[3] The original mall opened in 1965 as Universal City with Montgomery Ward, Woolworth, and Federal's as its anchor stores.

The opening of Crowley's coincided with a mall-wide renovation that included installation of new floors, ceilings, and seating areas throughout the concourses.

[10] Eventually, occupancy at Universal Mall rebounded to 75%,[5] although by 2007 it had declined to 48% (in part due to the closure of Mervyns' Michigan operations in 2006).

[11] The mall was closed in June 2008 and demolition began on the 23rd of that month, leaving only the Burlington Coat Factory, AJ Wright, theater and former Value City.

[14] The last remaining tenant held over from when the mall was enclosed was Cinemark, which operated the movie theater since it opened in 1991 until it closed in mid-2016.