa.
Sure, the double escalator did that, too, but the elevator was a bubble of fun, irresistible for children who liked to punch buttons.
Rolling Acres promoted it as “akin in design to those in fancy hotels in Atlanta and New York.”
For less daring folks, the stairways also worked.
Celebrity sightings
Many famous people passed through the corridors of Rolling Acres.
A short list would include Indians stars Mike Hargrove, Duane Kuiper, Omar Viquel and Sandy Alomar Jr., Browns players Dave Logan, Paul McDonald, Charles White, Tim Manoa and Gregg Rakoczy, WEWS personalities Dorothy Fuldheim, Fred Griffith, Joel Rose, Lee Jordan and Lynda Hirsch, and national TV stars Audrey Landers (“Dallas”), Joseph Phillips (“General Hospital”), James Goodwin (“Guiding Light”), James Mitchell (“All My Children”), Steve Thomas (“This Old House”) and Greg Lee (“Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego”).
The Magic Kingdom
Santa Claus arrived in a puff of smoke during Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom of Christmas.
“The most spectacular Christmas show ever” featured an animated display including Cinderella’s Castle, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Pinocchio and, of course, Santa.
Magician Harry Albacker, “The Wizard of Christmas,” performed magic tricks and made Santa materialize out of thin air in 1977 and 1978. Children received candy canes, cartoon books and Mouseketeer certificates.
Youngsters also rode the Santa Express train. Toot toot!
Random thoughts
So many memories swirl around Rolling Acres.
The Budweiser Clydesdales. Milo’s Clown Alley. The Berenstain Bears. Safety Town. Ren & Stimpy. Living Mannequins.
Easter Island. Bunnyland Express. Tiretown Corvette Club. Illusions of Elvis. Up With People. Strawberry Shortcake.
World Series of Putting. The International Festival. The Wild Pair. Bottom Half. ETC Show Choir. The Morning Exchange.
Perry’s Wacky T-Shirts. Wigs N’ Things. Cornelius and Dr. Zaius. Barbie and Batman. Cut the Mustard. Ferberger’s Fudge.
Akron Model T Ford Club. Seventeen Magazine. Modern Man. Ladies Night at the Movies. Akron Children’s Theatre. Zoo Be Doo.
So many memories. What are yours?
The urban legends
Rumors began to circulate in the late 1980s that attackers were hiding under vehicles at the mall to slash the ankles of passing females.
According to another legend, a man disguised as an elderly woman approached females in the parking lot and asked for a ride. Once he got inside their cars, he removed his disguise.
Although Akron police insisted the rumors were untrue, many shoppers still believed the tales.
Panic at the mall
Shoppers began to perceive Rolling Acres as unsafe, even though its crime rate was no worse than other malls.
In early 1991, mall owners replaced off-duty Akron cops with security guards over a pay dispute. A month later, a small fight erupted among people leaving the theater after a showing of the crime film “New Jack City.”
A heavy sign fell over, creating a loud noise that many patrons mistook as a gunshot. About 200 people ran screaming through the corridors.
It was the beginning of the end.
The final store
Customers stopped going. One by one, stores left.
Rolling Acres closed in 2008, but retail activity continued at a former anchor store. JC’s 5 Star Outlet, the last store remaining, closed Dec. 30, 2013, with items marked down 90%.
Bargain shoppers stuffed bags full of clothes. The store closed at 5 p.m., and that was it.
A new beginning
After years of vandalism and blight, the derelict mall was razed by 2017.
Amazon opened a 640,000-square-foot fulfillment center Nov. 1, 2020, on the old site.
The Akron center employs about 5,000 workers who receive inventory, pack orders and ship them to customers. It is a marvel of consumerism in the early 21st century.
Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com
Mark J. Price: Don’t believe that rumor about the Peanut Shoppe
Vintage photos: 50 memorable Cleveland TV personalities
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Rolling Acres Mall Akron, Ohio: Things you might not remember about it
