The era of bustling malls and overflowing food courts is drawing to an end. 

A trip through history reveals the rise and fall of Bucks County’s beloved shopping destinations, writes Erin McCarthy for The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

In the 1960s, five malls graced the Philly region, including Bensalem’s Neshaminy, and within just a few years, the mall scene doubled. Langhorne’s Oxford Valley opened as existing malls continued to expand, and additional shopping centers debuted.  

However, by the early ‘80s, concerns began to rise about the abundance of malls in the region.  

“Our opinion is that [the area] is saturated,” said Camm Morton in 1983, then a vice president for Kravco, which owned King of Prussia, Oxford Valley, and Montgomery Malls. “When you can get to a couple of malls in 20 to 25 minutes, one starts to compete with the other.” 

As e-commerce began to rise and competition increased, some malls retained customers by adding attractions and indoor experiences. King of Prussia and Plymouth Meeting were thriving, while smaller malls like Oxford Valley began seeing vacancies. 

When the pandemic struck, many shopping destinations couldn’t recover, including the Neshaminy Mall. 

“This used to be a place of fun,” said TikToker Jeremy Konopka as he walked through the now nearly empty Bensalem mall. 

A glimmer of hope remains as developers consider new alternatives to breathe life back into the former shopping destinations.  

Read more about the history of malls in the Philadelphia region and how the mall landscape is changing in The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

_______