When the Lloyd Center opened in August 1960 it was advertised as the world's largest shopping mall. It was designed by John Graham Jr, architect of Seattle's famed Space Needle, and originally had an entirely open-air plan. It was home to specialty shops including toy companies and chocolatiers, and it featured the ice-skating rink where Tonya Harding learned to skate. In the 1990s, the mall was enclosed, and a food court was added. Since then, it has been on a continuous decline and has lost shoppers and businesses due to the pandemic, including its last department store. Most recently, the 23-acre mall has been the subject of potential repossession by a real estate firm for demolition.
