KNOLLWOOD PLAZA/MALL

Loehman's Knollwood Plaza Shopping Center opened on August 17, 1955 at 8337 Highway 7 (at Texas Avenue). G.F. "Cliff" Loehman had owned the land since 1929, which had previously been used as Pringle's Driving range (Jim Pringle), cornfield, and pasture for the herd from the Glen Lake School for Boys. Legend has it that he would only sell the land if his name was on the Knollwood sign.  His name went up, but it was carved on a white wooden sign, which couldn't be seen.  Donald Schanedling was the builder. Present at the opening were Governor Orville Freeman, Hubert Humphrey, and singer Rosemary Clooney.

Powers Knollwood also opened in August 1955, and was the first complete suburban department store in the Twin Cities. Dayton's and Donaldson's had the Dales sewn up, so Powers moved to the smaller venues.  The store had two floors and a mezzanine, "dedicated to family living and keyed to a casual way of life." The first Powers store was established at 5th and Nicollet in 1881. It was originally called the S.E. Olson Co., but was renamed Powers after being taken over by St. Paul drygoods merchant Alanzo J. Powers and his son, Fred E. Powers.  The Powers family sold out in the 1920s but the name stuck.  In 1960, another suburban store opened in Highland Park. Click here for an aerial view from 1962.

Other early stores were Harold, Inc., Woolworths, Sears Appliance, Penney's (before they called it JC Penney), Red Owl, Pet Center, Young Quinlan, Braun's, Fitwell Men's Store, Jack & Jill, Junior Miss, Record Lane, Three Sisters, and Walgreen's.

An addition to Knollwood was built in 1973 at 8020 Highway 7. Still, sales fell and fell, and between 1975 and 1976, sales at the center dropped $5 million. Signature store Young Quinlan left during this time. Extensive remodeling was done in 1978, expanding floor area from 250,000 to 500,000 square feet. This was when Park Knoll Elementary School was demolished to make way for a Montgomery Ward’s (now Cub) parking lot.

In 1980, Knollwood Plaza became Knollwood Mall, with the stores now facing in instead of out. Stores surrounded a center court with a skylight. The floor area was expanded from 250,000 to 500,000 square feet.  The Grand Re-Opening was held on October 8-18.

Despite its hard times, Knollwood at one time advertised that it was "The Suburb's Main Street," which, of course, being St. Louis Park, it wasn't. But in the days before online shopping, the Mall of America, and even some of the Dales, Knollwood was the place to go for clothes, fabric, and much more.

For more pictures from the Minnesota Historical Society, go to http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/ and put in Knollwood Plaza as the search terrm.

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.