Orange Park Mall will celebrate its 50th anniversary Sept. 24 with a public event.
The celebration will feature remarks from local leaders, including U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Florida, a performance by the Orange Park High School Marching Band, which played at the mall’s 1975 opening, and a ceremonial ribbon-cutting with the Clay County Chamber of Commerce.
The event also will highlight the mall’s Time Capsule Project, inviting the community to add memories, photos and mementos from the past five decades. Items will be accepted through Sept. 30. Plans call for the capsule will be sealed later this year and reopened in 2075.
“For 50 years, Orange Park Mall has been more than a place to shop; it has been a gathering place where families, friends and neighbors have created lasting memories,” said Howard Levine, managing partner and co-founder of Second Horizon Capital, which owns the mall.
Second Horizon Capital, based in Boca Raton, purchased it Aug. 20 for $60.5 million from Washington Prime Group.
All activities will take place at 1910 Wells Road in the mall’s center court. Doors open at 9:30 a.m., and attendees are encouraged to park near the AMC Orange Park 24 Movie Theater and enter through the AMC entrance.