HAWTHORNE PLAZA
Hawthorne and West El Segundo Boulevards
Hawthorne, California
This South Bay shopping complex was conceived and built in an effort to revitalize Hawthorne's center city. The story of HAWTHORNE PLAZA begins in March 1965, when the Hawthorne Redevelopment Agency was created. After several years of studies and seminars, plans for an open-air retail complex were approved by the City Council in April 1969.
Hawthorne and West El Segundo Boulevards
Hawthorne, California
This South Bay shopping complex was conceived and built in an effort to revitalize Hawthorne's center city. The story of HAWTHORNE PLAZA begins in March 1965, when the Hawthorne Redevelopment Agency was created. After several years of studies and seminars, plans for an open-air retail complex were approved by the City Council in April 1969.
By 1972, this plan had been amended into a prospectus for a fully-enclosed facility. This would be built on a 35-acre tract, located 9 miles southwest of the Los Angeles urban core. Designed by Los Angeles' Charles Kober Associates, the prospective shopping hub would be developed by a joint venture of the Hawthorne Redevelopment Agency, Urban Projects, Incorporated, Ernest W. Hahn, Incorporated, of El Segundo, and Carter-Hawley-Hale Stores, of Los Angeles.
Signifying the beginning of construction, a time capsule was buried across the boulevard from the mall site on January 20, 1974. It was to be retrieved in the year 2022. Demolition of existing structures commenced on June 1, 1975. The first components of the HAWTHORNE PLAZA mall were built on the south end of the land parcel. These consisted of two 5-story office towers and four other freestanding buildings.
By August 1975, construction of mall parking garages was underway. The first operational tenants -on the south end of the site- opened for business on November 15, 1976. These were a Security Pacific National Bank, Citizens Savings & Loan and Miki's Restaurant. All were freestanding structures.
A $5-per-person Champagne Preview Party was held at HAWTHORNE PLAZA on February 10, 1977. Music was provided by Les Brown & His Band of Renown. The first operational store in the mall proper, a 3-level (159,000 square foot), Los Angeles-based The Broadway, opened its doors on February 12, 1977. A 2-level (158,500 square foot) Montgomery Ward and 2-level (169,000 square foot) J.C. Penney began business on February 20th.
A mall-wide grand opening, with eighty operational stores, was held on February 21, 1977. The festivities started with a ribbon cutting hosted by "Count Nate Hawthorn" (official mall mascot). In attendance were Bruce Gies (Mayor of Hawthorne), Ernest W. Hahn and other officials. The celebration included performances by the Hawthorne High School Band and Hawthorne Boy Scout Color Guard.
The American Multi-Cinema Hawthorne 6, on the south end of the mall site, showed first features on February 23, 1977. HAWTHORNE PLAZA was fully-leased by mid-1977. At this time, the 2-level mall encompassed approximately 835,000 leasable square feet and housed 130 stores and services. There were three parking structures; a single-level deck beneath the mall and two 3-level garages east and southeast of it.
Charter tenants included Karmelkorn, Chess King, Orange Julius, B. Dalton Bookseller, Gallenkamp Shoes, Kinney Shoes, English House of Seafood, Chicken & Beef and two Thom McAn Shoe stores.
Major shopping malls in the HAWTHORNE PLAZA trade area included MANHATTAN VILLAGE (1982) {2.7 miles southwest, in Manhattan Beach} and SOUTH BAY GALLERIA (1985) {3.3 miles south, in Redondo Beach}.
The end of the Cold War resulted in a massive decline of the aerospace industry, which had been a major economic generator in the South Bay suburbs. Repercussions were soon being felt. In 1991, the struggling shopping hub was sold to the Arden Group Partnership, of Florida, A $420,000 face lift was carried out. The mall's dark "earth tone" exterior was brightened with a white finish and new signage and landscaping installed in interior spaces.
In spite of this renovation, HAWTHORNE PLAZA continued on a downward spiral. In early 1994, the mall had eighty-seven operating stores (out of an original total of 130). This number had declined to just sixty-five by late 1995.
Federated Stores' acquisition of Broadway Stores in August 1995, resulted in the shuttering of The Broadway at HAWTHORNE PLAZA. It became a Macy's Clearance Center. This store shut down on December 24, 1997, accompanied by the closing of Montgomery Ward. The final operational anchor, J.C. Penney, pulled up stakes on June 27, 1998.
The anchor abandonment at HAWTHORNE PLAZA resulted in a virtually vacant North Wing. An inline store exodus was underway, with national mall merchants closing. This left the mall predominantly populated by mom & pop-type tenants. In February 1999, the complex was shuttered.
In August 1998, work had started on a redevelopment of 10 acres at the south end of the mall site. The 6-plex cinema was razed and a (101,000 square foot) strip center built in its place. Anchored by a combo Albertsons supermarket and Sav-On Drug, HAWTHORNE PLAZA VILLAGE was dedicated in September 1999.
Meanwhile, the HAWTHORNE PLAZA structure was utilized for location shots in films and music videos such as "Evolution" (2001), "Minority Report" (2002), "The Green Hornet" (2006), Beyonce's "Superpower" (2013) and Taylor Swift's "Ready for It" (2018).
The moribund mall was sold to Arman Gabay, of the Hollywood-based Charles Company, in 2001. In 2002, Gabay announced a redevelopment. This would reconfigure the property as an office complex known as SOUTH BAY CENTER ONE. The Montgomery Ward building was reconfigured as a Police Training Center. However, the remainder of the mall was left untouched.
The City of Hawthorne and Arman Gabay wrestled back and forth for years over his redevelopment proposals for HAWTHORNE PLAZA. A lifestyle center prospectus was submitted -and rejected- in 2008. In 2014, a plan for a "destination outlet mall," known as STYLE OUTLETS AT LA, was also put forward...and rejected.
Another revitalization plan was announced in February 2016. It proposed that the entirety of the mall, save for a parking structure, should be razed and replaced by a mixed-use complex. This open-air facility would encompass around 500,000 square feet of retail, 800,000 square feet of office space and 600 residential units. The City of Hawthorne gave their stamp of approval for the plan in November 2016. However, demolition and construction work never started. By early 2018, the project had been abandoned.
In the 2020s, HAWTHORNE PLAZA, excluding its former Montgomery Ward building, sits deserted and decaying. The main entrance was damaged by a fire in January 2022. Chicago-based Cushman & Wakefield acquired the mall in October 2023, with plans to rebuild it as a residential complex.
Sources:
The Los Angeles Times
The Daily Breeze (Hermosa Beach, California)
The Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, California)
https://hawthornehistoricalsociety.org / Hawthorne Historical Society
https://assessor.lacounty.gov / Los Angeles County, California
https://www.cinematreasures.org
"Hawthorne Plaza" article on Wikipedia