Rosecrans Boulevard and Luitwieler Avenue
Los Angeles County (La Mirada), California
In 1946, the area which is now La Mirada, California had a population of two hundred and thirteen. Development began, in earnest, in January 1953, when the 2,700-acre McNally Ranch was sold in a 5.2 million dollar deal; one of the largest real estate transactions that California had seen. Work commenced on La Mirada, a planned city, in March 1953. This would eventually incorporate over 10,000 single-family homes.
In 1954, planning got underway for a cluster-type, open-air shopping complex. Tentatively known as the LA MIRADA BUSINESS CENTER, it would be built on a 91-acre tract, located at the corner of Rosecrans Boulevard and Luitweiler Avenue (now La Mirada Boulevard). The land parcel was 20 miles southeast of the Los Angeles urban core, and -at the time- fell entirely within unincorporated Los Angeles County.
Construction commenced in March 1956. On October 17, 1957, a (62,000 square foot) Hiram's Market became the shopping hub's first operational store. Now promoted as LA MIRADA CENTER, the cluster-type, open-air facility was designed with input from master mall architect Victor Gruen. It was developed by the Starret Corporation.
Construction commenced in March 1956. On October 17, 1957, a (62,000 square foot) Hiram's Market became the shopping hub's first operational store. Now promoted as LA MIRADA CENTER, the cluster-type, open-air facility was designed with input from master mall architect Victor Gruen. It was developed by the Starret Corporation.
On June 27, 1957, a (22,700 square foot) Thrifty Drug was dedicated, which was the chain's largest operation. Twenty-five inline stores began business on September 11, 1958, with a (40,000 square foot) J.J. Newberry 5 & 10 welcoming first customers on September 17 of the same year.
LA MIRADA CENTER now featured forty-six stores and services. Charter tenants included Western Auto, Teeter-Totter Toys, a Laundramatic coin laundry and US Post Office. A 1-level (110,000 square foot), New York City-based Ohrbach's department store began business on November 3, 1960, followed by a (37,600 square foot) Market Basket supermarket, which was dedicated on March 16, 1961.
By this time, the surrounding area had been incorporated as Mirada Hills. A referendum held in November 1960 advocated changing the name to La Mirada ("The Look" or "The Gaze"). The name change became official in December. The single-screen, RKO-Stanley-Warner La Mirada Theatre joined the complex on December 20, 1962. Barker Brothers Furniture, encompassing 42,100 square feet, opened its doors in October 1963.
Major shopping venues in the vicinity of LA MIRADA CENTER included WHITTWOOD CENTER (1956) {3.1 miles northeast, in Whittier}, BUENA PARK MALL (1961) {3.5 miles southeast, in Buena Park} and BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE (La Habra) (1968) {2.6 miles northeast, in La Habra}. In 1977, BREA MALL {6.8 miles northeast, in Brea} was completed.
A 1-level (115,000 square foot) Woolco was added to LA MIRADA CENTER. This discount department store, which was inaugurated on September 25, 1970, was Southern California's first Woolco operation. With this addition, LA MIRADA CENTER encompassed approximately 675,000 leasable square feet.
In January 1974, the shopping hub was sold to Canadian developer Mark Tanz. A 7 million dollar renovation was announced in June, just as Ohrbach's was being shuttered. The vacant building, and adjacent Barker Brothers Furniture -also vacant- were gutted and rebuilt into a fully-enclosed shopping mall housing seventy-three stores and services.
Among these were Coffee Keg, Dear John Bath Shop, Gatsby's For Men, Magic Mushroom Records & Paraphernalia, Noah's Arcade, Silver Scorpion, Wigs Wigs Wigs, Write On Stationers, a Pfaff Sewing Center and Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio. A Fast Food Area contained ten vendors. These included Chang's Chinese Food, Handmade Hamburgers, Fishmongers and Munch A Bunch.
The western section of the shopping hub remained open-air. It was refurbished with new landscaping, reflecting pools and exterior facades. The J.J. Newberry dime store, in the open-air section of the mall, was shuttered in January 1976. The building was retenanted by a Roberts department store in August of the same year.
The Pacific Theatres La Mirada 4 had held its grand opening on August 20, 1975. This in-mall movie house replaced the circa-1962 La Mirada Theatre, which was reconfigured as a live performance venue. Christened the La Mirada Center for the Performing Arts, it debuted on September 16, 1977. On June 11, 1980, two newly-built auditoriums opened across the mallway from the original mall multiplex. The combined cinemas were renamed the Pacific Theatres La Mirada 6.
LA MIRADA MALL was never an astounding success. Its lack of freeway access, confusing layout and competition from area shopping hubs contributed to its decline. In late 1980, it was reborn as a value-oriented complex, known as LA MIRADA MALL SPECIALTY CENTER. New stores included Beno's, Manufacturer's Retail Outlet, Kid's Mart and Jewels By Daveda.
This incarnation of the shopping center was also unsuccessful. The shuttering of Woolco, in January 1983, exacerbated the outlet mall's problems. The store was divided, with one section re-opening, as the shopping center's first Toys "R" Us location, in September 1983.
By the mid-1980s, LA MIRADA MALL SPECIALTY CENTER was on life support. No longer a regional-class retail venue, the mall had deteriorated into a largely vacant hulk and a haven for crime. In 1987, the past-its-prime property was purchased by a joint venture of the La Mirada Redevelopment Authority and Newport Beach-based Hopkins Real Estate Group and J.M. Peters Company.
It was decided that the complex was no longer viable as a regional center, so a plan for a neighborhood-type shopping facility was devised. This new shopping hub would occupy 48 acres of the land parcel, with the remainder being developed as "The Villages" and "Encore" residential tracts. The few remaining stores in LA MIRADA MALL closed for good in March 1988. Demolition was underway by 1990. Nine freestanding structures, and the Center for the Performing Arts, were retained and worked into a bi-level (417,000 square foot) power center.
Known as LA MIRADA THEATER CENTER, the new complex opened for business during 1992 and 1993. Tenants included Sav-On Drug, Anna's Linens, Joy's Hallmark and a (46,600 square foot) Lucky Stores supermarket. The Krikorian La Mirada Cinema 7 showed first features in 1992. Some of the center's peripheral businesses were LA Fitness, Sizzler Steakhouse, International House of Pancakes and Toys "R" Us (now operating in the old J.J. Newberry building).
Store nameplate changes at LA MIRADA THEATRE CENTER have included the conversion of Lucky Stores, to the Albertsons banner, in 1999 and rebranding of Sav-On Drug, as a CVS, in 2006. Toys "R" Us, a LA MIRADA tenant since 1983, shut down in June 2011. It was replaced by the UFC Gym in 2014.
The Krikorian La Mirada Cinema 7 was rebranded by the Regal chain in 2000 and by Cinemark in 2004. The movie house operated as the Starplex La Mirada Movies 7 between 2006 and 2015, when it was acquired -and rebranded- by American Multi-Cinema. Following renovations, it re-opened, as the AMC La Mirada 7, on July 12, 2018.
Sources:
The Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Mirror
The Whittier Star Review (Whittier, California)
The East Review (Whittier, California)
Los Angeles County, California tax assessor website
The City of La Mirada
Los Angeles County, California tax assessor website
The City of La Mirada
www.ourlamirada.com / Debbie Vietzke
http://www.lamiradatheatre.com
http://www.lamiradatheatre.com
www.cinematreasures.org
"Reflections from McNally's Mirror" / Glen Cantrell, Raymond Fernandez & Tony Aiello / September 2013
"Reflections from McNally's Mirror" / Glen Cantrell, Raymond Fernandez & Tony Aiello / September 2013
