Misplaced Pages

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44-694: It is situated at the intersection Germantown Pike and Hickory Road, near the Mid-County Interchange between the Pennsylvania Turnpike ( I-276 ) and the Northeast Extension/Blue Route ( I-476 ). This mall, which was built by The Rouse Company in 1966, features a fountain and a carousel. It was also one of the first malls in North America which, among its mixture of various stores, offered

88-475: A church within the mall. It is owned and managed by PREIT . The Plymouth Meeting Mall was designed by Victor Gruen and built by The Rouse Company in 1966, it was the third fully enclosed shopping mall in the Philadelphia area. The original two anchor stores were Strawbridge & Clothier and Lit Brothers . The One Plymouth Meeting office tower was added on an outparcel in 1969. The mall suffered

132-467: A city street that runs south-southeast through urban areas of homes and businesses, passing to the east of Temple University Hospital and intersecting the southern terminus of Old York Road . The road passes under Amtrak 's Northeast Corridor and heads into the Fairhill neighborhood, where it curves to the south. Germantown Avenue turns to the southeast and the former Route 23 trolley tracks split to

176-575: A four-lane divided highway and passes under Norfolk Southern 's Morrisville Line before it heads into commercial areas, narrowing to a two-lane undivided road at the Chemical Road intersection. The road turns southeast and comes to an offset junction with Butler Pike in the community of Plymouth Meeting . Past here, Germantown Pike heads into Whitemarsh Township and runs through suburban residential areas with some businesses, passing southwest of Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School before heading to

220-523: A four-lane divided highway as it comes to an intersection with Sandy Hill Road to the southwest of Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth . At this point, Germantown Pike becomes State Route 3053 (SR 3053), an unsigned quadrant route . Germantown Pike turns into a five-lane road with a center left-turn lane and heads south through commercial areas. Past the Hickory Road intersection, the road becomes a six-lane divided highway and passes businesses as it heads to

264-515: A hill and gains a second westbound lane. Upon crossing Trooper Road, the roadway enters East Norriton Township and turns into a three-lane road with a center left-turn lane , passing more suburban development. The road curves to the east-southeast and becomes a two-lane road. After crossing Whitehall Road, Germantown Pike becomes a five-lane road with a center left-turn lane and passes between Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital to

308-409: A human operator, with each attraction self-resetting behind each group as it progresses. 5 Wits is named after the five inward wits from the writings of William Shakespeare and Stephen Hawes . These five wits were common sense, imagination, estimation, fantasy, and memory, though there are also clear associations to the five senses. Each 5 Wits adventure requires the use of the five inward wits and

352-626: A major fire on January 10, 1970 at the east end (near Lit Brothers): "Approximately one third of the 100 stores in the suburban Philadelphia mall were damaged by either smoke, water or the fire." Lit Brothers closed in 1976 and was replaced by Hess's in 1979. The Hess's, which was the only location in the Philadelphia area, saw poor sales and closed in March 1993 as part of restructuring of the Allentown -based chain. The former Hess's became Boscov's on October 13, 1996. In 2003, The Rouse Company sold

396-420: A mix of farm fields and wooded residential areas, heading to the south of Methacton High School . The road turns to the southeast and passes through wooded suburban neighborhoods before coming to an intersection with Pennsylvania Route 363 (PA 363) in a commercial area in the community of Fairview Village . Germantown Pike continues through a mix of residential and commercial development as it descends

440-435: A series of rooms and complete their mission. There are computer controlled lighting and sound effects, optical illusions, and a wide variety of physical and mental puzzles and electromechanical effects. Guests can succeed or fail, and each adventure has multiple endings that will change based on how the group performs and what decisions the group makes. 5 Wits adventures are controlled completely by computer and do not involve

484-619: A short distance east of the Perkiomen Bridge that carries Ridge Pike over the Perkiomen Creek into the borough of Collegeville . From here, Germantown Pike heads east as a two-lane undivided county road, passing a mix of fields and commercial development as it passes south of a factory. The road passes a mix of homes and businesses in the community of Evansburg before it heads into forested areas of Evansburg State Park and crosses Skippack Creek . Germantown Pike curves to

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528-497: A sister company, Box Fort, (originally called 5 Wits Productions) to design and build walk-through adventures for its growing business and provide services for third-party clients like museums, theaters, and theme parks. In 2007, 5 Wits opened Operation Spy , an hour long walk-through adventure inside the International Spy Museum . In 2010, 5 Wits moved the original TOMB adventure to Pigeon Forge, TN, selling it to

