West Carson Street and Hawthorne Boulevard
Torrance, California
The Los Angeles-based Bullock's Realty
Company developed a 57-acre site directly north of DEL AMO CENTER as an
open-air shopping venue. This was the third BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE in
Southern California. In order of their completion, these were BULLOCK'S
FASHION SQUARE (Santa Ana) [1958], BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE (Sherman
Oaks) [1962], BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE (Del Amo) [1966] and BULLOCK'S
FASHION SQUARE (La Habra) [1968].
Fifteen BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE (Del Amo) stores were in operation at
the mall's official grand opening, which was held on October 31, 1966.
Mall tenants included Desmond's, Ranchito Grill, Music Man Del Amo,
Gentry Limited and the 4-level (250,000 square foot) Bullock's Del Amo. The sixteenth -and final- store, a 1-level (25,000 square foot) I. Magnin, held its grand opening on March 6, 1967.
An expansion of BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE (Del Amo) was announced in May 1968. At the time, the mall was owned by the Bullock's Realty Company and the Carson-Madrona Company, which was a joint venture of Los Angeles' Great Lakes Properties and Gilford Glazer Associates, of Beverly Hills.
In February 1970, the Bullock's Realty Company morphed into a new division known as Transwest Management. In March, Transwest sold their interest in BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE (Del Amo) to the Carson-Madrona Company. A ground breaking was held in March 1970.
As part of the mall expansion, the existing structure was enclosed, with an 800,000 square foot East Wing added. Its 2-level (160,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward was dedicated on April 28, 1971, with a 2-level (150,000 square foot), New York City-based Ohrbach's welcoming first patrons on August 9 of the same year.
The malls were collectively renamed DEL AMO FASHION SQUARE. Tenants in the newly-built section included Karmelkorn, Chess King, Foxmoor Casuals, an F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and United Artists Del Amo 4 multiplex. This venue showed first features on August 18, 1971.
In September 1977, Guilford Glazer announced a plan to link the open-air DEL AMO CENTER mall and fully-enclosed DEL AMO FASHION SQUARE into a single entity. This would be done with an enclosed concourse extending south from FASHION SQUARE, over West Carson Street, and connecting to a 2-level (171,400 square foot), Los Angeles-based J.W. Robinson's (which was being added to DEL AMO CENTER).
Construction commenced on the 20 million dollar project in 1978. The
amalgamated mall, christened DEL AMO FASHION CENTER, was dedicated on
November 20, 1981. With 3 million leasable square feet and 355 stores,
it was the largest enclosed shopping center in the United States; a
distinction held until the dedication of Minnesota's MALL OF AMERICA, in
August 1992.
Regional competitors included CARSON MALL-SOUTHBAY PAVILION (1973) {4.9
miles northeast, in Carson} and SOUTH BAY GALLERIA (1985) {2.3 miles
northwest, in Redondo Beach}.
A new century brought anchor store changes. Montgomery Ward closed in early 2001. Its building was never retenanted. The Arlington, Virginia-based Mills Corporation bought the shopping complex in July 2003 and sold a 50-percent share to J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset Management. In turn, the assets of The Mills Corporation were acquired by the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group in April 2007.
A 160 million dollar mall renovation got underway in February 2005. The
eastern half of the circa-1971 DEL AMO FASHION SQUARE was demolished,
including its vacant Montgomery Ward. A 2-level (thirty-five-store) "Outdoor Promenade" was built, which was anchored by the American Multi-Cinema Del Amo 18.
This new lifestyle wing was dedicated September 14, 2006. Inline stores
included Cohiba Cigar Lounge, Lazy Dog Cafe, RA Sushi Bar, Urban
Outfitters, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Anthropologie and the Lucky
Strike Lanes bowling alley.
Within four years, a major reworking and refurbishment of the mall would be undertaken. The Simon Property Group had originally announced said project in August 2010, but was close-lipped until July 2013, when a more detailed plan was presented. DEL AMO FASHION CENTER would be given a 200 million dollar renovation. Tenants such as Old Navy, Vans, Hollister, Frederick's of Hollywood, Pac Sun and American Eagle Outfitters moved from the original BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE mall into other sections of the complex.
Now vacant, the circa-1966 BULLOCK'S
FASHION SQUARE structure was demolished. The
Bullock's-Macy's Women's building was retained, renovated and worked
into a 2-level, "upscale enclosed mall." This would be anchored by a 2-level (138,000 square foot) Nordstrom, a relocation of a circa-1985 store at SOUTH BAY GALLERIA.
The new mall section would encompass approximately 538,000 leasable
square feet and house ninety-five inline stores. A multilevel parking
garage, adjacent to the new Nordstrom, was also built. Sections of the
existing mall were renovated with new interior decor, signage and
landscaping to make them more consistent with new construction.
Nordstrom welcomed first shoppers on October 9, 2015. Fifty-five
inline stores opened on the same day. These included Kate Spade, Lane
Bryant, Zara, Victoria's Secret, Vera Bradley, Nyx Cosmetics and H &
M. By November 2015, twenty more upscale enclosed mall retailers had opened their doors.
Sources:
The Los Angeles Timeshttps://www.delamofashioncenter.com
https://assessor.lacounty.gov / Los Angeles County
"Del Amo Fashion Center" article on Wikipedia
