Entrance A is the main gate for both malls, and was where Piccadilly once had a separate door.
Almeda Mall
Almeda Mall was the brain child of a property development group known was The Rouse Company. From the very beginning Almeda and Northwest Malls were planned together. Both malls signed Macy’s and JCPenney as the two main anchor tenants with stores located at the far ends of the mall. Both anchors would be built at the far ends of the mall, with a half-sized junior anchor located in the middle adjacent to the food court. The mall itself was essentially a corridor which linked the two anchors with the food court in the middle. As with Northwest, Foley’s opened first on October 3, 1966, featuring the best of the best, such as imported palm trees, a fire detection system, and supposedly the world’s first rounded eyelid style awnings. The actual mall would open 2 years later on October 10th, 1968. For a more detailed history than I could ever research I recommend checking out the South Belt Houston Digital History Archive.
Almeda mall was welcomed with immediate success as Houston’s development continued south along the Gulf Freeway throughout the 60s and 70s. Featuring many of the same boutique and specialty shops as its sister mall, Almeda attracted many types of clients. By 1978 the new Baybrook mall was attempting to pull higher class shoppers from Almeda. Offering a different selection of anchor store helped to keep traffic flowing at Almeda mall, although both Northwest and Almeda began to really fall behind during the 2000s. In 2017 Almeda mall received a full renovation.
2018 Photos
Originally a Foley’s this Macy’s store is likely the oldest operating in Houston.
Unlike the rest of the mall, the Macy’s essentially look the same to this day. The only exception is that the Macy’s at Northwest has been closed since 2008.
This arched glass corridor exists in both malls. The vending machine placement was even the same.
Zales closed operations at Northwest years before the mall closed.
Palais Royal shut down operations at both Northwest and Almeda malls within the past few years.
The center court of the mall was originally sunken in.
The skylights originally provided sunlight for the indoor trees.
Sesame Hut was also at both malls, the restaurant next to it was at one point a KFC/Taco Bell and retains part of the signage.
Entrance A is the main gate for both malls, and was where Piccadilly once had a separate door.
Heading towards Burlington (Penney’s) there is another area with a raised ceiling, and sky lights.
GNC was still operating as of 2018.
Almeda Mall has far more kiosk vendors than Northwest did even before it really declined
This was originally a pet store, very odd that it never received a full remodel.
Old Navy left both malls in the 2000s
Foot Locker is one of the many major tenants still in the mall.
The exterior of Penney’s was updated somewhat for Burlington
Only half of the store is used, with the other half being storage. A long hallway leads you through the otherwise empty space to the bathrooms
Is anyone aware of any color photos of the Christmas windows dressed at Foley’s downtown. I’ve found black & white but no color.