Westfield Garden State Plaza is an upscale shopping mall located in Paramus, owned and managed by the Westfield Group and located at the intersection of Route 4 and Route 17 near the Garden State Parkway. With 2,118,718 sqft (196,835.3 m2) of leasable space, it is the largest mall in New Jersey, the third-largest mall in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and one of the highest revenue producing malls in the United States. Its department store anchors are J.C. Penney, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom.[2] It was the first large scale shopping mall in New Jersey.

Westfield Garden State Plaza ranks among the largest shopping malls in the United States, having been ranked 16th largest in the United States. Westfield Garden State Plaza is the largest mall in the Westfield Group's global portfolio in terms of leasable area. This is significant given that Westfield Group is the largest retail property group globally.

The mall had sales of $578 per square foot in 2005, about 50% above the national average, according to the Directory of Major Malls. Westfield Garden State Plaza is one of the most profitable malls in the country.

History
 

 
Celebratory sign seen in the mall in 2007.

Garden State Plaza was built in 1957 by the Muscarelle Construction Company for owner/developer R.H. Macy & Co. as an open-air shopping "plaza" Its groundbreaking design differed from today's "Big Box" shopping areas in that, rather than having its tenants strung around the periphery of one large parking lot, the stores, except for those more suited for out-parcels (e.g. automotive repair and retail), were clustered on a shopping island, encircled by a moat of parking lots, much like today. Connecting the stores were open-air sidewalks, complete with benches, plantered trees and other vegetation. This model approximated a "downtown" pedestrian mall, at the same time serving as a precursor of the latter-day enclosed and air-conditioned shopping malls. Eventually it would siphon most of the retail business from nearby downtown Paterson, whose Meyer Brothers and Quackenbush department stores (later Stern's-Quackenbush) would fall upon hard times and melt into history.

The original anchor was Bamberger's (owned by R.H. Macy since 1929). Gimbels and J.C. Penney were added in 1958. Total construction costs were $26 million in 1957 for the mall and its original group of 90 stores.

Garden State Plaza drew much business from nearby New York towns and cities, whose shoppers wandered across state lines to take advantage of New Jersey's lower sales taxes and its policy that exempted clothing purchases from sales tax. By 1961, it was the world's largest mall.

The mall was enclosed between 1981 and 1984 in response to competitive pressure from newer fully enclosed malls such as the Willowbrook Mall in nearby Wayne.

In the late 1980s, the mall added a new lower level by converting a former basement truck tunnel into regular retail. The existing J.C.Penney basement was given a new entrance on the lower level, but since the floors were at slightly different elevations, that entrance features the shortest escalator in North America, at a height of six steps.

In 1996, Garden State Plaza marked the completion of a $200 million expansion and major remodeling project that added over 700,000 sqft (65,000 m2) of retail space and two four level parking structures (which one parking strucutre is being redone with five levels. It is supposed to be completed November 15) with a bank of two elevators situated in a small lobby on the third and fourth levels. On the first and second levels, the elevators and parking structures connect directly to the mall. The downstairs food court was connected to the lower level from the previous expansion. J.C.Penney grew by 62,000 sqft (5,800 m2) to 150,000 sqft (14,000 m2), and two new anchors were added, a 150,000 sqft (14,000 m2) Neiman Marcus on three levels and a 135,000 sqft (12,500 m2) Lord & Taylor on two levels, both targeted at the upscale fashion-conscious shopper. A Venetian Carousel was also added at that time of the expansion and remodeling. The carousel is located in front of Macy's.

Blue laws
Due to highly restrictive blue laws in effect in Bergen County and more restrictive limitations in place in Paramus, Westfield Garden State Plaza is completely closed on Sundays, except for some of the restaurants and the movie theater, all of which have special Sunday entrances. Westfield Garden State Plaza's parking lot is accessible, on Sundays, only from the Route 4 and Route 17 access points. Gates are down so that the access roads from the secondary streets are blocked. The Paramus Borough Code forbids the performance of any "worldly employment" on Sunday, with very limited exceptions. These laws were enacted shortly after Westfield Garden State Plaza opened out of fear that the mall would cause high levels of congestion in the borough. While there have been several attempts to repeal these laws over the years, they have all failed.

Public transportation
Westfield Garden State Plaza is also a major bus transfer point for New Jersey Transit, as the 162 and 163 to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the 171 and 175 to the George Washington Bridge Bus Station. Several local routes operated under contract to NJT by Coach USACommunity Coach stop here; the 770 to Paterson and Hackensack, the 709 to Bloomfield, the 758 to Passaic and Paramus Park, Bergen County local routes 751, 753, 755, and 756 stop there.

As the mall is closed on Sunday, except for certain restaurants and the movie theater, there is no Sunday service to the mall by bus.