Belvidere Discount Mall

Belvidere Mall is located at Belvidere Road and Lewis Avenue in Waukegan, Illinois. It opened in 1965 and was developed between Montgomery Ward - the mall's sole anchor store, relocating from Genesee Street - and the firm Landau & Heyman. Early concepts called for the center to be open-air, however it was ultimately built as the first enclosed shopping center for Lake County. Junior anchors included Walgreen's and grocer, Fairway Foods. A single-screen, 1000-seat General Cinema theater opened at the mall's west end in January 1966.

Competition arrived in a matter of years, with the opening of Lakehurst five minutes west in 1971. The mall was renovated in 1985. Belvidere Cinema was twinned and made a second-run house upon General Cinema opening a triplex at Lakehurst. The hardest hit for Belvidere, however, would be Lakehurst poaching Montgomery Ward in 1988 - a move that many believed would be the death knell for the aging mall. The Cinema closed soon after and chain retailers began an exodus.

The mall survived the 1980s and into the 90s by hosting indoor flea markets and re-orienting as a discounter. The vacant Montgomery Ward anchor was finally razed in the mid-90s for a Builder's Square home improvement superstore, prompting a large renovation of the mall in 1998. Builders Square was quickly replaced by Home Depot upon the chain's demise. The Cinema reopened in 1992 as a four-screen dollar house and remained open for 11 years, it is currently mothballed but well preserved.

Today the mall serves Waukegan's large Hispanic community and features exclusively family-owned businesses. While it has a high number of vacancies, most of the retailers and eateries, here, are well-established and have been in the community for decades.