In 1996, drivers coming off Interstate 290 toward Interstate 495 saw something new rising from the edge of Marlborough and Berlin: Solomon Pond Mall.
The doors opened and shoppers poured into a brand-new two-level shopping center that stretched across the Marlborough and Berlin town line.
Enclosed mall stood at 601 Donald Lynch Boulevard, positioned to pull shoppers from Boston’s western suburbs and from Worcester. Boston sat 28 miles to the east, and Worcester, only 10 miles to the west…