Nampa in 1965 was a modest Idaho city with storefronts scattered across its streets and farmland stretching in every direction.
That changed on August 26, 1965, when Karcher Mall opened at 1509 Caldwell Boulevard – a single enclosed building where you could walk from store to store without ever stepping outside.
Plans for the project went back to August 1964, when a shopping center was announced for 20 acres of a 35-acre tract west of downtown…