Jan 31, 2018 3 min read

Still another former retail giant is struggling, as word came down last week Toys R Us is shuttering about 180 stores nationwide. The location at Washington Mall is among those the company targeted for closing by spring, along with three other sites in Southwestern Pennsylvania: Beaver Valley, Monroeville and Ross Park Mall.

The New Jersey-based company once ruled the national toy market, but is now $5 billion in debt and filed for bankruptcy protection in September. A significant measure of blame can be placed on the rising popularity of Amazon and the presence of large chains like Walmart, which are forcing Toys R Us to begin closing stores.

In a letter verifying the shutdowns, chairman and CEO Dave Brandon said most of the targeted stores will be gone by mid-April – but will feature large discounts until then.

This decline, lamentably, mirrors that of Washington Mall itself. It opened in 1968, Washington County’s first mall and one of the initial large shopping complexes in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The location was easily accessible for a lot of people, near the intersection of Route 19 and Interstate 70 in South Strabane Township, a few hundred yards from the Washington city line and a quick commute from I-79. You could drive there in a half-hour from Pittsburgh, Wheeling or Charleroi.

Although it siphoned businesses from Washington’s vibrant downtown, the mall was popular from the get go, a destination with 663,000 square feet offering an impressive range of customer options. You could stroll its hallways in search of clothing, appliances, furniture, food, sweets, entertainment and more. There were movie theaters, and if you wanted to take in a night of harness racing, The Meadows was three miles away.

Boosted by local ownership, Washington Mall was a grand location for more than three decades, attracting millions through its doors, many of them regular patrons. Then the slide began. Tenants started leaving or going out of business without anything moving in – a retail flight that has afflicted a few other malls in the region over the past 15 years or so. Signs of neglect became evident. Mold is believed to be rampant in the original structure.

When J.C. Penney announced in January 2014 it would close that spring, Washington Mall proper had only seven businesses left. It now has three: Staples, Harbor Freight and Grand China Buffet and Grill.

Although it is still hanging in, Washington Mall has an uncertain future. There are no known plans to upgrade, remodel, remediate, demolish, build anew. Contacted last week, Art DiDonato of Oxford Development Co., the real estate firm handling leasing for the property, told the Observer-Reporter, “nothing (is) new yet to disclose on this property.”

Toys R Us is struggling and so – still – is the once-revered local mall. Washington Mall will be 50 years old this year, but it does not promise to be a golden anniversary.