Originally, the center was planned for Beverly instead. It was anchored by Jordan Marsh and an adjoining Filene's, and included Sears, as well as Kresge, J.J. Newberry, and Stop & Shop. Recreational facilities at the time included a bowling alley, a cinema, and a small amusement park called Kiddietown where the new Macy's store now sits. The shopping center has been home to the St. Therese Society of Mt. Carmel Chapel since 1960. It is the first chapel ever built within a shopping center, paving the way for another Carmelite chapel to open at the Bergen Mall in New Jersey as well as other mall chapels throughout the country at places such as Plymouth Meeting Mall. There are escalators in the food court and adjacent to the main entrance next to Joe's Bar & Grill which lead to the chapel, the chapel gift shop, and a dental office. The mall also houses the Peabody Police Department Community Outreach Center. The shopping center went through several changes in the 1970s and 1980s, including the expansion of Sears to a full-line anchor. Eventually, starting with a small section near the Sears store, the entire center was enclosed to better compete with nearby Liberty Tree Mall constructed by New England Development in 1972. During this renovation, a unique underground delivery tunnel was incorporated that ran the entire length of the mall. This delivery tunnel is still in use today. In 1986 Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. acquired an interest in North Shore Shopping Center from Allied.

In 1992 the shopping center was acquired by New England Development, which initiated a major renovation that expanded the mall to almost 1.7 million ft� when completed in 1994. On the northwest end of the mall, Filene's built a replacement store where the amusement park once was, while Lord & Taylor constructed a new store at this end as well, with both stores opening in 1993. A new food court was added adjoining the former Filene's site, which was gutted and rebuilt for the addition of J. C. Penney. In 1999 New England Development sold the mall to a joint venture led by Simon Property Group, which also assumed management of the center.

Except for the renaming of Jordan Marsh in 1996 to Macy's, the mall's structure and anchors remained essentially intact from 1994 until 2005, when May Department Stores (the then parent of Lord & Taylor and Filene's) was acquired by Federated Department Stores (the owner of Macy's). In March 2006, Federated briefly closed the Filene's store, before using the space to relocate its Macy's store that May (the remainder of the Filene's stores were renamed Macy's later that year). In June 2006 Federated closed down its Lord & Taylor store as it prepared to divest that chain.