By the mid-1990s, the shopping hub -a victim of the over-malling of Greater Los Angeles- had outlived its purpose as a retail center. It was reconfigured as an educational, office and tech center. In the 21st century, the facility is known as THE VILLAGE @ INDIAN HILL.
Graphic from http://villageatindianhill.com
Photos from Jeff Arellano
POMONA VALLEY CENTER
East Holt Avenue and Indian Hill Boulevard
Pomona and Montclair, California
Three open-air malls were dedicated in Los Angeles County during 1955; LOS ALTOS CENTER {in Long Beach}, WHITTIER DOWNS CENTER {in Santa Fe Springs} and POMONA VALLEY CENTER {predominantly in Pomona}.
POMONA VALLEY CENTER (a.k.a. THE PVC) was built on 50 acres straddling the Los Angeles and San Bernardino county line. It was located 33.8 miles east of center city Los Angeles. The bulk of the 20 million dollar complex was within the city limits of Pomona, with half of its Sears anchor store lying within the city of Montclair.
The complex was developed by a joint venture of John S. Griffith, William A. Johnson, John D. Gregg and William Pempel. Its design was envisaged by Sterling Leach and the Barondon Corporation of Los Angeles.
Construction commenced on the PVC Sears in March 1954. The 2-level (139,000 square foot) store opened for business November 10, 1954. A (38,000 square foot) Market Basket supermarket opened its doors September 22, 1955, with a 2-level (30,000 square foot) J.J. Newberry 5 & 10 making its debut on November 3rd of the same year. One of the final new stores was a 2-level (43,000 square foot) F.C. Nash department store, which was dedicated April 6, 1956.
THE PVC mall consisted of a main retail level and basement. The below ground portion of the complex housed lower levels for tenants, such as Sears, Newberry's and Nash's, as well as a shopping arcade, which included a cafe and US Post Office.
An expansion was built on the mall's west end in 1967, which included a new stores for Longs Drugs and Market Basket. This addition was followed by the construction of a 1-level (100,800 square foot), Los Angeles-based Zodys discount mart. It opened, as the chain's fifteenth location, on June 8, 1969. POMONA VALLEY CENTER now contained spaces for seventy-five stores and services.
Major commercial competitors for THE PVC were POMONA MALL (1962) {1.6 miles southwest, in downtown Pomona} and MONTCLAIR PLAZA (1968) {2 miles northeast, in Montclair}.
The PVC Nash's was shuttered in 1970 and re-opened as a Los Angeles-based Roberts department store. Tenants in operation at this time included Harris & Frank, Moran's Drapery, Sally Shops of California, Melody Dress Shop, David Platt Music & Appliance and Empire Silk Stores.
A renovation and retenanting commenced in the early '70s. Consisting of a mall-wide face lift, the remodeling also installed The Village (a mall within a mall) in existing space. Its boutiques included House of 1001 Wigs, Morning Star Jewelry, Reed Family Candies, the Plantasia plant & terrarium boutique and Joshua T. ladies' boutique. This facility was dedicated in November 1974, with the name of the entire shopping venue being changed to INDIAN HILL VILLAGE.
A 15 million dollar renovation was done in the early 1980s, with a newly-enclosed complex holding a grand opening on September 26, 1982. Unfortunately, the proliferation of bigger and better shopping malls in the trade area caused the revitalized INDIAN HILL VILLAGE to enter a downward spiral.
This was exacerbated by an expansion of MONTCLAIR PLAZA, dedicated in October 1985, that saw the 30-year-old Sears at INDIAN HILL VILLAGE move to MONTCLAIR. In 1986, the INDIAN HILL Zody's closed. This was followed by the shuttering of Roberts.
Over the next 5 years, the old Zodys store evolved into a The Giant supermarket and then Ralph's supermarket. The Super Saver Cinemas 8 opened, in the East Wing of the mall, on February 1, 1990. This venue was shuttered in 2005.
POMONA VALLEY CENTER
East Holt Avenue and Indian Hill Boulevard
Pomona and Montclair, California
Three open-air malls were dedicated in Los Angeles County during 1955; LOS ALTOS CENTER {in Long Beach}, WHITTIER DOWNS CENTER {in Santa Fe Springs} and POMONA VALLEY CENTER {predominantly in Pomona}.
POMONA VALLEY CENTER (a.k.a. THE PVC) was built on 50 acres straddling the Los Angeles and San Bernardino county line. It was located 33.8 miles east of center city Los Angeles. The bulk of the 20 million dollar complex was within the city limits of Pomona, with half of its Sears anchor store lying within the city of Montclair.
