Metro-L.A.'s LAKEWOOD and HUNTINGTON BEACH MALLS (Los Angeles, San Diego: sales, hair salon)

[Mid Century Mod]

I am currently doing research for a blogspot that I have created (The MALL HALL OF FAME). This blog is an entirely non-commercial enterprise on my part, and is comprised of articles, images and artwork for America's Post War shopping centers. I hope to complete articles about a couple of Metro-Los Angeles' regional malls; nameley LAKEWOOD CENTER and the former HUNTINGTON BEACH MALL.

I was just wondering whether anyone on the forum would care to reminisce about these shopping centers..........as it is nearly (if not) impossible to find out very much about them in their early days. I would be more than glad to credit anyone (in my finished article[s]) who can provide any pertinent info.

For the record, LAKEWOOD CENTER opened in 1952. Its primary anchor store was May Company. There was also a second (smaller) department store anchor on the northern end of the original mall (now a Target), and a supermarket at the southern end of the mall (now a J.C. Penney). I have been trying to find out exactly what stores these were in the 1950's, but have been unsuccessful.

About HUNTINGTON BEACH MALL. It opened in 1966. After TOPANGA PLAZA (which opened in Canoga Park, in 1964), it was -probably- the second enclosed shopping center in Southern California. Its main anchor was The Broadway (now a Kohl's). There was also a second anchor store at the mall's western end. I am thinking this was a Montgomery Ward.....but I haven't been able to establish this as fact.

In the 1970's, a third anchor store was added to the east (on the Beach Boulevard end). Could this have been a J.C. Penney? The final addition to the old HUNTINGTON BEACH MALL took place in the 1980's, and added a fourth anchor store; this to the northwest of the existing mall. This store is presently occupied by Burlington Coat Factory......but I do not know if it always was. Of course, most of the old HUNTINGTON BEACH MALL was torn down, and replaced by the new, open-air, BELLA TERRA MALL.

I realize that this all is going WAY back in the history of the Los Angeles Basin........

Thanks everyone for reading..........and -especially- thanks for input that any of you Los Angelenos can provide.

"Mid Century Mod"
North Georgia

[dennismpat]

Hopefully, I can be of some help to you, since I'm a longtime Lakewood resident. As a matter of fact, I live close to Lakewood Center Mall.

For starters, I could remember back in the early 70s that the Lakewood Center Mall was an open-air mall, much like the nearby Long Beach and Cerritos Towne Centres, as well as the University Town Centre in San Diego. When the Los Cerritos Mall was built, many Lakewood residents started going there, since it was an enclosed, climate-controlled environment. To counter that, the property management at Lakewood Center decided to enclose the mall in the early 80s. I know the department store where Target now stands used to be a Montgomery Ward. I'm sorry, but I don't know what was there during the 50s, since I wasn't around yet. Have you tried contacting Mace-Rich, the mall's management company? At the southern end of the mall adjacent to J.C. Penney, there used to be a Lucky supermarket. I didn't realize there used to be a supermarket on the current J.C. Penney site. There also used to be a Buffums department store on the Clark Avenue side across from the Iacoboni library, where the Home Depot is now located. There also used to be an Akron department store (kind of like a Cost Plus Imports) where Circuit City is now located.

I don't know if GregJ from Long Beach still reads these boards, but if so, he may be able to shed some light on the information you're seeking, since I get the feeling he's older than I.

Regarding the Huntington Beach Mall, I've been to it a few times, but usually went up the freeway to the Westminster Mall. You're right in that the anchor at the western end was a Montgomery Ward. As a matter of fact, I could remember purchasing a telephone at that store about 10 or so years ago. I apologize that I can't remember what store used to be at the current Burlington Coat Factory site, but I was thinking that it was J.C. Penney, and that another store occupied the site of where Barnes & Noble / Starbucks is presently located. BUT, I could be wrong, since I have never lived in Huntington Beach, but used to go there quite often.

Anyway, there you have it, from my perspective. I hope this information helps you in some way.

[Mid Century Mod]

Dennis,

Dennis here. Thanks so VERY much for your input about two of L.A.'s "classic mall era" shopping centers.

Your input cleared up a few gray areas, and added quite a bit of substance to the Lakewood Center and Huntington Beach [Bella Terra] Mall articles on my MALL HALL OF FAME blog.

As I was saying, it can be extremely difficult to locate (and ascertain) information about America's mid-century shopping malls. After all, it HAS been a LONG time ago. I will pursue your recommendation to contact the present-day operator of one of the shopping malls I am wanting to know more about. However, I have tried this avenue when trying to find out early-days details about other shopping malls. In a few of these cases, I was fortunate enough to receive -at least- a polite email response. However, the present-day owners of the malls in question did not have -or maintain- historic/archive information about THEIR OWN shopping malls.

In fact, on the "classic mall" internet, I hear a lot of instances where owners and/or operators of shopping centers are often unconcerned about such historical details. After all, it's all about the "bottom line", and history doesn't help secure leases for empty stores or increase sales figures at stores already open.

