On a First-name Basis With the Community
....from the Beginning

Chris-Town Mall was named after Chris Harri, a Swiss farmer who moved to the valley in 1904. Harri, a local legend who died in 1971, owned and farmed 360 acres in what is now north central Phoenix, including the site where the mall now sits.

In the mid 1950s, Harri sold a large portion of his land to a developer. In 1961, the Chris-Town Mall opened with much fanfare at North 19th Avenue and West Bethany Home Road.

It was Arizona’s first air conditioned, enclosed mall. At the time, it also was the largest mall between Los Angeles and Houston.

In 2001, the center’s previous owner changed the name to Phoenix Spectrum Mall to reflect its "spectrum" of shopping choices. The new name was never fully received by the established community.

In 2004, Developers Diversified Realty purchased the mall and is currently in the midst of a major redevelopment to revitalize the center. After the purchase, local community leaders approached mall management about changing the name back to Chris-Town Mall and, in June 2007, the center's name became Christown Spectrum Mall.

Cool Then	Cool Now
1961 ad touts that Chris-Town is cool (literally).	Current marketing campaign reminds that Christown Spectrum Mall is as "cool" as ever.