August 11, 1977;48 years ago(August 11, 1977) (as The Gallery, expanded October 12, 1983) September19, 2019;6 years ago(2019-09-19)[1](as Fashion District)
Renovated
2015–2019
Closing date
August 2015;10 years ago(August 2015) (original Gallery mall)
Demolished
August 2015–June 2017 (original Gallery mall, partial)
Previous names
The Gallery Mall (1977-1983) The Gallery at Market East (1983–2015) Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia (2015–2017)
Fashion District Philadelphia (informally Fashion District Philly), referred to by some locals simply as Fashion District, is a downtown shopping mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, located in Center City along Market Street. It opened in 2019 on the site of a previous mall known as The Gallery and later renamed The Gallery at Market East. It was also formerly known as Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia during planning.
Fashion District Philadelphia near 10th Street entrance
Prior to the Fashion District Philadelphia redevelopment, the mall originally opened in 1977 as The Gallery, which was developed by The Rouse Company.
Pre-construction and development
The Gallery at Market East in November 2013
In the mid-20th century, Market Street was home to the "Big Six" department stores: Strawbridge & Clothier (now Macy's), Gimbel Brothers (now Gimbels), Lit Brothers, N. Snellenburg & Co., and Frank & Seder. These stores were central for Philadelphia's urban life and drew shoppers from across the region.[2]
Urban renewal in Philadelphia began in 1946, with the formation of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA). In 1947, The Better Philadelphia Exhibition showcases grand redevelopment plans by Edmund Bacon, building public support. In 1948, the Greater Philadelphia Movement (GPM) is formed, uniting business leaders to support renewal. The first urban renewal sites are certified. In 1949, the Federal Housing Act provides crucial funding for slum clearance, boosting local efforts. The era of major federal funding and large-scale projects begin in the 1950s, with initial actions targeting areas like East Poplar and West Philadelphia (University City), for clearing "blighted" areas for new development, including university expansion.[3]
As a result, urban planner Ed Bacon proposed a massive redevelopment to bring the "suburban mall experience" into the heart of the city.[4]
Unlike Bacon's open-air shopping centers, he wanted this mall to be enclosed for a climate-controlled, suburban mall experience.[4]
The Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) partnered to develop this mall. The Gallery was approved in 1964, and a commitment was to develop an underground mall specifically on the north side of Market Street.[5]
The Rouse Company, founded by James W. Rouse, who also developed Pennsylvania's Exton Square Mall and Plymouth Meeting Mall, entered in a joint venture with the PRA and PIDC, and was officially selected as the developer for the project, and Gimbels signed a deal to have its new flagship store in The Gallery.[6] Rouse hired Philadelphia architectural firms Bower & Fradley Architects (the predecessor to Bower Lewis Thrower Architects [BLT Architects]) and Cope Linder & Associates. Construction began in 1974.[5]
The Gallery had its grand opening on August 11, 1977, which involved a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Upon opening, the mall included the Market Fairfood court with 22 stalls, and was in the basement level under Gimbels. It also included 40-foot-tall trees, and direct underground connections to SEPTA regional rail and subway lines. [5]
After opening
The Gallery was so successful enough that the city approved an expansion of the mall. The mall was expanded in the 1980s with the construction of a second phase called The Gallery II, which opened on October 12, 1983, and the mall was renamed to The Gallery at Market East to better reflect that it is part of the Market East complex, and to avoid confusion from The Gallery at Harborplace in Baltimore, Maryland, which was also developed by Rouse and in its planning phases at the time. As part of the expansion, the basement concourse was extended to more blocks, and the food court was moved down to the end under Gallery II which was directly connected to the 11th Street SEPTA station. The Phase I building was dubbed The Gallery I after the expansion. The Gallery II was anchored by a three-story JCPenney.[5]
Gimbels closed its Gallery location on August 18, 1986 due to liquidation. The chain itself became defunct one year later, and it was once the largest department store in the world. The Rouse Company demolished the space shortly thereafter.[6]
JCPenney closed their Gallery store sometime in the 2000s, as it is no longer listed on their official website.[7]
PREIT acquired The Gallery in April 2003 from The Rouse Company and Gallery II in the third fiscal quarter of 2004 from the state's Public School Employees' Retirement System. The total complex measures approximately 1,100,000 square feet (100,000m2) of retail space and at its peak had over 230 stores.
The space was originally anchored by Strawbridge & Clothier department store at 8th Street and Gimbels (previously Gimbel Bros) department store at 9th Street.