About the Lakewood Center J.C. Penney. I am not absolutely certain that there ever was a supermarket in that particular store. I was just going by a quote that says that there were two supermarkets in the original, open-air mall, one at each end. Looking at an old postcard (see the Lakewood article on the MALL HALL OF FAME blog), there -obviously- was a Sav-on supermarket in the early mall. However, this was not PHYSICALLY on the northern end of the mall, but next to a large department store, which WAS at the northern end (this was the Montgomery Ward you speak of....now a Target). So, I am surmising that this second supermarket may have been in the exact same spot as the Lucky store you recall in the 1970's....which was BEHIND the store that the J.C. Penney is in at the present time. Right?

It was great to have the confusion about the location of anchor stores in the olden-days Huntington Beach Mall cleared up quite a bit. We know where The Broadway was, and the Montgomery Ward......and I am thinking that you are also right on the money about the J.C. Penney being in the store that was eventually occupied by Burlington Coat Factory. The only thing to ponder now is what store was in the anchor spot at the east (Beach Blvd.) end of the enclosed mall. The outparcel structure that Barnes & Noble and Starbucks are in was (I believe) built with the original mall in 1966. It is on the outdated (circa 1979) US Geological Survey map that I deciphered a lot of my information about the former mall from.

Of course, such details as this are really (probably) quite irrelevant in the whole scheme of things, but, I do like the idea of my MALL HALL OF FAME blog, that (along with some other fine "classic mall-related" blog spots) strives to document the mid-century era in America, when so much was happening, and so many things (such as regional shopping centers) were changing the national landscape -and psyche- forever.

Thanks again for your very informative classic mall musings.

Mid Century Mod
Georgia

[dennismpat]

Hi, Dennis (GREAT name, by the way ):

I'm glad that I was able to assist you in clearing up some gray areas concerning the two malls. I just remembered that the City of Lakewood celebrated its 50th anniversary of incorporation in 2004. There was a special edition of one of the local community newspapers (not the Press Telegram) that had a special write-up on the history of the city, including the Lakewood Mall in its infancy. There was even an old picture showing the front of the old May Company store, taken from the Lakewood Blvd. side of the mall. Now I wish I had kept that publication, but it's long since been deposited in the recycling bin.

There used to be a Sav-On store inside the Lakewood Mall, but it was located close to J.C. Penney. (Standalone Sav-On stores are now being converted to CVS Pharmacies, except for those located within Albertsons supermarkets.) If it was located at the other end, I don't remember. But, as I said before, I could be wrong, since the 50s were before my time. The Lucky supermarket site is now occupied by a separate building that contains several smaller stores, such as JoAnn (craft store), LensCrafers and a men's clothing store (I bought a suit there a long time ago - I think it's a C&R Clothiers). Next to that building to the east side is an Arby's restaurant, which has been there since at least the 70s.

Regarding the Huntington Beach Mall, now you have me curious to know what the anchor store was on the east end of it. I could probably ask my youngest sister's husband (they live in Westminster), since he grew up in Huntington Beach and graduated from Marina High School. Typical beach boy/surfer dude back in the day!

If you could, I'd like the website link to your Mall Hall of Fame blog. You can send it to me via PM. Thanks!

[cheftessie]

Hello Mid Century Mod,

I'm from Huntington Beach, CA. I found your post while looking for information on why the old Montgomery Ward buildings have not been torn down... The HB Mall is completely rebuilt now into the outdoor Bella Terra shopping center, except for two huge, abandoned Montgomery Wards buildings. They are boarded up and look disgusting. I am not sure why they have not been torn down and rebuilt because they sit on land that is about twice the size of the current Bella Terra and in the same parking lot. There has been a few lawsuits over the property, so maybe that is still being decided on. Some sources say it is soon going to be a Great Indoors store, but those rumors are from a few years ago.

<img src="http://www.rapidtransit-press.com/socalmall197.jpg" border="0" /></a>

I only remember the old HB mall during its downfall and I was still pretty young. There was JC Penny in the middle, Montgomery Ward on the west end, and Broadway on the east (which I'm pretty sure at one time was May & Co). Mervyns was built into a new wing to the north (closer to the 405 freeway) in the early 80s. There were many small stores imbetween these department stores, but I can only remember the Orange Julius(yum!). Now, Burlington Coat Factory is where JC Pennys was, but they have totally remodeled (I believe they added an additional story). Kohls is where Broadway was. The mall was completely torn down between these structures and is now the open walking area of the mall. There has also been a very large parking structure built on the back of Bella Terra, right behind Burlington Coat Factory which connects to both floors. There is a lot of information out there about the new Bella Terra, but hardly any about the HB mall. Let me know if you have any specific questions, and I'll try to help.

~Tess

PS: Go to Google Maps, type in "7691 Edinger Ave, huntington beach, ca", zoom in and click hybrid, you will see an old aerial photo of the HB mall!

