The structure was originally built as the flagship of the Gimbelsdepartment store chain. It was designed by famed architect Daniel Burnham and opened on September 29, 1910. The store was located in the cluster of large department stores that surrounded Herald Square, in Midtown Manhattan. It offered of selling space. A major selling point was its many doors leading to the Herald Square New York CitySubway station. Due to such easy access, by the time Gimbels closed in 1986, this store had the highest rate of "shrinkage", or shoplifting losses, in the world. Doors also opened to a pedestrian passage under 32nd Street, connecting Penn Station to the 34th Street and 33rd Street stations. This Gimbels Passageway was closed in the 1990s for security reasons during a period of high crime. Gimbels closed in 1986. After a renovation, the structure reopened in 1989 as A&S Plaza, anchored by an A&S department store. The mall was originally 13 stories high, but difficult access to upper floors made the whole mall a financial failure. A&S closed in 1995 and the anchor store became Stern's after Federated Department Stores took acquisition of the brand. The structure was renamed Manhattan Mall, due to the closure of A&S. Stern's closed in 2001, after Federated Department Stores decided to discontinue the brand. Unlike other Stern's stores, the Manhattan Mall location was not converted to a Macy's. Instead, the anchor store was divided into smaller spaces, including a Steve & Barry's and a relocated food court. The upper 10 levels were converted to office space shortly after the closure of Stern's. Venture bought the building in 1999 for $135 million and sold it to Vornado Realty Trust in 2006 for $689 million. On April 18, 2007, JCPenney announced that it would open a anchor store on the lower levels of the mall. It was the first JCPenney store in Manhattan. The mall's food court, which contained the only Arby's restaurant in Manhattan at the time, along with retailers such as Steve & Barry's, Brookstone and Nine West were closed in 2008 to make way for the new store. The store officially opened on July 31, 2009. On July 7, 2020, JCPenney closed permanently as part of a plan to close 2 stores in New York City.
