It’s official. Northland Center is closing.

What was once a popular destination for fun weekends at Jeepers and shopping at stores such as Hudson’s and Target, is now going to be boarded up due to lack of mall profits.

Northland was the world’s first shopping mall. It opened on March 22, 1954, and “would create a revolution in retailing that would be duplicated all over the world,” according to Southfield historian Kenson Siver, author of “A Brief History of Southfield.”

According to Siver, “Few realized in 1950 when the J. L. Hudson Company announced its plans to build a regional shopping center in Southfield Township that this development would create a revolution in retailing that would be duplicated all over the world.”

Math teacher and track coach Karla Crum said she didn’t know the mall was closing but said, “It was sad to see the young people come in and tear the mall up.” She said she and her cousins used to go the Northland “all the time.”

Junior Zaire Marthrel said he quit shopping at Northland because he wanted to avoid violence. “I don’t go to that mall anymore because it has a bad environment.”

Violence is only one factor that contributed to the mall’s impending closure, said Jenna Thompson, who owns Jenna’s Dollar Dogs, a hot dog stand at Northland. “Other people weren’t paying their rent because they didn’t like the management of the mall, as well as tenant knowledge that the mall was closing.”

The mall is owned by Ashkenazy Acquisition and managed by Spinoso Real Estate Group.

Anchor stores such as Hudson’s (which became Macy’s), Target, JC Penney, TJ Maxx and even Kresge drew shoppers to the mall for decades.

Math teacher Stephen Sharp said, “I’m not surprised the mall is closing although it was my favorite mall in the ’70s and ’80s. It won’t have a negative impact on the community because the other malls have better stores.”

Due to the mall’s scheduled closure, some mall tenants are struggling to find a new location to run their business. Carolyn Christopher, the owner of the make-up stand Dazzle and Glamour, said she is losing her business. “It’s sad because I’ve been here for 36 years.” She said she and other tenants must leave by April 9 and that the mall is scheduled to be boarded up on April 10.

Trinity Church has expressed interest in moving into the former JC Penney space, which English teacher Bev Hicks said could be an asset to the community.

Junior Kiara Hines said it would be good for the church to have such a large space, but she would have preferred to have the shopping center remodeled so more people would visit. Hines said she quit shopping at Northland because “It doesn’t have any new stores.”

With the mall’s closing, a large piece of Metro Detroit’s history is scheduled to be boarded up next month. Northland Center will no longer be a source of one-stop shopping for furniture, food, fashion and appliances surrounded by 10,000 once-filled parking spaces.