572-576: A wooded area. From here, Germantown Avenue heads into the Mount Airy neighborhood, where it passes a mix of homes and businesses in the neighborhood. Farther southeast, the road comes to an intersection with Washington Lane, where SR 4007 splits southwest along Washington Lane and Germantown Avenue becomes SR 4005. Germantown Avenue continues into the Germantown neighborhood and passes more urban residential and commercial development, heading through

616-581: Is designed to immerse guests fully in a "5 senses themed" experience. 5 Wits was incorporated in 2003 by founder and president Matthew DuPlessie. The original business plan for 5 Wits, first called the Puzzle Room, was written and entered into the business plan competition at Harvard Business School in early 2003. 5 Wits' first location opened in October 2004 at 186 Brookline Avenue, Boston MA, hosting TOMB, 5 Wits first adventure. In 2006, 5 Wits' spun off

660-500: Is managed by Mack-Cali Realty Corporation . The mall is currently anchored by Boscov's , Burlington , Dick's Sporting Goods , Michaels , Edge Fitness, Whole Foods Market and an AMC Theatre . Germantown Pike Germantown Pike (also known as Germantown Avenue for a portion of its length) is a historic road in Pennsylvania that opened in 1687, running from Philadelphia northwest to Collegeville . The road

704-745: Is particularly notable for the "imposing mansions" that existed in the Germantown neighborhood in Philadelphia. The road was left in ruins after the British destroyed it in the Revolutionary War during the 1777 Battle of Germantown , and was not rebuilt until 1809. Portions of Germantown Pike were signed as U.S. Route 422 (US 422) before the latter was rerouted along a freeway alignment to King of Prussia . Germantown Pike begins at an intersection with Ridge Pike in Lower Providence Township , Montgomery County

748-557: The Fishtown neighborhood. Here, the road crosses Girard Avenue , which carries SEPTA's Route 15 trolley line. Following this, Germantown Avenue continues southeast past urban development and reaches its terminus at an intersection with Front Street and Laurel Street underneath I-95 and SEPTA's Market–Frankford Line . What is now Germantown Pike was originally a cart road dating back to 1687 that ran from Philadelphia northwest to Germantown and Plymouth Meeting. The Germantown Pike

792-534: The Nicetown–Tioga neighborhood, passing urban areas of homes and businesses and crossing under US 1 (Roosevelt Expressway). Germantown Avenue runs through urban development and passes over Conrail Shared Assets Operations ' Richmond Industrial Track immediately before coming to an intersection with US 13 (Hunting Park Avenue). The road continues southeast and reaches an intersection with PA 611 ( Broad Street ) and Erie Avenue. From here, Germantown Avenue becomes

836-838: The Plymouth Meeting Mall along with the Cherry Hill Mall , Echelon Mall (renamed Voorhees Town Center in 2007), Exton Square Mall , Moorestown Mall , and The Gallery at Market East to PREIT for $ 548 million. In 2005, Federated Department Stores purchased May Department Stores , the owners of Strawbridge's, and converted several Strawbridge's locations to Macy's , including the store at Plymouth Meeting Mall. Strawbridge's became Macy's in 2006. A redevelopment of over $ 100 million in 2007-2009 added new restaurants and an open-air "Lifestyle" wing featuring LOFT , Coldwater Creek (since closed), Jos. A. Bank (since closed), Chico's and Olly Shoes (since closed). During

880-537: The US 202 intersection, Germantown Pike becomes undivided and heads past more businesses, gaining a center left-turn lane as it passes southwest of an office park. Upon crossing Arch Road, Germantown Pike enters Plymouth Township and becomes a four-lane undivided road, heading southeast through suburban residential areas and passing through the community of Plymouth Valley . The road turns south and then southeast as it passes homes and some commercial establishments, becoming

924-490: The US 422 designation from Germantown Pike and Germantown Avenue. 5 Wits 5 Wits is a chain entertainment venue that builds interactive adventure experiences with seven locations in the United States . The experiences have growing similarities with escape rooms , but are essentially meant for replayability, without puzzle solving under a fixed amount of time or difficulty restrictions. They have been called

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968-712: The downtown area of Germantown at the Chelten Avenue intersection. From here, the road continues southeast through more urban areas in the Germantown neighborhood. Germantown Avenue curves south and passes under SEPTA's Chestnut Hill East Line and Main Line and over CSX's Trenton Subdivision northeast of the Wayne Junction station serving the SEPTA lines. From here, the sett surface ends and road heads into

