Century Plaza: The rise and fall of Birmingham's iconic mall

In August 1975, Alabamians were excited by the prospect of an upscale mall opening in the Eastwood section of Birmingham. Century Plaza opened with 90 stores , including anchors Sears, J.C. Penney, Rich’s and Loveman’s.

Click through the gallery at the top of this story to see more vintage photos of Century Plaza.

Century Plaza, located at Crestwood Boulevard and Oporto Road, was unlike previous malls in Alabama. It was a 743,785 square-foot, two-level, enclosed shopping mall.

The mall became a popular shopping destination for people from across central and north Alabama until larger, fancier malls were built in Huntsville ( Madison Square Mall in 1984) and Birmingham ( Riverchase Galleria in 1986). At Christmas in the 1970s and 1980s, the Century Plaza parking lot would overflow