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Two Malls in the Bluffs

The 1960s were tough on downtowns. Suburban sprawl sent buyers to the spacious parking lots and gleaming new stores of the shopping malls. In Council Bluffs it was even worse; an incredible 77% of business was being lost to Omaha. In an attempt to counter this the city embarked on one of the boldest urban renewal projects in the country. This video looks at that urban renewal plan, Midlands Mall, and the arrival of Mall of the Bluffs. 2024 UPDATE- the video notes that at one point Midlands Mall was valued as high as $35 million dollars, yet was sold to an Omaha realtor a few years later for just $150 thousand. The implication is the mall was a failure. Since this video was produced we had the opportunity to interview Jim Richter, who was Council Bluffs city planner when the mall was built. Mr. Richter noted that while it’s unfortunate the mall didn’t remain in business longer, it quite successfully served its purpose by stopping the flow of southwest Iowa retail to Omaha, which had reached an astronomical 77 percent of sales revenue. This brief overview is based on newspaper clippings, documents, and interviews conducted by the author in the 1970s. For those seeking more information, a concise but detailed look at urban renewal can found in the book "Upstream Metropolis" (Larsen, Cottrell, Dalstom and Dalstrom, University of Nebraska Press, 2007). If you enjoy this type of content, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE! Your helps the Historical Society secure grants and funding to continue these videos. Thank you!