San Pablo and Fairmount Avenues
El Cerrito, California
The first mall-type shopping hub in Contra Costa County was built on a 22.4-acre parcel, located 10 miles northeast of San Francisco's Union Square. Designed by Paul Hammarberg, a well known Bay Area architect, EL CERRITO PLAZA was developed by the Albert Lovett Company.
Open-air in format, the facility encompassed approximately 450,000 leasable square feet and housed fifty-five stores and services. The majority of the center consisted of a single retail level. Two southwest store blocks had upper levels which housed twenty-two office suites.
The mall site had had a lengthy history. El Rancho San Pablo, an historic adobe structure, had been built there in 1836. It housed a speakeasy bar in the 1920s and a casino from the mid-1930s to early 1940s. This structure burned to the ground in 1956. Meanwhile, the remainder of the land parcel had contained a greyhound, and then ostrich, racing track and makeshift trailer park. The El Cerrito Motor Movies drive-in theater was in operation there between 1948 and 1955.
One of the first stores to open at EL CERRITO PLAZA, Leed's Qualicraft Shoes, began business on April 5, 1958. This grand opening was followed by another for a 3-level (232,000 square foot), Oakland-based Capwell's. Capwell's-El Cerrito was officially dedicated on July 9, 1958. At this time, the store was the largest merchandising building in Contra Costa County.
The 15 million dollar mall was inaugurated with a 3-day Fiesta celebration, which commenced on October 23, 1958. Said Fiesta was officiated by Mrs. Doris Hormel (Mayor of El Cerrito), and was attended by members of the El Cerrito Chamber of Commerce and El Cerrito City Council. During the festivities, Miss Donna Jacobson was crowned Queen of the El Cerrito Fiesta.
A final group of EL CERRITO PLAZA tenants had opened their doors by March 1959. The fully-realized mall included Longs Drugs, Goldman's, Lingren's Family Shoes, Gallenkamp Shoes, Crescent Jewelers, Hunt's Do-Nuts, Jackson's Party Service, National Key Company and Virginia Cleaners. There were also an F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and Lucky Stores supermarket.
On January 29, 1973, the shopping complex became accessible via the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system. The 11-route-mile MacArthur-to-Richmond extension opened for revenue service, serving the El Cerrito Plaza Station. This terminal was adjacent to the northeast corner of the mall site.
The decline of EL CERRITO PLAZA was a slow process which started with the 1976 dedication of HILLTOP PLAZA {5.5 miles north, in Richmond}. By the early 1990s, the mall was in a downward spiral. Capwell's had been rebranded as an Emporium-Capwell in 1979, although the store's original nameplate was not updated. A new nameplate was installed with the store's conversion to the Emporium banner, in 1990. This store went dark in January 1996 and was never retenanted.
A ripple effect was created. Many national tenants had bailed out of the mall by late 1997, leaving only mom & pop-type retailers. The complex had approximately forty operational stores, with names such as Foley & Bonny, Beadazzled, McPhee's Junior Bootery and the Mel-O-Dee cocktail lounge.
A final group of EL CERRITO PLAZA tenants had opened their doors by March 1959. The fully-realized mall included Longs Drugs, Goldman's, Lingren's Family Shoes, Gallenkamp Shoes, Crescent Jewelers, Hunt's Do-Nuts, Jackson's Party Service, National Key Company and Virginia Cleaners. There were also an F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and Lucky Stores supermarket.
On January 29, 1973, the shopping complex became accessible via the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system. The 11-route-mile MacArthur-to-Richmond extension opened for revenue service, serving the El Cerrito Plaza Station. This terminal was adjacent to the northeast corner of the mall site.
The decline of EL CERRITO PLAZA was a slow process which started with the 1976 dedication of HILLTOP PLAZA {5.5 miles north, in Richmond}. By the early 1990s, the mall was in a downward spiral. Capwell's had been rebranded as an Emporium-Capwell in 1979, although the store's original nameplate was not updated. A new nameplate was installed with the store's conversion to the Emporium banner, in 1990. This store went dark in January 1996 and was never retenanted.
A ripple effect was created. Many national tenants had bailed out of the mall by late 1997, leaving only mom & pop-type retailers. The complex had approximately forty operational stores, with names such as Foley & Bonny, Beadazzled, McPhee's Junior Bootery and the Mel-O-Dee cocktail lounge.
As its businesses folded, the property became so dilapidated that the City of El Cerrito considered taking over it via eminent domain. The 1998 dedication of the community-class PACIFIC EAST MALL {.3 mile west, in Richmond}, only exacerbated the decline of the PLAZA.
Jacksonville, Florida-based Regency Centers bought the ailing center in the year 2000. They announced a demalling plan and began evicting tenants. The old Capwell's, a vacant Capwell's Tire Center and Chuck E. Cheese's structure, were razed in late 2000. Four store blocks from the original mall remained intact. These were renovated and worked into a redesigned, open-air, power center. Retaining the name EL CERRITO PLAZA, the 255,900 square foot shopopolis was dedicated in early 2002.
Anchoring the new EL CERRITO PLAZA was a 1-level (67,000 square foot) Albertsons / Sav-On supermarket and pharmacy. Big box tenants included a (30,200 square foot) Ross Dress For Less, (25,000 square foot) Barnes & Noble and (30,000 square foot) Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Sources:
The Oakland Tribune
Jacksonville, Florida-based Regency Centers bought the ailing center in the year 2000. They announced a demalling plan and began evicting tenants. The old Capwell's, a vacant Capwell's Tire Center and Chuck E. Cheese's structure, were razed in late 2000. Four store blocks from the original mall remained intact. These were renovated and worked into a redesigned, open-air, power center. Retaining the name EL CERRITO PLAZA, the 255,900 square foot shopopolis was dedicated in early 2002.
Anchoring the new EL CERRITO PLAZA was a 1-level (67,000 square foot) Albertsons / Sav-On supermarket and pharmacy. Big box tenants included a (30,200 square foot) Ross Dress For Less, (25,000 square foot) Barnes & Noble and (30,000 square foot) Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Sources:
The Oakland Tribune
The San Francisco Chronicle
The San Jose Mercury News
Scott Parsons / "BigMallRat"
The San Jose Mercury News
Scott Parsons / "BigMallRat"
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
http://www.ibabuzz.com / "Vintage views of El Cerrito Plaza, which opened this month in 1958" / Chris Treadway
Contra Costa County, California tax assessor website
http://www.regencycenters.com (Regency Centers)
http://www.ibabuzz.com / "Vintage views of El Cerrito Plaza, which opened this month in 1958" / Chris Treadway
Contra Costa County, California tax assessor website
http://www.regencycenters.com (Regency Centers)
