THE EVOLUTION OF ROUTE 128

Natick, MA - 11/23/07 - It's just before 6am In the mall called Natick Collection, and a line forms outside GameStop (see background) while Linda Kropp (cq, left) and Jen Perry (cq, right) hangout, waiting for stores to open. (Mark Wilson/Globe staff) -- Library Tag 11242007 Business Mark Wilson/Globe Staff

Four large malls along the Route 128 corridor are thinking about opening just after midnight the day after Thanksgiving.

Northshore Mall in Peabody, the Burlington Mall, the Mall at Chestnut Hill in Newton, and South Shore Plaza in Braintree may open their doors at 12:01 a.m. as Simon Property Group considers shifting to earlier Black Friday openings across the country.

Pictured: The scene at 6 a.m. inside Natick Collection on Black Friday in 2007.