Northland Center, Southfield, Michigan
A typical Northland Center directional sign. Northland was the first mall in Michigan. As you know, there are four "-land" malls that surround Detroit. We've covered the last of these, Southland Center, way back in 2013 . Today's feature brings us to the first of these, Northland Center, which is a large enclosed dead mall located at Northwestern Highway and Greenfield Road in Southfield, Michigan. Currently, the sole anchor, if it still is when you're reading this, is Macy's. A 1949 DTE aerial image of the farmland that would later become Northland Center. Believe it or not, a housing subdivision was planned for the site! During the 1940's and 1950's, homes sprouted up on agricultural lands throughout the unincorporated Southfield Township in southern Oakland County. What was the third mall designed by architect Victor Gruen turned out to be the first to actually be erected. Construction started on May 7, 1952. The open-air center was to fea...