The Galleria

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the galleria ice rink
the galleria ice rink

More than 30 million visitors a year seek the dynamic, comprehensive, fine shopping environment uniquely offered by The Galleria, Texas’ largest shopping domain and ninth largest nationally. International guests on a week’s buying trip blend seamlessly with Houstonians in the mall on a quick errand or area executives entertaining clients at one of the signature eateries.

Nestled between two of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods, River Oaks and Memorial, The Galleria is as internationally respected for its architectural style and imprint as its shopping panache. Modeled after the revered Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, built in 1867, The Galleria stands as one of the premier examples of a dynamic, mixed-use, urban environment. The adjoining office towers offer 7,000 business professionals 1.1 million square feet of office space and the benefit and convenience of having The Galleria just a short walk away.

Spanning 2.4 million square feet of space, housing 400 fine stores and restaurants, two high-rise hotels, and three office towers, The Galleria is Houston’s most popular retail and tourist destination, meeting every budget, style and taste. A plethora of amenities, including a full-size ice rink for recreational and figure skating, a state-of-the-art children’s play area, two swimming pools, two full-service banks, tailor shops, beauty salons, and a post office, continually serve a wide range of age groups and demographics. There are seven valet parking stations and 13,900 parking spaces in seven garages to accommodate drivers.

For shopping, opportunities are endless at anchoring stores Neiman Marcus, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, and at high-fashion favorites, such as Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Fendi, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Chanel, Prada and Miu Miu. Younger shoppers adore fashion-forward collections found at H&M, Topshop/Topman, Forever 21, and Abercrombie & Fitch, and the popular must-haves from Tory Burch, Madewell, Free People, Loft, Gap and Banana Republic. Galleria shoppers are assured all the latest trends for home and lifestyle from Apple, Sephora, Off the Wall Gallery and Lovesac — just a few of the 400-plus fine retailers found at The Galleria.

The Galleria opened on November 16, 1970, after more than two years of construction. Built by Houston developer Gerald Hines and architects Harwood Taylor of Houston and Gyo Obata of Hellmuth Obata and Kassabaum of St. Louis, The Galleria mirrors its Milan inspiration, incorporating elegant shops, restaurants and living quarters under a dramatic glass-vault dome. This unique design created America’s first mixed-use environment to shop, dine, work and stay. The relationship between hotels, offices and retail is synergetic, each benefiting from its proximity to the other. Honors and accolades ensued; the Urban Land Institute awarded the prestigious Award of Excellence to The Galleria in 1979.

Since it premiered, The Galleria has grown in four stages and has undergone several extensive renovations. In 2013, Simon initiated a multiyear luxury transformation of The Galleria to complement the construction of a new, state-of-the-art flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store, which debuted in April 2016. Simon is in the process of converting the former Saks store into a new and vibrant multilevel mall extension.

The area, anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue on one end and Neiman Marcus at the other, will feature approximately 110,000 square feet of space to house 35 new and unique retailers and several new restaurants opening in 2017. Additional components of the renovation include the construction of a 14,000-square-foot, freestanding retail building, referred to as the Jewel Box. Completed in late 2015, the Jewel Box is now home to The Webster, a luxury fashion boutique that opened in January 2016, added Yauatcha, a Michelin-star Chinese dim sum tea house, in March this year. Most recently, Simon announced the addition of a luxury hotel and residences to The Galleria. The hotel and residences, co-located in one building, will nestle on the corner of Sage Road and West Alabama Street, with direct access to shopping and dining at The Galleria and conveniently located near the office buildings in Houston’s Uptown District.

 

For more information on The Galleria, visit www.simon.com/mall/the-galleria.

 

Photos courtesy of the galleria

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