Here are some links that will give you more info, an old layout, and current pictures:
http://www.mallhistory.com/hbm
http://www.stockteam.com/news-release-bella-terra.html
lots of pictures on this: http://www.rapidtransit-press.com/socalmall-wards.html
http://www.jerde.com/press/press.php...ear=2004&id=63

[dennismpat]

Tess,

This is the other Dennis who posted on this thread a few months back. Thanks for helping to fill in the gaps about whatever became of the old Huntington Beach Mall. I could remember seeing it go into a state of decline, as shoppers opted to go to either Westminster Mall or South Coast Plaza.

The original Dennis (Mid Century Mod) and I had been corresponding off the forum, and he was curious to know what had become of the building(s) comprising the old Montgomery Ward store, since the current store directory in the Bella Terra website doesn't show it. I told him that I was going to my sister's (in Westminster) on New Year's Day, and that I would try swinging by Bella Terra to see what had become of the old Montgomery Ward store buildings. I never got around to it, since it was already late and I had to be at work the next day. Thankfully, you provided that answer for us.

I've been to Bella Terra a couple times since it opened, and think it turned out pretty nice (though parking can be a problem). Thanks again for all the information, including the website links!

[GaryF]

Hi,

I've lived in Huntington Beach for 40+ years. My mom used to be the manager of a woman's clothing store in the main part of the mall called "The Showoff" back in the mid 70's. I used to vacuum the floors after school when I was a kid in the 8th grade.

I just wanted to confirm that Tess got the layout of the anchor stores correct. The store that used to be in the location of the Barnes and Noble/Starbucks was a Barker Bros furniture store. I bought some furniture from there in the late 80's. Also at the far east end of the parking lot, about where Circuit City is today, was a Crocker Bank.

My only other comment is that I don't ever recall the site being referred to as "The Huntington Beach Mall". It was just called the "Huntington Center". Attached is a photo of the old Huntington Center sign.

Gary

[cheftessie]

Wow, I didn't know I would get responses so fast! Yes, Gary is very correct that the name was Huntington Center. Although, everyone I knew always called it the Huntington Beach Mall, and that's what it said on the old maps.

Dennis-
Next time you go down there, drive over to the other side of the parking lot and see how bad the Montgomery Ward looks. I wouldn't be surprised if a few homeless people lived in there... Parking is terrible. Even though the new parking structure is big, it is only connected to Burlington Coat Factory. If you park in the structure and want to walk through Bella Terra, go to the movie theatre, or go to Cheesecak Factory, you have to walk all the way around the back of the buildings... It is not set up very well.

[dennismpat]

Yes, Tess, people actually read these forums and respond quickly, depending on what the subject is and who happens to be reading at the time. I go to church in Westminster and MAY (operative word here) try to go to Terra Bella afterward tomorrow, to see the old Montgomery Ward store buildings for myself. Like you, I wouldn't be surprised if some homeless folks took up residence there.

Gary, thanks for clearing up the actual name of that shopping center (before it became Terra Bella). As Tess said, locally it was simply known as the Huntington Beach Mall, rather than its proper name. Also, for revealing what used to be at the current locations of Barnes & Noble/Starbucks and Circuit City. By the way, I used to work with a lady who worked at that B&N store for four years in the children's books department.

[Kerrytoonz]

Hello;

I remember the Huntington Center very well, and have been searching the web for quite a long time to find some information on it for my own nostalic reasons. From 1979 to 1989 my parents owned a hair salon called Hair Productions Unlimited, which was located across the parking lot from The Broadway, in the same strip of stores attached to Barker Bros. furniture store. I spent nearly every weekend working at the salon when I was about 12 years old. I would sweep the hair and clean the bathrooms. I was also allowed to venture across the parking lot to the mall. Saturday mornings before I would work I would go into The Broadway and go through the cards and wrapping paper section into the restaurant that was built inside of it. Does anyone remember this restaurant, and if so, did it have a name? I would eat breakfast, all by myself at age 12 at this restaurant. I felt so big. I would then go into the mall and I remember it very well. I remember the Bob's Big Boy that was built near the center, and I also remember a T-shirt place where you could pick out your own iron on and have it put on the front, along with your name. I also went into a card store and purchased many Smurfs. In the middle of the mall was an open area and my dad once cut and styled hair there ona stage they had set up. I also remember them doing a cake walk in that area at one time. I have lots of random memories. Next to our salon was a store called Lee Wards, which was kind of like a craft store, and I wasnt really into it much. Next to that was another store called The Acron. It was a strange store with all kinds of things and I mostly remember buying a hardback book on The Empire Strikes Back (yes, I still have it!). The was also a great deli and we would always stop and get a bagel with cheese on it. I iremember the Crocker Bank and how as a promo they once gave away stuffed "Crocker" Spaniel dogs. I had so much fun at the mall and I wish I had more pictures to remember it. If anyone has any, would you please be willing to share them? After my father died, my mother tried to run the salon on her own, but we lived in Chino and the drive was too much for her. She let her lease end and closed the salon. Thanks for the stories...I enjoyed reading them.