Westgate Square Shopping Center (Racine, Wisconsin)

Westgate Mall Shopping Center is a shopping center located at the southwest corner of Washington Avenue and Ohio Street in Racine, Wisconsin. Opened in 1979, the shopping center is built on the former site of the Westgate Outdoor Theatre. The center's primary anchor was Shopko #27 from its opening until the chain's bankruptcy in 2019.

History
The site of Westgate Mall Shopping Center was first commercially developed in 1948, when construction on the Racine Outdoor Theatre, later renamed the Westgate Outdoor Theatre, began. The theater's owner, Spiro J. Papas, moved into the retail business in 1961 when he announced plans to build a discount department store north of the theater and facing Washington Avenue. The store building became home to Jewel Tea Company's first Turn Style Family Center outside of Massachusetts, which opened in 1962. After Westgate Cinema opened across the street in 1968, the outdoor theater's popularity declined.

Westgate Outdoor Theater ended the 1978 season without fanfare on September 18. After Jewel shut down all Turn Style stores that year, the Racine store was one of three that was not subleased to The May Department Stores Company to become a Venture store. Instead, ShopKo became interested in the location. In November, ShopKo announced that it was planning to renovate and expand the Turn Style building. However, by February 1979, the company instead proposed tearing down both the store and the theater to build a new shopping center. The theater was demolished in May 1979, shortly after the thirtieth anniversary of its opening.

The general contractor on the shopping center's construction was Tonn & Blank of Michigan City, Indiana. On September 8, 1979, a flatbed truck owned by James Cape and Sons stolen from the construction site was found being driven by a 15-year-old with no driver's license. The center's primary anchor and first tenant, Shopko store #27, opened on November 5, 1979, before the rest of the L-shaped building had been constructed. On January 30, 1980, Randall's Foods announced plans to build a 40,000-square-foot Randall's County Market supermarket at the mall, which would become Racine's largest grocery store. On May 29, around the time that construction on the addition began, surveying equipment owned by Tonn & Blank valued at $1,600 was reported stolen from the construction site.

The first store to open in the new addition was Fashion Plus, a women's specialty store which opened on July 28, 1980. Racine's third Radio Shack store opened at the center on September 5. The center's parking lot hosted the "$7 million car sale" during the weekend of September 25-27, 1980, in which seven local car dealers joined together to sell over 500 cars. The dealers successfully sold the majority of their collective inventory during the three-day sale.

Shari's Card Shop, part of the Cherkinian's Card Shops chain, opened at the center in late October 1980. The Gamut, a variety store selling sporting goods, school and office supplies, and arts and crafts, opened November 10. Sound & Video Warehouse, an audiovisual equipment store, opened November 28. Lamberton's, a local women's apparel chain, moved one of its locations from the Western Village Shopping Center to Westgate Mall after the Western Village lease ended on February 28, 1981. The store opened at Westgate on March 3. The first Sweet Temptations candy and ice cream store also opened at the center in March. Pants Towne, a jeans store located at 424 Main Street in downtown Racine, moved at the end of March 1981 to Westgate Mall, doubling the store's floor space.

The Randall's County Market supermarket had been hoped to open as early as December 12, 1980, but changes in the construction plans delayed the store's opening until the following spring. The store opened on March 25, 1981. In addition to being Racine's largest supermarket, it was the city's first grocery store to introduce UPC barcode scanners.

Business owners at the shopping center formed the Westgate Mall Merchants' Association in July 1981. That month, Scene II moved to the center from 520 Monument Square in downtown Racine. In October, Billings Pianos and Organs moved to Westgate from Badger Plaza. West Wind Book Store moved to Westgate from Western Village Shopping Center in July 1982.

On August 9, 1982, a Racine resident fell and suffered serious injuries at the entrance to the Sweet Temptations candy store. The victim filed a lawsuit against the center and the store in January 1985, alleging that the store's entrance was dangerously elevated. Pants Towne closed in November 1982 after filing for bankruptcy. Fashion Plus closed in January 1983 after a similar bankruptcy proceeding.

Two Westgate stores, The Gamut and Scene II, closed in June 1983. West Wind Book Store closed in October 1985. Billings Keyboard Center of Racine closed on September 30, 1992.

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Shopko announced in February 2019 that it would close its Westgate store. The store closed on May 19.

Current tenants

 * North Shore Bank, opened as Southeastern Savings Bank September 29, 1980, renamed at the end of 1983

Former tenants

 * Shopko #27, opened November 5, 1979, closed May 19, 2019
 * Fashion Plus, opened July 28, 1980, closed January 9, 1983
 * Radio Shack, opened September 5, 1980, closed unknown
 * Shari's Card Shop, opened late October 1980, closed around 1983
 * The Gamut, opened November 10, 1980, closed late June 1983
 * Sound & Video Warehouse, opened November 28, 1980
 * Payless ShoeSource, opened 1981
 * Lamberton's, opened March 3, 1981
 * Randall's County Market, opened March 25, 1981
 * Sweet Temptations, opened mid-March 1981, closed unknown
 * Pants Towne, opened April 1981, closed November 30, 1982
 * Scene II, opened July 1981, closed June 26, 1983
 * Billings Pianos and Organs, also known as Billings Keyboard Center, opened October 15, 1981, closed September 30, 1992
 * West Wind Book Store, opened July 1982, closed October 1985
 * Mimi's Hallmark
 * Diane/Maries
 * Gloria Marshall
 * Computer Paradise
 * Fashionation
 * Fashion Bug
 * Gingiss Formalwear
 * Hair Surgeon Designers
 * Sweats 'n Socks
 * Jalensky's Sports Headquarters
 * Old Country Buffet
 * Sophisticated Lady
 * Wicker Warehouse & Jewelry