Howdy folks and welcome back, we seem to be getting to a great diehard core of readers here, and I’m really happy about that! I want to take a moment to thank the folks who keep coming back to read and share my content. Please keep reading, sharing, and commenting, that’s what keeps me going!
Moving on to today’s topic, I’ll warn you up front, this is NO HIDDEN GEM, this is not a mall that has been open for years, and is now slowly finally dying off. This is a failed experiment and meets the bare minimum of what I could consider a mall, although it does fit the category better than the glassed in sidewalks in Weingarten’s “Malls”, and still proves to be an interesting story, so let’s get started! This building, at 445 Murphy Rd, Stafford, TX 77477 was originally constructed in 1978 as a Kmart. The store was one of only two Kmart locations in Fort Bend County, prior to the completion of U.S. 59, Murphy Road FM 1092 was provided a main route with access to Highway 6. By the 1990s, the store was in relatively decent shape, but limited in size by adjacent stores that had been built. This meant when Kmart began to push their Big Kmart conversion program, they decided to close this store instead, with it dropping off listings by 1995.
Beyond the store being older, and smaller, another big issue was a shift in traffic in the area. With 59 being completed past U.S. 90-A not as many people used 1092 as a “main drag”, and while it was still a popular shopping destination after Kmart moved out, no other major tenant would permanently occupy this space. In the early 2000s, plans were drawn up to subdivide the building with some portions to be directly rented to tenants, and others to be used as a flea market style space. I’m not sure exactly how “The Mall” was born, but I think it came to light around the same time. The
How does Mike keep doing this?!?!
While I feel like I know about most of the former Houston-area Kmarts, I must admit that I don’t go to the Southwest side all that often and I certainly have not been that far SW very many times. Thus, I really don’t know anything about this Kmart or the ‘mall’. Even though this is, as you say, nothing secret as there is clearly a sign saying “The Mall,” this is not something I’ve seen discussed before by Houston retail enthusiasts so it is a good find and I’m glad you shared it. This mall makes the Deauville Fashion Malls or those Weingarten malls look like The Galleria though!
Green and blue are a bit of strange colors for flooring. I must admit, the blue floor with the spots looks kind of like a bowling ball! That’s kind of neat. Hey, it beats a plain concrete floor if nothing else!
For several years, my father played in a softball league in the park at the back of Quail Valley and I usually went along with him and watched his games. We stopped at this Kmart and the former Academy just north on 1092 many times to buy Gatorade and such before and after games. In fact, we probably visited this Kmart more often than the much closer ones in Rosenberg, though again, really only for drinks and snacks.
I’m guessing Kmart closed this location when they opened the “Big Kmart” in the former Venture location near what was to become the First Colony Mall.
I only remember this location after Kmart while it was sitting vacant. From what I could find, it closed late 1995 and Kmart didn’t end up with Venture until 1997, so for over a year Fort Bend County had a single Super Kmart, and no other locations.