Tri-State Mall Getting Revamped Along With New Riverfront Construction
Warehouse coming to current Tri-State Mall and Steel Mill area in Claymont, Delaware.
The Tri-State Mall revamp plan in Claymont, Delaware has been in the works for several years now. As years passed, the stores of the mall turned unprofitable and chose to relocate from the area. Currently, there are few retailers that still remain. With the massive redevelopment of the old steel mill, the Tri State Mall will basically be no more and will serve as a distributing warehouse.
According to the Delaware Times, the massive revamp project is known as First State Crossing and “will exceed $1 billion and represent the largest economic development project in the state.” A 385,000 square foot warehouse is projected to be built and will likely open in late summer 2023. This warehouse facility is huge, and impressive for the Delaware area. Warehouses have brought in great revenue for their owners since the pandemic, especially in Delaware.
Furthermore, the redevelopment of the Tri-State Mall and old steel mill will also include office space, as well as apartments and townhomes. These residential spaces will be built along the Delaware River, making the homes new, attractive riverfront properties. New retail sites will also be added to the area once some residential properties are built and occupied.
Inside the Abandoned Cine'Mart Theater in Wilmington Delaware
In the late 60s and early 70s, movie theaters, drive-ins, and strip mall cinemas were popping up all over the nation. They were the new craze. Branmar Cinema had just opened their doors, along with Tri State Mall’s old theater. And then came the Cine’Mart Theater on Governor Printz Boulevard in Wilmington, Delaware. The first date of the box office opening at the Cine’Mart was January 20th, 1969.
According to the credited research that Edwin Graf Diemer contributed to Cinema Treasures for this story, “The shopping center [across the street from Cine’Mart] was built just following World War II and quickly became the most popular shopping destination in Wilmington.” The theater seated 984 people and there was only 1 screen, similar to Branmar Theater just a couple miles away. A newspaper released at the time of the closure stated, “The CineMart, Northern Delaware’s largest motion picture theater was closed over the weekend. Employees of the 984-seat theater on the Governor Printz Boulevard said they were notified of the closing just hours before it was shut down.”
The theater was steadily losing “$50,000 to $60,000 a year” and fell behind on rent. The owners did ask the owners of the Merechandise Mart to twin the theater, but they declined. At the same time of the CineMart closure, the Edgemoor Theater, which was only a few hundred yards up the road, would close when their lease expired.
Edwin cited that “The auditorium was completely in gold with wide rocking chair seating. The front was deeply curved to allow for the screen, with curtains that went to the rear of the auditorium.” According to local WJBR listener, Gary Rauso who has been to the Cinemart as well as Branmar Cinema, stated “It was the first theater in the area to have surround sound.” This theater, along with many others across America, actually were booking shows ranging from G-rated to explicit pornographic films. The theater was originally built to operate solely on X-rated pornographic films, but the Budco company acquired the theater from Hallmark Theaters of Massachusetts and started showing all varieties of films. The first film ever shown at the Cinemart was in 1968, titled “The Odd Couple”. The last ever film shown there was “The Exterminator”.
The downfall of the Cine’Mart was actually due to the Concord Mall on Route 202 in Wilmington. The Mall had been built with a theater of its own and sucked the life out of the Cine’Mart. This also resulted in the abandonment of the entire Merchandise Mart. Today, the Cine’Mart is fully abandoned, but remains standing with boards up on every possible entrance.
For a more-in depth read of the history of the Cine’Mart, I highly recommend reading Edwin’s full contribution on Cinema Treasures.
Hollywood Kyle is the Digital Content Producer and Production Director of Mix 99.5 WJBR. Being a Delaware local, Kyle takes pride in his hometown and has had a love for music since a young age. Hollywood Kyle joins the Mix Morning Show for abstract thoughts and ideas during "Hollywood Kyle" segment around 9:40am Monday thru Friday.