THE COURT AT KING OF PRUSSIA
West Delkalb Pike / US 202 and Goddard (Mall) Boulevard
Montgomery County (Town of Upper Merion), Pennsylvania 

One of America's largest shopping malls originated on a 175-acre site. This was located 15.5 miles northwest of Center City Philadelphia, in an unincorporated section of Montgomery County's Town of Upper Merion. The area had taken its name from the King of Prussia Inn, a  local tavern dating to 1769. Said tavern had been named in honor of King Frederick II of Prussia (1712-1786).

Development of the site began in the mid-1950s. The Budco Valley Forge Drive-in, opened in August 1956, was the first major structure completed. The drive in sat on 16.8 acres, at the northeast corner of the plot. A 120-acre section was utilized for the second major structure. Originally known as KING OF PRUSSIA PLAZA, this complex was officially dedicated in August 1963.

The Valley Forge Drive-in was demolished in the early 1970s. The site was used for a freestanding structure housing a 1-level (100,000 square foot) Best Products and (57,000 square foot) Levitz Furniture. These welcomed first shoppers in 1971.

The plot's remaining 39 acres were developed as a fully-enclosed retail mall. Construction of the COURT AT KING OF PRUSSIA commenced in November 1979. The 2-level complex was developed by the Philadelphia-based Kravco Investments Company.

A 3-level (255,000 square foot) Bamberger's opened its doors on March 12, 1981. A 2-level (231,000 square foot) Bloomingdale's was dedicated on August 3rd. The third anchor, a 3-level (235,000 square foot) Abraham & Straus, opened its doors on August 6th. 

Singer-actress-comedienne Carol Channing officiated at the grand opening and cut the ceremonial, rhinestone-studded, ribbon. Fashion luminaries Bill Blass, Calvin Klein and Oscar de la Renta were on hand, with music provided by the Bainbridge Brass Quintet. Charter inline stores included Brookstone, American Vision, Spectrum Showcase and Henry Birks & Sons Jewelers.

Bamberger's was rebranded by its Macy's parent company on October 7, 1986. Later in the same month, Abraham & Straus sold the lease of their COURT store as part of a two-unit retail retreat from Pennsylvania.

Philadephia-based Strawbridge & Clothier took over the building in 1987 and gutted its interior, leaving only escalators and elevators intact. A 3-story atrium area was installed along with new walls and floors. The new Strawbridge's was dedicated on March 7, 1988.

This store was shuttered on January 27, 1999. At first, a 20-screen multiplex was planned for its vacant area. This idea was abandoned. The space was renovated into the 11-store Pavilion At King of Prussia, a mall within a mall. It opened in October 2000, featuring Borders Books, Morton's Chicago Steakhouse and Cosi Sandwiches.

Meanwhile, the freestanding Best Products, built on the site of the old Valley Forge Drive-in, had been knocked down. It was replaced by a 1-level (112,000 square foot) Costco, which was dedicated on October 9, 1997.

Indianapolis' Simon Property Group established an eighty-percent share in Kravco Investments in late 2003. In November 2011, Simon announced an expansion of the KING OF PRUSSIA malls which would physically join them via a forty-eight-store structure. Known as The Connector, it would encompass 140,000 leasable square feet and include Savor, an upscale food court. 

Construction got underway in early 2013. With the completion of the project, in August 2016, the merged malls encompassed approximately 2,651,600 leasable square feet, with a retail roster of nearly 400 stores and services. The two complexes were renamed, collectively, as KING OF PRUSSIA.
  
Sources:

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Courier News (Bridgewater, New Jersey)

http://www.philly.com
http://www.movie-theatre.org / Mike Rivest

https://www.kophistory.org
http://www.kingofprussiamall.com 

"Court At King of Prussia" article on Wikipedia