The number of the mall's stores has changed from over 230 to over 130. In September 2008, the developers of Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia changed their proposed casino location to The Gallery at Market East after receiving opposition from residents near the original proposed site in South Philadelphia. The new proposal was endorsed by both Mayor Michael Nutter and Governor Ed Rendell. The original proposal for the Foxwoods Casino at The Gallery at Market East was for a 3,000-slot-machine casino on two floors that were occupied by Burlington Department Store (formerly Burlington Coat Factory) which would have necessitated moving the store. However, on February 26, 2009, it was announced that the developers had instead decided to locate their new casino on three floors of the former Strawbridge's building.[8]
In January 2014, it was announced that Kmart would be closing its Gallery store in late April.[9] At the time, it was announced that there were plans to turn the former Kmart space into multiple street-facing stores centered on an atrium, and to redevelop the mostly vacant top level of the mall in other ways.[10] In April 2014, Century 21 Clothing announced that it would open an anchor store at the mall, which has since closed.[11]
Redevelopment as Fashion District Philadelphia
Pre-construction and development (Fashion District)
In July 2014, Macerich acquired a 50% stake in The Gallery at Market East and invested $106.8 million to redevelop the mall as part of a joint venture partnership with PREIT. When the developers were planning redevelopment, they once considered demolishing the entire mall.[12][13]
As of June 19, 2015, the $325 million remodeling of The Gallery had been officially approved by the city council, and the legislation had been approved by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.
The Gallery officially closed its doors in August 2015 and began demolition of the interior and some exterior elements, with construction expected to last for two years and a grand opening sometime in 2017.[14] The Burlington and Century 21 anchor stores would remain open during reconstruction.
Fashion District Philadelphia bridge over Filbert Street. Mall is directly to the right.
In August 2017, the developers announced that the outlets plan has been abandoned and the mall would instead feature a mix of retail, entertainment, and dining venues, much to that of a traditional shopping mall. The mall would effectively be renamed Fashion District Philadelphia. It was initially slated to reopen in the spring of 2018.[15] However, the decision to move Burlington and add an AMC Theatres multiplex led PREIT to delay opening most of the revamped complex until 2019.[16][17] The grand opening for Fashion District Philadelphia took place on September 19, 2019, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held.[18]
After opening (Fashion District)
The AMC Dine-In Fashion District 8 dine-in movie theater opened on November 4, 2019. The opening of this movie theater marked the first time since 2002 that Center City Philadelphia had a multi-screen movie theater; Philadelphia had previously been the only major city in the United States without a multi-screen movie theater in the downtown area.[19][20] On December 21, 2019, a Round One Entertainment bowling and entertainment center opened at Fashion District Philadelphia.[21]
In October 2019, it was announced that Primark would open a 34,200-square-foot (3,180m2) store at Fashion District Philadelphia at the corner of 11th and Market streets.[22] The store opened on September 16, 2021.[23][24] Century 21 closed in 2020 as a result of the chain filing for bankruptcy and closing all stores.[25][26]
Reopening the mall in September 2019 was unfortunate timing, as the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 caused the mall to shut down temporarily after just a few months of operation as Fashion District.
After PREIT filed for bankruptcy in 2020, PREIT relinquished its primary control of Fashion District Philadelphia on January 1, 2021, with Macerich taking over management of the mall. Macerich made a $100 million payment on a $301 million loan backed by Fashion District Philadelphia.[27]
On December 16, 2021, a Giant Heirloom Market grocery store opened in the ground level of the former Strawbridge's department store at 8th Street.[28] The store later closed on December 28, 2024, citing poor performance and other problems at the location.[29]
On July 21, 2022, the Philadelphia 76ers, the city's NBA franchise, announced its plans to build a new arena, 76 Place at Market East, on part of the site, costing at least $1.3 billion.[30] The plans later fell through due to opposition and the 76ers agreeing to a deal with Comcast Spectator to instead seek to build a new arena in South Philadelphia Sports Complex.[31]
On April 17, 2023, Fashion District Philadelphia implemented a curfew for people under the age of 18 after 2:00 p.m., in which they must be accompanied by a person over the age of 23. This curfew was implemented as a response to disturbances caused by crowds of teenagers in the mall.[32]
On December 11, 2023, PREIT filed for bankruptcy a second time and sold its share of Fashion District Philadelphia to Macerich, giving Macerich full ownership of the mall.[33]
In 2025, Forever 21 closed its store in Fashion District because the company announced that it was liquidating all of its stores in the U.S. after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[34]
Transit connections
Entrance to Jefferson Station from Fashion District Philadelphia
The following rail stations are connected to Fashion District Philadelphia:
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8th Street: 
B3 
L 
NJ Transit bus: 313, 315, 316, 317, 400, 401, 402, 404, 406, 408, 409, 410, 412, 414, 417, 551, 555 
