Eastfield Mall, Springfield, MA

Eastfield Mall is credited with being one of the first indoor shopping centers in New England. The mall is in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was built in 1967 with three anchor stores. The anchor stores were on the mall location before the actual shopping center was built. When it came time for Eastfield Mall the architects designed the building between the anchors. The area has seen much remodeling in the last forty years with a large retail district spring up around the mall.

Mall hours are Monday through Thursday 10am to 8:30pm. Friday and Saturday hours are 10am to 9pm. Sunday the mall is open 12pm to 5pm. The holidays may extend the hours, and it will always be closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Eastfield Mall came to fruition as a result of the suburbs growing rapidly, especially Sixteen Acres. The mall was 600,000 square feet and the largest mall at the time for the state. Ten years later it lost that distinction when Holyoke Mall opened. The first three anchor stores were Forbes and Wallace, Steigers, and Sears. With construction a food court was added and changes made to the anchor stores. For a while the anchor stores remained closed. Two malls were built close by Eastfield and it began to show as more and more shoppers headed to the newer locations. Eventually JC Penney moved into one of the vacant anchor stores. Steigers and many mall stores closed in the 70's.

Luckily for the mall it was able to see some reverse in fortune. Filene's brought in May Department Stores and took over the old space for Steigers. In the 90's a movie theater was built in the parking lot and this helped to draw more shoppers. The current anchors of Eastfield Mall are JC Penney, Macys, Old Navy, Sears, and Showcase Cinemas. Until February 2009 they had a sixth anchor store- Steve and Barry's. They closed due to bankruptcy.

Stores available for shoppers include A Dollar, Aeropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Asian Imports, Bath and Body Works, Belden Jewelers, Born and Raised USA, Christopher and Banks, Claires, Collectibles and Cards, Elbens, Fancy Nails, FootAction, For Your Entertainment, GameStop, Gap, GNC, and Hannoush Jewelers. Other stores provided at the mall are Hot Topic, Incredible Toys, In Touch Wireless, Journeys, Kay Jewelers, LensCrafters, Lynn's Hallmark, Mall Barber, Master Cuts, Men's Mart, Milano Leather, Millennium Nails and Spa, and Mobiletron.

Mocha Emporium, Mykonos, Nix Accessories, Olympia Sports, PacSun, Payless, Piercing Pagoda, Q Fashions, Rainbow Apparel, Radio Shack, Rave, The Shoe Department, and Things Remembered are a few more of the stores at Eastfield Mall. Along with the many accessories, clothing, and entertainment shops are the food court and restaurants.

Yum Yum Kitchen, Villa Pizza, Subway, Pretzel Twister, Donovan's Irish Pub, Dairy Queen, Orange Julius, and Burger Baby are a few of the places to eat. Outside of the mall there are other locations in the outlying buildings. As a whole shopping district there are also other stores nearby Eastfield Mall for shoppers to enjoy.