Stonewood Center

Last updated
Stonewood Center
Stonewood Center
Location251 Stonewood Street Downey, California, USA 90241
Coordinates 33°56′08″N118°07′10″W / 33.9355°N 118.1194°W / 33.9355; -118.1194 Coordinates: 33°56′08″N118°07′10″W / 33.9355°N 118.1194°W / 33.9355; -118.1194
Opening dateOriginally October 9, 1958;62 years ago (October 9, 1958), reopened October 1990
DeveloperE. Morris Smith
Management Macerich
OwnerMacerich
No. of stores and services150
No. of anchor tenants 4
Total retail floor area 939,423 square feet (GLA)
No. of floors1 (2 in JCPenney, Kohls, and Macy's, 3 plus closed 4th floor in Sears)
Website http://www.shopstonewoodcenter.com/

Stonewood Center, sometimes referred to as Stonewood Mall, is a shopping mall located in Downey, California, which is one of the Gateway Cities of Southeastern Los Angeles County. It is located at the intersection of Firestone and Lakewood Boulevards, and it is from this intersection that the mall's name is derived ("Firestone" + "Lakewood"). [1] It is within a few miles of many freeways in the area: I-5 and I-605, I-710 and I-105 freeways. The mall is owned and operated by The Macerich Company and is part of its trifecta of malls in southeast Los Angeles County along with the Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos and the Lakewood Center in Lakewood. Stonewood Center comprises 145 stores, including several restaurants.

The mall is anchored by J. C. Penney, Macy's, Kohl's and Sears.

History

Before Stonewood Center, in the 1940s and 1950s, Downtown Huntington Park was the most popular upscale shopping district for residents of Downey South Gate, Bell, and Cudahy. [1]

The land which Stonewood is built on is on a 100 year lease from the Ball Family who used to farm Oranges on the ground before the mall was built. The Ball family still owns the ground.

In 1953, William M. Lansdale of Downey announced plans to establish Downey as the next shopping "mecca" in the area and build a 63-acre shopping center. [1]

The mall was developed by E. Morris Smith of Newport Beach and on a budget variously reported as $5,000,000 or $12,000,000, on a 62-acre (25 ha) site and designed by Jacobson, Coppedge & Huxley. The original plan was for five buildings with over 60 stores and over 335,000 square feet (31,100 m2) of gross leasable area. Construction was kicked off in late 1957. [2]

Prior to the opening of the mall proper, in February 1956, construction began with a $750,000 coffee shop and restaurant, Stonewood Restaurant, designed by Pereira & Luckman, who also designed the Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport and numerous other Greater Los Angeles mid-century landmark buildings. Downey Stonewood Community Bank and a 40,000-square-foot Shopping Bag Food Stores also opened during this time.

The mall opened on October 9, 1958, with a larger gross leasable area than the original plan (390,000 square feet (36,000 m2)) and 40 stores including J. C. Penney, W. T. Grant and Woolworth variety stores, Thrifty Drug, Miller, Miller West Men's, Downey Music and Hollander Cafeteria. [1]

In the 1960s, the mall was expanded with a 143,400-square-foot (13,320 m2) Broadway department store (opened 1965, now a Sears), and in 1966, Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, Showcase Cinemas, an additional twin cinema, and a Radio Shack. [1]

In the 1970s the center grew, taking up more of the original land, with almost 80 stores. [1]

A 2-story Mervyn's (now Kohl's) was added in 1981. [1]

In 1986 Stonewood was sold to Hughes Investments, which funded the 1990 $100-million transformation into an enclosed mall which included over 40 new stores, a May Company California department store anchor, and Acapulco and Olive Garden restaurants. By the mid-1990s, the center had almost 940,000 square feet (87,000 m2) of gross leasable area. [1]

In 1993, the May Company rebranded as Robinsons-May, and in 2006 it was rebranded as Macy's.

In 1996, The Broadway closed its branch, and Sears took over the building and built a Sears Auto Center in an outparcel. [1]

In 2009, Kohl's opened occupying the vacated Mervyn's building. [1]

In September 2021, it was announced that Sears would be closing at the mall.

Related Research Articles

Los Cerritos Center Shopping mall in California, United States

The Los Cerritos Center is a super regional shopping mall located in Cerritos, California. Since September 1971, the Los Cerritos Center has been an integral part of the city of Cerritos' tax revenue. The mall is the city's largest revenue source, producing $581 per square foot in sales in 2010. The tax revenue generated from the Los Cerritos Center for its host city totals to approximately $3 million a year. The facility is owned by Macerich & GIC Private Limited.

