SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A week from Thursday Woodfield Mall turns 50, so the former largest shopping center in the world is celebrating by taking a look back.
A display in the center of the mall shows highlights over the last half-century, including photos from the ribbon-cutting on Sept. 9, 1971, where Vincent Price was a guest.
Other celebrity encounters include visits by President Gerald Ford, Ray Charles, John Travolta, and Dick Clark. In 1976, Travolta visited to promote his second album.
"He came out here. We were expecting 3,000 people. It quickly turned into 30,000 fans adorning him and wanting to get close to him," said Woodfield General Manager Chris Speca.
Speca said donors to their scholarship program will get a chance to add to the timeline.
"They would simply write their memory on the cling and then our staff would place on our glass above the timeline their moment, their memory," he said.
Some memories already on display include shoppers buying dresses for Prom and getting their ears pierced. One woman said she gave birth to her son inside the mall in August 2009.
The timeline will be on display through early November.
The mall will host a reception for business partners on the anniversary next week.
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