Eastland Mall’s demolition has begun, closing out 57 years of history ➡️ It opened on Valentine’s Day in 1968 as central Ohio’s first fully enclosed mall (Northland Mall opened four years prior on Morse Rd., but it was an open-air design at the time). It boasted 56 stores at its grand opening. In 1998, it was expanded to include a dozen more, plus a food court and a new entrance. Over time, the mall was anchored by Sears, Lazarus, Macy's, JCPenney and Kauffman’s. When Northland closed in 2002, Eastland became the oldest shopping mall still operating in Columbus. Soon after, sales declined and anchor stores closed. In 2015, JCPenney closed their store. Macy’s and Sears were soon to follow in 2017. On its 50th anniversary in 2018, the mall hosted just 25 stores and kiosks. Many of them reported good sales, and several small businesses found affordable storefront space in the mall, but the site was plagued by maintenance issues and health and safety violations. The mall permanently c...