Park Central Mall

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The Park Central Mall is a shopping mall in Phoenix, Arizona.

Park Central was first envisioned by Ralph Burgbacher and his younger brother, AJ Burgbacher. The two men purchased the Central Avenue Dairy in the 1950s. At the time, Phoenix was not very big. Other developers criticized them, saying development out in the "dairy farm" area was futile. However, they proceeded to build. When the mall was complete, many new conveniences were put in. First, Phoenix grew quickly and the mall quickly became part of central Phoenix. Second, with summer temperatures reaching upwards of 120 degrees, the brothers built the first covered parking lot at a mall.

Park Central opened in the mid-1950s and signaled the shift of retail development away from the traditional urban core of downtown Phoenix. In the 1950s, the area around Park Central (roughly Central Avenue and Thomas Road) was considered almost a suburban locale; because of the massive growth and expansion of Phoenix in the years since, it is now almost considered a part of the central business district.

Most major retailers, such as JCPenney, were gone by the late 1990s. The west end/back of the mall has been converted into mainly office space (much of it used by Catholic Healthcare West, parent company of the adjacent St. Joseph's Hospital; and UnitedHealth Group, which occupies the former JCPenney), although there are successful small retailers and restaurants on the east end/front of the mall.