Bergfeld Center, called Tyler’s first suburban shopping center
The city’s National Register documentation calls the late-1940s Bergfeld Square “Tyler’s first suburban shopping center” in one passage, and Bergfeld Center, opened in 1949 on South Broadway, “one of Tyler’s first suburban shopping centers” in another.
It went up on the 75-acre site the East Texas District Fair Association acquired in 1876; Rudolph Bergfeld bought the land in 1904, and his family subdivided it in the 1920s and 1930s.
Broadway Square Mall followed on South Broadway, opening on April 1, 1975, when that part of town was considered “out in the country.”
Note
One survey, both wordings: “Tyler’s first suburban shopping center” and “one of Tyler’s first.” The card keeps both.
Sources
- National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form: Historic and Architectural Resources of Tyler, Texas (Diane E. Williams, 2000; THC Atlas)atlas.thc.texas.gov
in the late 1940s Tyler's first suburban shopping center—Bergfeld Square—was built on the property.
In 1949, Bergfeld Center, one of Tyler's first suburban shopping centers, opened on South Broadway
In 1876 a 75-acre site south of First Street between Broadway, Donnybrook and Troup Highway was acquired by the East Texas District Fair Association.
In 1904 Rudolph Bergfeld bought land from the 1876 fair association's former directors.
- Tyler Morning Telegraph, 2014-09-28: Broadway Square Mall Construction in 70s Rivaled Building a Towntylerpaper.com
- Simon: Broadway Square Mallsimon.com
Checked October 15, 2026. How the cards are filed