California - Labelscar: The Retail History Blog

Eastmont Mall; Oakland, California

I was in California last month, and I had a few hours to kill one afternoon when I was in the East Bay area so I swung by the Eastmont Mall in Oakland California. I didn’t do any research beforehand, I just saw it marked on my Rand McNally map so I toodled by.

It was worth it.

Now, let me step back a bit. Had I done some research beforehand, I might’ve heard some of the horror stories about how this is a pretty dangerous place, and a pretty tough part of Oakland. I could tell it wasn’t exactly the best part of town when I visited but it seemed OK to me–even kind of cheery–and I wasn’t even remotely scared to be prowling around. Of course, then I come home to write this article about the place and I find heartwarming stuff like a YouTube video of a drive-by shooting while it is occurring in 2006.

The Eastmont Mall–or Eastmont Town Center as it seems to be referred to nowadays–is a pretty strange mall. Built in 1970, the large two-level mall served the vast southeast side of the city of Oakland. The mall’s floorplan is relatively typical, with a “T” shape and two large anchor stores, but is a bit unusual because a long strip mall flanks the mall’s southwestern edge facing Bancroft St., and one wing of the mall protrudes through the center of the strip mall and exits to that side of the parking lot. Originally, the mall’s primary anchors were JCPenney and Mervyn’s, and a Safeway Supermarket and Woolworth were amongst the more junior tenants.

The mall fell into steep decline in the early 1990s when JCPenney and Mervyn’s left, and the reputation of the declining neighborhood kept most suburban shoppers away. Over the 90s, the mall was gradually converted into county offices, including a health clinic, police station, and other services (somewhat famously, there’s also a Planned Parenthood). The strip mall portion continues to house retailers, and there are a few isolated stores or cafes within the mall itself, but only a few.

Because Eastmont Mall hasn’t functioned as a true “mall” for a good 15 years, it’s retained much of its vintage early 1970s decor. This isn’t to say it’s terribly pretty–in fact, it’s a pretty plain and ugly mall. But it is stuck in a time warp, and for that reason alone it’s kind of interesting. Also, it’s available as a location to film your next movie. What’s not to love?

South Bay Galleria; Redondo Beach, California

All malls which bear the name Galleria are modeled, in theory at least, on the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele, a four-story glass-enclosed mall in Milan, Italy. South Bay Galleria is no exception. Opened in 1985, South Bay Galleria appended a 3-level modern mall to an existing Robinson’s-May location which had operated as a department store in some capacity for three decades prior. The other anchors at South Bay Galleria are Mervyn’s and Nordstrom, and the mall is located in Southern California’s South Bay area at Hawthorne and Artesia, very near the 405 freeway and about 15 minutes south of LAX airport. At some point the mall was called Galleria at South Bay, but that changed somewhat recently.

South Bay Galleria is most unique for offering a bit of everything to everyone. While most malls trend toward value, mid-tier, or upscale, they often don’t break that character and South Bay Galleria does. From Ann Taylor and Banana Republic to stores like Bling It, even the anchor stores have variety. Mervyn’s is a discounter much like Kohl’s, while Nordstrom is decidedly upscale. In 2006, Robinsons-May became Macy’s following Macy’s buyout of all May company stores.

As for its decor, South Bay Galleria is much like the Milanese shopping mall from which it bears its name. It’s full of natural light, glassy, and modern. In fact, during 2004 it was given a major refurbish to rid itself of most of the 1980s decor; however, a neon sign or two still hangs despite the re-do.

In addition, South Bay Galleria has been a popular film location through the years. Portions of movies such as Fat Albert and scenes from popular television shows like Disney’s Even Stevens have been filmed here recently.

We visited South Bay Galleria in March 2005 and took the pictures featured here. Let us know more about the history of the center or post your own experiences.

Carousel Mall; San Bernardino, California

Long ago, on the not-so-distant planet called California, a mall opened as part of an urban renewal project in downtown San Bernardino. The year was 1972 and the mall was Central City Mall (later Carousel Mall). It opened to popularity and fanfare with anchors Harris’, JCPenney, and Montgomery Ward. Not too long passed before the mall began to encounter problems. In 1978, it was noted that gang violence was on the rise and shoppers fled.

Despite the gang problem, the mall limped on. Throughout the 1980s gangs used the mall as a local gathering place and prevented the mall from being as successful as originally planned. Also contributing to this was a lack of follow through on the city’s part. Shortly after Central City Mall opened, the city developed a master plan of revitalizing the entire downtown, complete with commercial skyscrapers, a fourth anchor store for the mall, a large central city park, and even an aerial tramway connecting to nearby shopping destination Inland Center and recreational Silverwood Lake. None of these plans ever came to fruition.

By the 1990s, the mall was still limping along and not anything spectacular. The developers and the city felt ashamed that their half-assed downtown redevelopment plan failed and the mall was renamed Carousel Mall in 1991, after a large carousel was added to the center of the facility. Meant to be the new centerpiece of the mall, it was also intended to attract traffic. It attracted some people, but again it did not live up to the hopes and dreams of those who wished for bigger and better things.

Through the 1990s, Carousel Mall went steadily downhill. Competition from nearby Inland Center took traffic and the Harris anchor away as it merged with Gottschalk’s. Inland Center positioned itself as the successful mall for San Bernardino, with all the popular chain stores. The anchor stores all eventually left Carousel Mall, and parts of the mall were turned into office space. Carousel Mall’s days as a retail center were over. Today, there are a handful of stores, mostly local, and the carousel still runs at only a dollar a ride. But not for long.

Plans are currently underway for the mall to be slowly deconstructed, and replaced with a mixed-use development consisting of lofts, townhomes, office space, about 120,000 square feet of shops, and a man-made stream. Wow! Sure sounds exciting. Construction should begin by early 2007, and the mall will be taken down in phases. The new development is tenatively called Court Street West, and will end up reopening streets the mall blocked as the mall is disassembled.

I wish San Bernardino a lot of luck with this redevelopment. Hopefully they’ll follow through and make a concerted effort this time, and the development won’t fall flat on its back and lie fallow for years.

In the mean time, take a look at the pictures I took of the mall in March 2005. Enjoy the amazingly wide open first floor, dated tiles and fixtures, globe lights, and neon. There sure weren’t many people in the mall that day (or ever, apparently) so I’m happy to share the mall with the world before it bites the dust.