After 45 great years, a local retailer of nice women’s clothing is shutting its doors. Tyler House, one of North Hills Mall’s original tenants, is closing their doors. No word on whether this is a business failure, a casualty of the economy, or the simple choice to walk away by the owner.

Tyler House was one of the crown jewels of North Hills Mall. Owned by the Tyler family who lived only a handful of blocks away, Tyler House had a personal touch and was one of the area’s favorite clothing stores. Its success led to the opening of a store in Chapel Hill’s University Mall in the mid-70s. However around 1980 North Hills began losing its luster as Crabtree slowly attracted more local businesses. Seeing the success of the Nowell’s Hooper’s store, for example, the Tylers broke down and took the Crabtree plunge with a store that always felt bland and impersonal. Some time in the mid 80’s or so, the Chapel Hill store closed.

I can’t remember the details, but around the time of the Crabtree store’s closure and a bit before North Hills Mall’s failure, the Tylers moved to Cameron Village with a single store that served them well until their retirement.

One of the first signs of life in the New North Hills, was the opening of a Tyler House store in The Lassiter, in the space that so long held a hair salon. The store endured multiple construction obstacles, with the facelift of the North Hills Plaza (The Lassiter) and the construction of The Alexan.

Raleigh is losing a piece of its history with the closing of Tyler House. It is difficult to run a small, reasonably priced store as national chains have figured out better how to deliver consistent styles at a lower price. The trend also presses heavily on shopping center owners seeking ways to differentiate themselves from any other shopping center in Anywheresville. As the economy continues its tumble, Tyler House will likely be just one of several pieces of Raleigh’s DNA that is lost.