1012-454: The first of this type of attraction, having first opened to the public in October 2004. Each location features interactive adventures with themes such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea , a high tech spy mission, outer space, ancient Egypt, and medieval fantasy. In each adventure, a group of 2-12 guests are faced with puzzles and challenges they must overcome as a team as they work to progress through

1056-453: The hospital and renamed the center Suburban Health Center. In 2015, it was announced that a 33,000-square-foot (3,100 m) Legoland Discovery Center would be constructed at the Plymouth Meeting Mall, replacing a portion of the food court. Construction began in the summer of 2016 and Legoland opened in April 2017. On January 4, 2017, Suburban Health Center was announced to have closed. On

1100-492: The interior of the Plymouth Meeting Mall has seen an increase in vacancies, with sales of $ 320 per square foot in the three months ended September 2015. The rise in vacancies is due to declining mall traffic and competition from the larger King of Prussia mall located less than 10 miles (16 km) away and the Willow Grove Park Mall located 13 miles (21 km) away. In 2019, the non-anchor occupancy rate

1144-435: The north and Norristown Farm Park to the south. The road loses the center turn lane heads into residential areas with some commercial establishments, crossing CSX 's Stony Creek Branch at-grade. Germantown Pike becomes a four-lane divided highway and passes businesses, crossing Swede Road in the community of Penn Square . The road continues southeast through commercial areas and comes to an intersection with US 202 . Past

1188-477: The northeast of a golf course. The road crosses Joshua Road in the community of Lafayette Hill and continues past a mix of homes and businesses. Germantown Pike makes a turn to the east at the Church Road intersection and heads through wooded residential areas, crossing into Springfield Township and curving southeast after passing south of a golf course. Upon crossing Northwestern Avenue, SR 3053 ends and

1232-697: The redevelopment, in April 2009, a two-story chain arcade called Krazy City was constructed in the mall's interior, near Boscov's, taking up several store spaces. A 65,000-square-foot (6,000 m) Whole Foods upscale grocery market was included in the redevelopment and anchors the "Outdoor Lifestyle Wing" of the property, which also includes an underground parking area. Previously, this location gained fame in 1985 when Swedish furniture company IKEA purchased and renovated an outparcel space for its first U.S. location. IKEA later moved in early 2003 to its current site at 400 Alan Wood Road, off of Interstate 476 (the "Blue Route") in nearby Conshohocken . In recent years,

1276-535: The road heads into the city of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County as Germantown Avenue, a two-lane undivided city street. The road heads into the Chestnut Hill neighborhood and passes southwest of Chestnut Hill College before heading into forested areas of Wissahickon Valley Park and crossing Wissahickon Creek . Germantown Avenue curves east and continues through wooded areas, passing to

1320-468: The road in 1804. In 1870, the Germantown and Perkiomen Turnpike Company was taken over by the city of Philadelphia and the tolls were removed. When Pennsylvania first legislated routes in 1911, the portion of Germantown Pike between Sandy Hill Road in Plymouth Meeting and Philadelphia was designated as Legislative Route 145. The portion of Germantown Pike from Sandy Hill Road to Philadelphia

1364-522: The same day, Macy's announced that its store would be closing in spring 2017 as part of a plan to close 68 stores nationwide. On January 28, 2017, Uncle Julio's closed its restaurant. On March 26, 2017, Macy's officially closed its store. In July 2017, it was announced that a 5 Wits amusement center would open on the lower level of the mall, just across from Legoland Discovery Center, taking up almost five store spaces. The 5 Wits center opened on October 20, 2017 and closed January 2020. In August 2018, it

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1408-618: The south of Morris Arboretum . The road turns southeast and gains a second eastbound lane as it passes southwest of the Woodmere Art Museum , narrowing to two lanes at the Bells Mill Road intersection. Germantown Avenue passes through wooded residential areas and passes to the southwest of Chestnut Hill Hospital. The road heads into the downtown area of Chestnut Hill and passes south of SEPTA 's Chestnut Hill Bus Loop, where Germantown Avenue becomes surfaced with sett and

1452-500: The south to follow 10th and 11th streets. The road continues southeast through urban areas as a two-lane street, where Germantown Avenue becomes discontinuous between Norris Street and Berks Street due to a shopping center. From here, Germantown Avenue resumes and runs south-southeast through urban residential and commercial areas, crossing Cecil B. Moore Avenue . The road becomes one-way westbound between 4th Street and Thompson Street. Germantown Avenue becomes two-way again and heads into

1496-445: The southeast and becomes the border between Lower Providence Township to the southwest and Skippack Township to the northeast as it leaves the state park and passes through the community of Providence Square . At this point, the road becomes the border between Lower Providence Township to the southwest and Worcester Township to the northeast before curving east-southeast to fully enter Worcester Township. Germantown Pike passes through

