The Center Mall, or The Center, is an enclosed shopping mall that has been converted to an office building that is located in Omaha, Nebraska at the intersection of South 42nd and Center Streets. Originally opened in 1955, the mall was home to a Kilpatrick's, and later a Younkers. Its opening is considered as heralding the "age of shopping malls in Omaha."HistoryThe Center was built in 1955 by the same private developer that built Westroads Mall in 1966, Mr. John Wiebe. After Mr. Wiebe's wife complained about shopping downtown he flew his plane over sections of Omaha until he found land suitable for America's very first indoor mall. It featured one department store, a local company called Kilpatrick's, which was later bought by and re-branded as Younkers. With a very compact design, the mall's interior arcade areas were intimate, with stores clustered very close together on three levels. At the top of the mall was a bowling alley, and a gas station in the corner of the parking structure.After the closure of the Younkers in the early 1990s, most of the stores moved out. The mall has been converted to office space housing a variety of private businesses and government offices. A lightning fire struck the mall in 2007 causing minimum damage.
