There were no parking lots in the middle of Shopper's World in the 50s and 60s, nor the 70s through the teardown/rebuild in the early 90s. It used to be basically a rectangle of stores on two levels, anchor stores on the ends, open air to a large courtyard inside, with a sea of parking lot around it. It had grass, pathways, bushes, trees, fountains, and had seasonal items like Christmas decorations and a petting zoo in the courtyard.