In case others are intrigued by mall history in Greenville, I thought that this thread might be useful.
I have a few initial questions:
1. Why in the world did developers build Haywood and Greenville malls so close to each other and at almost the same times?  Why did they build both in particular when McAlister Square was thriving at the time and was nearby?
I was around at the time, but I was too young to know anything other than "all of a sudden we have 2 malls next to each other."
2. When Haywood was built, did any of the downtown department stores consider staying downtown?  Why didn't they go to Greenville Mall; was Haywood announced at around the same time, so they chose the bigger mall?
I just remember that they all closed at the same time, and downtown was left basically abandoned.
I'm so glad that downtown finally seems to have the upper hand, after so many years.

Out of curiosity:
1. When did the first Chick-fil-A in Greenville open?  Do I assume correctly that the first was the one at center court in McAlister Square, and that it must have opened sometime in the 1970s?
2. If Chick-fil-A is coming to Lewis Plaza, does that mean that there's no prospect of one coming downtown again?  Too bad the downtown one had such a bad location and opened and closed right before downtown's rebirth.
Thanks.