For more than 40 years, Dallas’ NorthPark Center has welcomed visitors with its polished concrete floors, East Texas cream-colored brick, colorful gardens and an extensive collection of modern art.
In April, the shopping center completed a $200 million expansion that pushed the number of shops and restaurants to 225. Last week, the opening of Barneys New York brought a major phase of the expansion to a close.
David Haemisegger, co-owner and operator of NorthPark, said in an e-mail interview that the expansion was significant because the NorthPark shopper is sophisticated and follows fashion trends closely.
“They expect a retail experience that is on par to those they have experienced in New York or Los Angeles,” wrote Haemisegger. The expansion has allowed NorthPark to bring in stores typically associated with fashion centers of the East and West Coasts, including Barneys, Juicy Couture and Michael Kors.
Dearda Ezieka, a longtime NorthPark shopper and Macy’s employee, said she loves the convenience of the center and added parking created by the new garages.
Brent Nicholson, a 20-year NorthPark shopper, said he appreciates the architecture at the center, but feels as though some nostalgia has been lost. Nicholson said NorthPark has gone the way of the “typical mall.” He wishes the center still included shops like Woolworth’s and General Cinema.
“NorthPark before was unique and it wasn’t as crowded,” said Nicholson. Haemisegger said he believes much of the success is because the center is family-owned and run.
“I believe that’s what makes a very significant difference and adds overall quality to the shopping experience,” he wrote.
Founder Raymond D. Nasher’s daughter Nancy Haemisegger and her husband David Haemisegger took over operations after Nasher’s retirement.
NorthPark Center was the brainchild of developer and art collector Nasher. Nasher conceived the idea of NorthPark in the late 1950s when he purchased a 97-acre cotton field in North Dallas. Pre-planning began in 1959 and construction soon followed on what became the largest climate-controlled shopping center in the world. The center opened Aug. 19, 1965. According to a story in the Dallas Times Herald, somewhere between 150,000 and 200,000 people attended. Almost 100 shops and eateries were ready to greet shoppers, including department stores like Neiman Marcus, Titche-Goettinger and J.C. Penny. The center also included a grocery, drugstore and liquor store. Opening week, Nasher told the Dallas Morning News he believed too many developers sacrificed quality buildings for a quick buck. For Nasher, this was not the way to do business.
“I maintain that if you develop an aesthetic atmosphere, the profits should be more substantial,” said Nasher. Although Nasher was a well-known Dallas developer, his other passion was collecting modern art. NorthPark was to be a facility where shops would be intermingled with art to create an atmosphere reminiscent of a modern art museum. According to Omniplan’s Web site, the center’s original designer and current developer of the expansion, NorthPark was the first shopping center to be constructed using one major building material and to have continuous signage used throughout the facility. NorthPark is a behemoth of glass and concrete. Sunlight rains through the center’s windows to illuminate works of art by Jonathon Borofsky, Andy Warhol, Henry Moore and Roy Lichtenstein. Probably the most recognized piece of art in NorthPark is Jonathon Borofsky’s “Five Hammering Men.” Each of the 16-foot-tall sculptures is fixed with a motor so it’s constantly in motion.
Beginning about 10 years ago, NorthPark management decided if NorthPark was to stay on top, it needed to look to the future. An aggressive expansion was put into action, and major construction began in 2004.
The structure itself had always been in an “L” shape. The expansion created new wings to make a large square. In the center would be “Center Park,” a 1.4-acre courtyard that would house gardens, sculpture and community activities. NorthPark says it’s the only shopping center in the nation to offer this type of area. Haemisegger wrote that NorthPark management realized the look and feel of the property had been established 40 years ago, and they would not be changing the “architectural vocabulary” of the center. He said the new wings would just be current interpretations of what already existed.
“The physical structure, however, is merely a backdrop for the stores,” wrote Haemisegger. Although NorthPark’s shops and cafés are always evolving, the heart and soul of the center has remained intact since it opened its doors. According to Haemisegger, NorthPark strives for originality, and will continue to do so for many years to come.
