After opening in 1973 near Interstate 17 and Dunlap Avenue, Metrocenter made an immediate impression. As the largest mall in Arizona and the entire Southwest, it was unparalleled in size and amenities. Metrocenter boasted a sleek design, an indoor ice skating rink — a first for Arizona in those days — and five anchor stores, including Rhodes Brothers, Diamond's, Goldwater's and The Broadway.
In the years that followed, a ring of businesses sprang up in the area surrounding Metrocenter. Western Savings Bank built a distinctive location nearby in 1975, while family entertainment center and arcade Golf N’ Stuff opened a Taj Mahal-like location south of the mall the following year.
Over the next two decades, Valley residents flocked to Metrocenter for shopping, entertainment or just to socialize. (As Phoenix New Times described in a 2020 cover story, it was “everyone’s favorite west side mall.) Teens 20-somethings came from all over the Valley to hang out inside the mall or cruise around the mall’s parking lot.
Metrocenter originally featured a sleek interior design and more than 60 retails after opening in 1973.
Petley Studios
In the 2000s, however, Metrocenter began to decline, facing increasing competition from e-commerce and newer local malls. By 2019, the mall had become a shadow of its former self, as most retail spaces were vacant and few shoppers remained. The death blow for Metrocenter came in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the mall’s closure after nearly five decades in operation.
In November, Florida-based real estate developers Concord Wilshire Capital and TLG Investment Partners, which purchased Metrocenter in 2023, began demolishing the mall to make way for 68-acre urban village and townhome complex The Metropolitan and a 140,000-square-foot retail center, The Loop.
Here’s a look back at the rise and fall of Metrocenter over the decades.
The swooping entrance arches at Metrocenter Mall designed by architect Robert Fairburn and steel detailer Frank Grossman were part of the mall for decades until their removal in 2007.
Kim Ramirez
Metrocenter's famed ice rink operated from 1973 until 1990. A location of Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour was located on the second level.
Petley Studios
A 1976 aerial photo of Metrocenter. The mall originally was home to five anchor stores: Sears, Rhodes Brothers, Diamond's, Goldwater's and The Broadway.
Phoenix Public Library
Family entertainment center Golf N' Stuff, which opened in 1976 south of Metrocenter and is now known as Castles N' Coasters.
Petley Studios
A Metrocenter postcard from the late 1970s providing a glimpse inside and outside the mall.
Petley Studios
A vintage photo of the Western Savings Bank adjacent to Metrocenter. Built in 1975, the unique structure, featuring a distinctive ribbed conical tower, was designed by architect W.A. Sarmiento. The property later became a Souper!Salad! location until 2020 and now houses the gun store Tombstone Tactical.
Provided by Samuel Ferguson
The Phoenix Public Library's Cholla Branch Library opened in 1977 near Metrocenter.
Phoenix Public Library
Former Valley resident Brent Proctor, right, is taught how to lace up his skates by his father, Steve, at Metrocenter's ice rink in 1981. “I remember these 1930s or 1940s-style hang gliders hanging from the ceiling above the rink,” Brent recalls. “To me, that was one of the coolest things ever.”
Brent Proctor
Actors Keanu Reeves, Robert V. Barron, Alex Winter, Rod Loomis, and Clifford David filming "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" in Metrocenter's food court.
colaimages/Alamy Stock Photo
“Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” location manager Rick Rothen, right, and the key production assistant, Connie Hoy, at Metrocenter during filming of the movie at Metrocenter in 1987.
Provided by Connie Hoy
The late actor Tony Steedman as Socrates at the ice-skating rink at now-defunct Phoenix mall Metrocenter.
Beethoven actor Clifford David rehearses for scenes from "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" filmed at now-defunct mall Metrocenter in Phoenix.
Connie Hoy
Actor Al Leong, right, who played Genghis Khan in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" with key production assistant Connie Hoy at Sam Goody at Metrocenter in 1987.
Provided by Connie Hoy
Spider-Man posing with patrons of Atomic Comics' location near Metrocenter in the 2000s.
Michael Malve
Valley resident Eric Bills gets vertical at the Vans Skatepark inside Metrocenter in the 2000s.
Christopher Farrell
A glimpse inside Metrocenter during a tour by City of Phoenix officials in 2023.
Benjamin Leatherman
A skylight inside Metrocenter during a tour by City of Phoenix officials in 2023.
Benjamin Leatherman
