Upon starting this research project, the floor that fascinated me the most and became my favorite floor in the mall is the once lively now quiet 4th Floor. The 4th floor carries a wide variety of difference in architecture alone that separates it from the other three. For one thing, it only spans 2 of the 4 wings that encircle the theme park, forming an L shape. It also seems to be the tallest level in the mall, with very high up ceilings above the halls. I specify the halls, as you won't find many tenant spaces you can actually enter. Today (as of mid-April 2026) there are only 3 tenants on the 4th Floor: The Fair on 4, Rick Bronson's House of Comedy (which is only open afternoons & evenings), and the cinema (which is far enough from the other tenants that I consider it to be its own section of the mall, taking up the majority of 4 South Avenue). In fact, just recently the Hooters shut its doors. This was an especially sad loss it was one of the few tenants in the mall that not only has been open since day one, but it also has remained in the same space for those 30+ years.
Now, as quiet as the mall is today (which can actually be peaceful for mall walking if you find yourself getting overwhelmed by the crowds below), that wasn't always the case. Actually, quite the opposite! When the mall first open, this floor, referred to as the "Upper East Side", housed a wide array of adult entertainment. You could find lively nightclubs, a comedy club, an arcade, and a multitude of bars. Looking at video footage of this level in its heyday, it seems like an awesome place to hang out, dance, and drink! Not much later, the famous Planet Hollywood would move in on the southernmost end of the east wing, technically addressed to the 4 South Avenue.
It seems this level of the mall took a turn in the early 2000's when many of the original tenants closed. Some spaces would be replaced overtime, but eventually those would close too. Because of the unique large sizes of these tenants spaces, they would often pull in some fascinating businesses.
So, my hope in the next series of posts is to do a deep dive on each of the individual tenant spaces, sharing the history of businesses that have come and gone (or remained). While I'll skip the spaces that have remained mostly unchanged, such as the Executive Center (E410) or the previously mentioned Hooters (E404), I've found in my research that the other spaces have such rich histories that you wouldn't be able to notice today! Please, look forward to these future posts.