May Company California

May Company California was a chain of department stores operating in Southern California and Nevada, with headquarters in North Hollywood, California. It was a subsidiary of May Department Stores and merged with May's other Southern California subsidiary, J. W. Robinson's, in 1993 to form Robinsons-May.

Plaza West Covina Shopping mall in California, United States

Plaza West Covina, formerly Westfield West Covina, and before that Plaza at West Covina, West Covina Fashion Plaza, and West Covina Plaza, is a large regional shopping mall in West Covina, California, owned by the Starwood Capital Group. Its anchor stores are Macy's, JCPenney, XXI Forever, Nordstrom Rack, Best Buy, and Gold's Gym with one vacant space last occupied by Sears. Westfield America, Inc., a precursor to Westfield Group, acquired the shopping center in 1998 and renamed it "Westfield Shoppingtown West Covina", dropping the "Shoppingtown" name in June 2005. In October 2013, Westfield Group sold the mall to Starwood Capital Group.

The Shoppes at Carlsbad Shopping mall in Carlsbad, California

The Shoppes at Carlsbad is a shopping mall in Carlsbad, California. The mall was originally named Plaza Camino Real when it was built in 1969, but was rebranded several times when it was a Westfield Holdings property (1994-2015). Its anchor stores are JCPenney and Macy's. A Robinsons-May closed in 2006, while Sears closed on December 15, 2019.

Tucson Mall Shopping mall in Tucson, Arizona

Tucson Mall is the largest shopping mall in Tucson, Arizona. Tucson Mall features over 170 stores and two levels of indoor shopping. It is anchored by Forever 21, J. C. Penney, Macy's, and Dillard's. Tucson Mall contains a food court containing several fast food restaurants, as well as "Arizona Avenue," an arcade containing Southwestern-themed items. The mall is located on the north side of Tucson, bounded by Oracle Road, Wetmore Road, Stone Avenue, and the Rillito River.

Lakewood Center is a super-regional shopping mall in Lakewood, California and the oldest shopping mall in the United States that is now enclosed, having first opened to the public in 1951 and being enclosed in 1978. It is anchored by 24 Hour Fitness Super Sport, Albertsons, Best Buy, Burlington, Costco, Forever 21, The Home Depot, JCPenney, Macy's, Pacific Lakewood 16, and Target, with one vacant anchor last occupied by Nordstrom Rack, which relocated in 2018. At 2,069,000 square feet (192,200 m2), the Lakewood Center is ranked among the largest retail shopping malls by gross leasable area in the United States. In 2004, the Lakewood Center's sales amounted to $393 per square foot with an approximate 11.2 million shoppers.

Inland Center is a regional shopping mall owned and operated by Macerich, located in San Bernardino, California along the southwest border adjacent to Interstate 215 and the city of Colton. The mall is within one mile of three bordering cities on the southern end of San Bernardino. Inland Center is a single-level mall anchored by, JCPenney, Forever 21 and Macy's, plus 110 specialty shops and services.

Natick Mall Shopping mall in Natick, Massachusetts, United States

The Natick Mall is a shopping mall in Natick, Massachusetts. The original facility was the first enclosed shopping mall in Greater Boston upon opening in 1966; it was demolished and replaced by a larger building in 1994 and expanded in 2007. The mall, with the adjacent Shopper's World power center in Framingham, are major components of the Golden Triangle shopping district in the center of MetroWest, situated between Route 9 and Route 30. With 1,860,000 square feet (173,000 m2) of gross leasable area, the Natick Mall is the largest in New England by number of tenants, with 214. It is currently owned and managed by Brookfield Properties, a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management.

NorthTown Mall is a shopping mall located in Spokane, Washington. The shopping mall first opened in 1955 as an open-air center and has been expanded several times, with its biggest expansion occurring between 1989 and 1991. Since 2018, it has been owned by Brookfield Property Partners. The mall is currently anchored by Barnes & Noble, Get Air Trampoline Park, J. C. Penney, Kohl's, Macy's, Marshalls, and Regal Cinemas.

Baybrook Mall Shopping mall in Texas, United States

Baybrook Mall is a shopping mall located near the Clear Lake City area in Houston, Texas; It has a Friendswood mailing address, but it is in the Houston city limits. The mall is located off Interstate 45, and it is also in proximity to Webster and the NASA Johnson Space Center. The anchor stores are Star Cinema Grill, Dave & Buster's, Dillard's, JCPenney, H&M, Macy's, and Forever 21. There is 1 vacant anchor store that was once Sears.

