Los Angeles County's first shopping mall, LAKEWOOD CENTER [October 2009 archive], was developed by Joseph K. Eichenbaum, in the early 1950s. His firm, under the auspices of the Metropolitan Development Corporation, began planning for a San Fernando Valley merchandising mecca, tentatively known as PLATT RANCH CENTER, in the late 1950s.
Eventually renamed FALLBROOK SQUARE, the prospective open-air retail complex, designed by Maxwell Starkman and Associates, was to be the largest in "The Valley". It was located on an 80 acre site, in the San Fernando Valley, 27.6 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. At the time, the area was considered to be a part of the Canoga Park community, but is now referred to as West Hills.
A groundbreaking was held in October 1963 for a 4 million dollar Sears, which -upon its completion- was the largest store in the seven hundred and fifty unit chain. It encompassed three buildings; the 2-level, main store structure (with basement, community room and snack bar), 43-bay Auto Center and a seasonal merchandise building. In all, the FALLBROOK SQUARE Sears operation encompassed 330,000 square feet.
The first business to open in FALLBROOK SQUARE was the House of Sight and Sound, which held its gala grand opening November 12, 1963. The 10,000 square foot, Moorish-Modern-motif, store was something of an early 1960s precursor to today's Best Buy. It carried an assortment of 33 and 45 rpm records, open-reel and 4-track cartridge tapes, color and black and white television sets, stereo systems and organs.
The next stores in the first phase of openings included Sears, Sav-On Drug, Crocker Citizens Bank and a Market Basket supermarket. These came inline between November 1963 and January 1964. By the end of 1964, there were over forty stores in operation.
The second phase of construction included an F.W. Woolworth 5 and 10, which held its grand opening festivities September 8, 1965. The 35,000 square foot store included an 8,000 square foot mezzanine and one hundred person capacity lunch counter.
The 35 million dollar -eighty store- FALLBROOK SQUARE was completed with the opening of its J.C. Penney, on November 9, 1966. This 2-level (180,000 square foot) location -second-largest store in the chain- was the epitome of the retailer's "New Look", 1960s stores.
It featured a full line of apparel and accessories, cosmetics, home appliances, electronics, sporting goods, paint and hardware, furniture and bedding, as well as an outparcel Auto Center.
FALLBROOK SQUARE, the "complete shopping city", was made even moreso by the opening of its single-screen Fox Fallbrook Theatre, in 1966.
Retail rivals of FALLBROOK SQUARE were TOPANGA PLAZA (1964) [May 2008 archive], also in Canoga Park, and NORTHRIDGE FASHION CENTER [December 2008 archive], which opened in 1971.
Fast forward to 1985. The mid-market mall, now known as FALLBROOK CENTER, has been purchased by Chicago-based General Growth Properties. A 2-level (82,600 square foot) Mervyn's and 1-level (100,300 square foot) Target have just been added.
This is topped off by a general renovation of the entire complex, including the enclosing of its courts and concourse, in 1986, with the shopping venue known henceforth as FALLBROOK MALL.
The original cinema, which had been divided and renamed the Mann Fallbrook Twin, closed in 1985. The building was eventually razed and replaced by a Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza. A new multiplex, the General Cinemas Fallbrook VI, was built north of J.C. Penney.
This theater was expanded into a 7 -and then 10- screen venue, before being shuttered in 1999. It was acquired by the Laemmle company in 2001 and re-opened. Three of the auditoriums were converted to retail spaces, with the remainder of the complex going under the name Laemmle Fallbrook VII.
By the 1990s, FALLBROOK MALL was in a substantial state of decline. Major tenants had bailed out and were replaced by a series of local, mom and pop retailers, such as Bo-Jan's Arcade, Susie's Deals and Hello Kitty. The once fashionable J.C. Penney had been demoted to an outlet center.
The Northridge Quake of 1994 caused serious damage to Sears. It did not reopen, but relocated into the recently vacated The Broadway at TOPANGA PLAZA. The FALLBROOK MALL Sears sat vacant until its 2.5 million dollar renovation into a Big Kmart and Burlington Coat Factory, in 1997.
By 2001, plans were in the making to demall FALLBROOK, returning it, in essence, to the open-air complex it started out as. The Kmart / Burlington Coat Factory, Mervyn's, Target, Penney's and Laemmle Fallbrook VII buildings were retained, along with six smaller outparcels. The remainder of the mall was bulldozed.
The new-style -big box- FALLBROOK CENTER was completed late in 2003. In addition to the previously listed anchors, the 1.2 million square foot complex now featured Kohl's (in the J.C. Penney spot) and a 1-level (116,000 square foot) Home Depot.
Other tenants were a 24,000 square foot Michaels Arts and Crafts, 16,500 square foot Petco and 35,000 square foot Linens 'N Things. On January 28, 2004, a 139,665 square foot Wal-Mart opened in the store space previously occupied by Big Kmart.
Today, FALLBROOK CENTER houses thirty-six stores and services with five vacant spaces. Mervyn's, shuttered in early 2009, is among these.
FALLBROOK SQUARE TENANTS 1964:SEARS (with Community Room, seasonal sales annex and Auto Center) / MARKET BASKET FOODS / SAV-ON DRUG / House of Sight and Sound / Foreman and Clark apparel / Gay Fads / Harris and Frank apparel / Jacque's Shoes / Kinney Shoes / Kirk Jewelers / Lerner Shops / Sally Shops of California / Williams Fashions / Frederick's Old Time Butcher Shoppe / Russell-Bernard, Limited Gentleman's Apparel / Crocker Citizen's Bank / Antonucci's Beauty Salon / Spira's Barber Shop / Fallbrook Square Shoe Repair
