Aventura Mall with Lord & Taylor in 1983, the year the mall opened.
Miami Herald File
Aventura Mall opened in April 1983 in a considerably different South Florida landscape.
Four anchor stores, led by Lord & Taylor. No 24-screen movie theater. At 1.2 million square feet, a fraction of the near 3 million-square-foot attraction Aventura has become over four decades.
Here’s a visual tour of Aventura Mall in its earlier years through photographs from the Miami Herald archives.
Workers polish the Lord & Taylor sign at the Aventura Mall in its early years. Lord & Taylor was the first major tenant when Aventura opened in April 1983, joined by a JCPenney, Sears and Macy’s’ first Florida store. Today, only JCPenney and Macy’s remain. Miami Herald file
A file photo from Feb. 11, 1998, at the Aventura Mall, located by U.S. 1 south of the Broward-Dade line. Lord & Taylor was the first of four original anchors. The store closed in 2005. Jordan Yelman Miami Herald file
In this file photo from 1989, Don Morris, left, and Jesus Portuondo, both Volunteers from Telephone Pioneers of America, add more fruit to the one-ton fruit salad that was in the making at Aventura Mall. John R. Van Beekum Miami Herald
A demonstration Aeurobics event at Aventura Mall in 1991. Jon Kral Miami Herald file
Thursday 09/13/01 - Richard Patterson/for the Herald - From Left: Dean Shechtman, of Aventura, watches his daughter, Taylor Shechtman, 20 months, dance to some oldies that were being played by Mel Olman, of Hollywood and a piano player in the Aventura mall for 6 years inside of the mall. 3 of 3 Richard Patterson Miami Herald file
Back in the days when the AMC 24 Theatre was new at the Aventura Mall. This file photo from July 24, 1998, shows the inside of the southeast side of the mall. Two three-story parking garages were added to feed into some of these anchors, which for a few years included a Rainforest Cafe across from the movie theaters. Barbara Hernandez Miami Herald file
Years before Taylor Swift could gather crowds of young girls, Aventura Mall hosted a fashion show for “tween” girls ages 7-14 that drew hundreds for a fashion show and contest promotion event. This file photo from July 7, 2001, is from the Passion for Fashion ‘Tween’ Fashion Show. Chuck Fadely Miami Herald file
An aerial view of Aventura Mall in North Miami-Dade on March 14, 2001. The mall has been renovated and expanded several times since its 1983 opening, including in 2017. Peter Andrew Bosch Miami Herald file
In this file photo from Jan. 22, 2004, Jesur Mier dresses the manequin at the Burdines in Aventura Mall. South Florida’s Burdines and New York’s Macy’s merged that years and all of its stores initially used a hypenated name. It was part of a Federated Department Store strategy to leverage the Macy’s name nationally while still keeping the local flavor of Burdines. Noelle Theard Miami Herald file
An undated file photo showing Aventura Mall’s restaurant wing that was a part of an expansion in the late-1990s. The Cheesecake Factory first opened in Kendall at Dadeland Mall before opening at Aventura Mall. A Cafe Tu Tu Tango was also at Aventura Mall in the late-1990s, joining its Cocowalk location in Coconut Grove. Peter Andrew Bosch Miami Herald file
Gino Gaetano plays the piano at the old food court in Aventura Mall on Tuesday evening, Oct. 5, 2010, as a listener dances in the background. Allison Diaz Miami Herald File
Santa arrives at Aventura Mall for the holiday season in this Nov. 14, 2009, file photo. Miami Herald file
An Aventura Mall sign along U.S.1 in this file photo from Feb. 11, 1998. Jordan Yelman Miami Herald file
An aerial view of Carsten Höller’s 93-foot glass-and-steel slide, and Robert Indiana’s “Love” sculpture on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. The visual welcomes visitors to Aventura Mall, one of the largest and most popular shopping centers in the United States. MATIAS J. OCNER mocner@miamiherald.com
Miami Herald consumer trends reporter Howard Cohen, a 2017 Media Excellence Awards winner, has covered pop music, theater, health and fitness, obituaries, municipal government, breaking news and general assignment. He started his career in the Features department at the Miami Herald in 1991. Cohen is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Communication.Support my work with a digital subscription
.JPG "Aventura Mall with Lord & Taylor in 1983, the year the mall opened.")