Coronado Center Shopping mall in New Mexico, United States

Coronado Center is a shopping mall in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Built in 1965 by the Homart Development Company, a defunct real-estate division of the department store Sears, the mall has undergone several renovations and expansions in its history which have led to it becoming the largest in the state. Its anchor stores include Macy's, J. C. Penney, Dick's Sporting Goods, Round One Entertainment, and Kohl's, with one vacancy formerly occupied by Sears; other major tenants include Barnes & Noble, H&M, Forever 21, The Container Store, The Cheesecake Factory, and Boot Barn. The mall features over 130 stores, including a food court, and is managed by Brookfield Properties.

Fallbrook Center Shopping mall in California, United States

Fallbrook Center is a shopping center located on Fallbrook Avenue between Victory Boulevard and Vanowen Street in West Hills, Los Angeles, California. Fallbrook Center is a 75-acre (300,000 m2), 880,000-square-foot (82,000 m2), open-air shopping center with retailers including Wal-Mart, Trader Joe's, Home Depot, Target, Ulta Beauty, Sprouts Farmers Market, Ross Dress for Less, 24 Hour Fitness, Michael's, and Petco.

South Hill Mall is an enclosed, super-regional shopping mall located in Puyallup, Washington, United States. Opened in 1988 and expanded in 1992, the mall comprises more than 100 stores, plus a food court and movie theater, in 1,074,230 square feet (99,799 m2) of gross leasable area. The mall also includes five anchor stores, as well as DSW, Old Navy, and Regal Cinemas. The mall is managed by Cafaro Company of Youngstown, Ohio.

Westfield South Shore is a super-regional shopping mall in Bay Shore, New York. The mall is owned by the Westfield Group, and has 1,165,000 square feet (108,232 m2) of gross leasable area. The anchor stores are Dick's Sporting Goods, Forever 21, JCPenney, and Macy's. There is 1 vacant anchor store that was once Lord & Taylor. Restaurants in the mall include Panera Bread, The Cheesecake Factory and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Whittwood Town Center is a 65-acre open-air shopping center in Whittier, Southeast Los Angeles County, California, located on the southwest corner of Whittier Boulevard and Santa Gertrudes Avenue.

Memorial Mall Shopping mall in Wisconsin, United States

Memorial Mall is a former indoor shopping mall located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, since redeveloped and anchored by a new Meijer hypermarket. Opened in 1969, it currently features Kohl's, Bed Bath & Beyond and four other smaller stores in the former south mall wing, with three additional stores within the Meijer space.

Westfield Palm Desert Shopping mall in Palm Desert, California

Westfield Palm Desert, is a shopping mall located in Palm Desert, California which serves the Coachella Valley. The mall is presently owned through a joint venture between O'Connor Capital Partners and Westfield Corporation.

Los Altos Center is a regional shopping mall in the Los Altos area of northeastern Long Beach, California along Bellflower Boulevard, 4 miles south of Lakewood Center Mall and 5 miles east of Downtown Long Beach.

Valley Plaza was a shopping center in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, one of the first in the San Fernando Valley, opened in 1951. In the mid-1950s it claimed to be the largest shopping center on the West Coast of the United States and the third-largest in the country. It was located along Laurel Canyon Boulevard from Oxnard to Vanowen, and west along Victory Boulevard. Like its competitor Panorama City Shopping Center to the north, Valley Plaza started with one core development and grew over time to market, under the single name "Valley Plaza", a collection of adjacent retail developments with multiple developers, owners, and opening dates.

History of retail in Southern California Department stores list in Los Angeles

Retail in Southern California dates back to its first dry goods store that Jonathan Temple opened in 1827 on Calle Principal, when Los Angeles was still a Mexican village. After the American conquest, as the pueblo grew into a small town surpassing 4,000 population in 1860, dry goods stores continued to open, including the forerunners of what would be local chains. Larger retailers moved progressively further south to the 1880s-1890s Central Business District, which was later razed to become the Civic Center. Starting in the mid-1890s, major stores moved ever southward, first onto Broadway around 3rd, then starting in 1905 to Broadway between 4th and 9th, then starting in 1915 westward onto West Seventh Street up to Figueroa. For half a century Broadway and Seventh streets together formed one of America's largest and busiest downtown shopping districts.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Looking back on...Stonewood Center".
  2. "Work Started on First Unit of Shop Center". Los Angeles Times. 1 December 1957. p. 147 (part VI, p. 13).