OMNI International Mall ~ The Experiment Failed

This mall was The Great Experiment! It opened sometime around 1980 on Biscayne Blvd. (U.S. 1) a mile or so north of the center of downtown Miami. It had easy access to to the expressway system leading to the airport, the seaport, Miami Beach, and points to the north south and west.

It was constructed incorporating an existing Jordan Marsh department store, had loads of free covered parking, a totally indoor upscale mall, gourmet restaurants, and a convention hotel. At the time I was doing a lot of work for a big public relations firm. I shot the construction photos, grand opening photos, and managed to hold onto the account for a few more years. Lots of fashion shows, new store openings, conventions, and then they remodeled the entire place so there were more construction and grand reopening photos. About once a month they published a flyer featuring big sales and new seasonal merchandise. That's where this shot came from, one of those flyers.

It never caught on. The last time I drove by it was empty, deserted, and even Jordan Marsh was gone. They'd become part of the Federated Department Stores chain along with Burdines and Macy's. The public relations director went on to another mall and I started photographing store openings and fashion shows over there.