by Christine Lorraine Morgan, January 27, 2026

It’s 1993 and Erie’s downtown Transitway Mall is being removed.

I was working downtown at the time when this State Street expansion project was underway, so I bought a disposable camera and took these pictures. It seemed like history in the making, so I thought it might be a good idea to capture it on film.

This mall project, which opened in 1974, narrowed four-lane State Street to two lanes, which caused much traffic congestion. The city also installed chess tables, concrete flower planters, decorative street lamps and brick sidewalks to give the street an inviting atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the result was that many downtown businesses took a major hit, a problem which was exacerbated by the brand new Millcreek Mall on upper Peach Street. This sprawling collection of stores and restaurants was an immediate attraction for Erie shoppers who had probably been spending their shopping dollars downtown previously.

Nineteen years after it was built, the Transitway Mall was removed. Some local citizens were joyous to be able to drive downtown without traffic congestion, others say they enjoyed playing chess and the leisurely atmosphere that the mall offered.

State Street’s transformation involved taking things down to the dirt to install a brand new street, which meant the city’s main downtown thoroughfare was shut down for months.

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“It’ll be about this far down,” said the worker, describing the depth of the excavation.

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The removal of the downtown transitway mall after 19 years kicked up a lot of debris, dust and dirt in 1993.

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Transitway Mall removal downtown Erie 1993. Facing south from 9th. This was the last block to be widened. I think this is the only shot I got of the actual mall before it was removed.

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Intersection of 8th and State

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In front of the Erie Sport Store at 7th and State, a popular locally-owned store that went out of business later.

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The Boston Store, Erie’s six-floor department store, is boarded up in this image of the Transitway Mall being removed. It has since been renovated and turned into an apartment building.

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Facing south on State Street from 6th

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