The complex was developed by a joint venture of John S. Griffith, William A. Johnson, John D. Gregg and William Pempel. Its design was envisaged by Sterling Leach and the Barondon Corporation of Los Angeles.
Construction commenced on the PVC Sears in March 1954. The 2-level (139,000 square foot) store opened for business November 10, 1954. A (38,000 square foot) Market Basket supermarket opened its doors September 22, 1955, with a 2-level (30,000 square foot) J.J. Newberry 5 & 10 making its debut on November 3rd of the same year. One of the final new stores was a 2-level (43,000 square foot) F.C. Nash department store, which was dedicated April 6, 1956.
THE PVC mall consisted of a main retail level and basement. The below ground portion of the complex housed lower levels for tenants, such as Sears, Newberry's and Nash's, as well as a shopping arcade, which included a cafe and US Post Office.
An expansion was built on the mall's west end in 1967, which included a new stores for Longs Drugs and Market Basket. This addition was followed by the construction of a 1-level (100,800 square foot), Los Angeles-based Zodys discount mart. It opened, as the chain's fifteenth location, on June 8, 1969. POMONA VALLEY CENTER now contained spaces for seventy-five stores and services.
Major commercial competitors for THE PVC were POMONA MALL (1962) {1.6 miles southwest, in downtown Pomona} and MONTCLAIR PLAZA (1968) {2 miles northeast, in Montclair}.
The PVC Nash's was shuttered in 1970 and re-opened as a Los Angeles-based Roberts department store. Tenants in operation at this time included Harris & Frank, Moran's Drapery, Sally Shops of California, Melody Dress Shop, David Platt Music & Appliance and Empire Silk Stores.
A renovation and retenanting commenced in the early '70s. Consisting of a mall-wide face lift, the remodeling also installed The Village (a mall within a mall) in existing space. Its boutiques included House of 1001 Wigs, Morning Star Jewelry, Reed Family Candies, the Plantasia plant & terrarium boutique and Joshua T. ladies' boutique. This facility was dedicated in November 1974, with the name of the entire shopping venue being changed to INDIAN HILL VILLAGE.
A 15 million dollar renovation was done in the early 1980s, with a newly-enclosed complex holding a grand opening on September 26, 1982. Unfortunately, the proliferation of bigger and better shopping malls in the trade area caused the revitalized INDIAN HILL VILLAGE to enter a downward spiral.
This was exacerbated by an expansion of MONTCLAIR PLAZA, dedicated in October 1985, that saw the 30-year-old Sears at INDIAN HILL VILLAGE move to MONTCLAIR. In 1986, the INDIAN HILL Zody's closed. This was followed by the shuttering of Roberts.
Over the next 5 years, the old Zodys store evolved into a The Giant supermarket and then Ralph's supermarket. The Super Saver Cinemas 8 opened, in the East Wing of the mall, on February 1, 1990. This venue was shuttered in 2005.
The mall
had been renamed INDIAN HILL MARKETPLACE in the late 1980s, PLAZA AZTECA in 1993 and THE VILLAGE @ INDIAN HILL around the year 2000. In 1995, the West Wing of the mall had been purchased by the Pomona Unified School
District, who renovated the space for educational purposes. Eventually, the shopping hub morphed into an educational institution and office complex.
Today, VILLAGE @ INDIAN HILL houses a campus of the Pomona Unified School District, a Conference & Technical Center and retail tenants such as the Indian Hill Indoor Swap Meet (in the old Sears), Cal Western Visuals, Ikon Incorporated and Crittenton.
Sources:
The Los Angeles Times
Pomona Progress Bulletin (Pomona, California)
Today, VILLAGE @ INDIAN HILL houses a campus of the Pomona Unified School District, a Conference & Technical Center and retail tenants such as the Indian Hill Indoor Swap Meet (in the old Sears), Cal Western Visuals, Ikon Incorporated and Crittenton.
Sources:
The Los Angeles Times
Pomona Progress Bulletin (Pomona, California)
The Daily Bulletin (Ontario, California)
Information and photos from Jeff Arellano
Los Angeles County, California tax assessor website
http://villageatindianhill.com
www.cinematreasures.org
Information and photos from Jeff Arellano
Los Angeles County, California tax assessor website
http://villageatindianhill.com
www.cinematreasures.org
