Talk:King of Prussia Mall

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Contents 1 Size 2 Quotes/sources 3 Lead - 'Dubious' 4 History 5 Historic maps?

[edit] Size

Although the mall is smaller than the Mall of America and South Coast Plaza in terms of total area, there is more space devoted purely to retail than any other mall in the country, 2,850,000 square feet(285,000 m²), roughly 350,000 more square feet retail space than Mall of America and 50,000 more than the South Coast Plaza. There are more than 13,000 parking spaces on the 200 acre site.

This quote is untrue, unless King of Prussia has undergone recent renovation since the end of 2005, it is listed (if all three sections were counted together) to have almost 2.7 million square feet of retail space whereas SCP has 2.8 million. Provide a source that says that King of Prussia is now the largest mall by retail space, but most studies (see List of largest shopping malls in the United States show that King of Prussia would be smaller regardless. Shrek05 14:36 26 June 2006

Really depends on whom you ask. To wit: this article indicates that the combined total retail space of The Plaza, The Court and The Pavillion covers 2.7M SF. They omit the KOP mall from their list on a somewhat bizarre technicality claiming that in a 2004 directory they are listed as three "separately managed" units. They are all owned and operated by [Kravco Simon] who lists them all under a single heading totalling nearly 2.8M SF. I cannot find an exact listing for SCP, but sites I see range from 2.6M to 2.8M and they all seem to be estimates. One can easily stake the claim that MoA and SCP are larger if you make the stipulation that they are all under a single roof, but the two buildings are considered to be a de facto single unit with a single mailing address, to boot. The List of largest shopping malls in the United States was recently edited, apparently based on this single "study."

To further confound things, this article from ICSC lists the gross leasable area of KOP to 2.9M SF compared to SCP's 2.022M SF. I would say that by most reasonable approximations without getting into strange technicalities, KOP is still the largest in terms of retail space. Jzerocsk 17:33, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

That must be before their expansion. Similarly that is the total area of the mall, regardless i will keep it and edit it to say disputes between SCP, but in most studies SCP is listed first. --Shrek05 22:13, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Is it still the 2nd largest mall, or is it now the 3rd largest? --michael180 15:32, August 15, 2005 (UTC)

What other mall are you thinking of? - CobaltBlueTony 01:25, 2 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Quotes/sources

Parts of the article look like they might be from an advertisement or brochure from the mall. Perhaps placing those sections in quotes and citing the sources will make this more encyclopedia-friendly?

hell no leave it the way it is to different things also it was reesville before it was King of Prussia.

Why would you merge the mall with the town? They are not synonymous.

This history is interesting if somewhat promotional in nature. From http://www.philadex.com/philadelphia/shopping/king_of_prussia_plaza.asp

In 1959, when the Kravco Company, then M.A. Kravitz, began planning its community shopping center on Route 202 in King of Prussia. With plans to include three department stores, Kravco , JCPenney and E.J.Its substantial landscaping, its 8-sided amphitheater, its tasteful fountains and gazebos offered such a pleasant shopping experience, the mall was an instant success. Growth came quickly.

By 1967, King of Prussia Plaza included both open and enclosed mall areas, 1.3 million square feet of leasable space and some 140 stores offering a full range of retail merchandise and services. A true regional shopping center. In the late 1970's, plans were developed for an adjacent mall, the King of Prussia Plaza had always been directed toward a broad audience, The Court was to appeal to the more affluent, fashion-minded shopper.

[edit] Lead - 'Dubious'

I tagged this sentence as dubious because it uses weasel words and is merely speculation. If "The two-building agglomeration is also arguably the world's largest shopping complex at one discrete location." then there needs to be data to support this. If there is no such data, then it should be removed from the lead paragraph altogether. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by RedPoptarts (talk • contribs) 19:04, 19 February 2007 (UTC).

Some people added refs but the refs don't support the claim so I have modified it [1]. Some sources claim it is the largest in the US but none of the ones given claim it is the largest in the world. According to List of the world's largest shopping malls I don't see any way this 2.7-2.9 million feet mall could be the largest in the world Nil Einne (talk) 11:03, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] History

"The history of King of Prussia speaks to the evolution of shopping malls and the retailing business over the years."

I have no idea what this is supposed to mean. It's certainly not encyclopedic writing. Clayhalliwell (talk) 18:23, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Historic maps?

Does anyone know of, or would anyone please upload, some maps of the mall as it developed through the years? I'd particularly love to see it again as it existed in the 1980s, when I was growing up nearby. There was a small computer store in it which sold Apples and Commodores, and a very nice saleswoman who let me play with them, and if it hadn't been for that store and that woman then I might not be on Wikipedia today. :) - Brian Kendig (talk) 03:10, 3 June 2008 (UTC)