The first of these open-air complexes was located in the Orange County suburb of Santa Ana. The second was built within the corporate limits of Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley's Sherman Oaks community. The third BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE was developed in the southern environs of Los Angeles County, in the city of Torrance. The fourth -and final- center was constructed in Orange County's city of La Habra.
FASHION SQUARES were promoted as "a new concept in community shopping.". Stores sold fashion apparel, accessories and home furnishings. Other specialty services were also provided. The malls were relatively small venues; usually within the 400,000 square foot range. Each mall contained between seventeen and forty stores and would have been anchored by a large Bullock's and smaller I. -or Joseph- Magnin.
Over the years, two of the original FASHION SQUARE venues were enclosed (those in Sherman Oaks and Torrance). The Sherman Oaks complex is the only one that still exists, albeit in a greatly modified form.
The earliest FASHION SQUARE -in Santa Ana- was demolished, except for its Bullock's and I. Magnin buildings, in the mid-1980s. The La Habra complex held on until its destiny date with a wrecking ball in 1994. The demolition of the Torrance property was completed in 2014, leaving its Bullock's building intact.
The locations of the four FASHION SQUARES of Greater Los Angeles, amid the region's labyrinthine freeway network.
In order of their official grand openings, the Southern California FASHION SQUARE malls were...
1 BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE, Santa Ana [1958]
2 BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE San Fernando Valley / Sherman Oaks [1962]
3 BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE Torrance / Del Amo [1966]
4 BULLOCK'S FASHION SQUARE La Habra [1968]