1540-498: The unused tracks of SEPTA's former Route 23 trolley (now a bus route) begin to follow the road. Germantown Avenue comes to an intersection with the southern terminus of Bethlehem Pike , where it becomes part of SR 4007. The road passes to the north of Chestnut Hill West station , which serves as the terminus of SEPTA's Chestnut Hill West Line , and continues southeast through downtown Chestnut Hill. Germantown Avenue crosses Cresheim Creek and passes under an abandoned railroad line in

1584-642: The west of the Plymouth Meeting Mall . Germantown Pike crosses Plymouth Road in the community of Hickorytown and reaches the Mid-County Interchange, where it comes to the Norristown interchange with the Pennsylvania Turnpike ( Interstate 276 , I-276) that also provides access to northbound I-476 ( Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension ) before a partial interchange with I-476 that provides access to southbound I-476 and access from northbound I-476. Following this, Germantown Pike becomes

1628-458: Was Macy's until 2017, and Boscov's . The Boscov's site was home to one of the largest branches of Hess's until 1993. There is also a 48,000 square feet (4,500 m) AMC Theatre on the property, featuring twelve screens and stadium seating. The mall is recognizable from a considerable distance away due to an adjoining nine-story office tower, One Plymouth Meeting. The tower, containing 167,748 square feet (15,584.3 m) of office space,

1672-448: Was 81.3%. In December 2009, Krazy City closed its doors in accordance with the chain's folding. In 2012, its space was converted to Mercy Health Center as part of Mercy Suburban Hospital. In late 2013, a casual Mexican chain restaurant opened in the second floor mall entrance wing next to Macy's and across from Dave & Busters, called Uncle Julio's. In 2015, Mercy Suburban Hospital was sold to Prime Healthcare Services , which re-branded

1716-751: Was announced that Burlington , Dick's Sporting Goods , Michaels , and Edge Fitness would occupy the former Macy's space, with all tenants opening in October 2019. As of 2022, PREIT is attempting to get approval for a 503-unit apartment community to be built on the mall property. Plymouth Meeting Mall currently contains more than seventy specialty stores and restaurants, including a central Food Court, and outlying restaurants California Pizza Kitchen , P.F. Chang's , Redstone American Grill , Dave & Buster's , and Benihana . Its original anchor stores Strawbridge & Clothier and Lit Brothers are now occupied by Burlington , Dick's Sporting Goods , Michaels , and Edge Fitness, which all occupy an anchor space that

1760-538: Was built as a turnpike by the Germantown and Perkiomen Turnpike Company, with construction on the road beginning in 1801. The turnpike began at 3rd and Vine streets in Philadelphia and continued northwest to the east end of the Perkiomen Bridge in Collegeville, with milestones making the distance from Philadelphia along the road. The Germantown and Perkiomen Turnpike Company completed construction of

1804-582: Was designated as US 120 when the U.S. Highway System was created in 1926; US 120 was designated concurrent with PA 13 . In 1927, US 422 replaced the US 120/PA 13 designation along this stretch of Germantown Pike. In the 1930s, Germantown Pike and Germantown Avenue between Church Road in Barren Hill and Chew Street in Philadelphia was signed as part of US 422 Byp. while US 309 was cosigned with US 422 Byp. along Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia between Bethlehem Pike and Allens Lane. Germantown Pike

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1848-551: Was realigned off its former alignment through Norristown along Ridge Pike, Airy Street, and Sandy Hill Road and was realigned off Ridge Pike and Ridge Avenue into Philadelphia, replacing the US 422 Alt. designation. On May 23, 1984, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials approved realigning US 422 to a freeway alignment between east of Pottstown and US 202 in King of Prussia , removing

1892-415: Was removed, and US 422 switched alignments with US 422 Alt. east of Barren Hill; this resulted in US 422 Alt. being designated along Germantown Pike and Germantown Avenue between Church Road in Barren Hill and Washington Lane in Philadelphia. In the 1960s, US 422 was realigned to follow Germantown Pike and Germantown Avenue between Ridge Pike near Collegeville and Washington Lane in Philadelphia. The route

1936-404: Was widened to a multilane road between Barren Hill and Philadelphia during the 1940s. In the 1940s, US 422 replaced the US 422 Byp. designation along the road while US 309 Truck was designated onto Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia between US 309 (Allens Lane) and US 1 Byp. / US 13 Byp. (Hunting Park Avenue). In the 1950s, US 309 was realigned off Germantown Avenue, the US 309 Truck designation

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