BAY FAIR CENTER
East 14th Street and Hesperian Boulevard
San Leandro, California
August 1957 was a banner month for Austrian mall architect Victor Gruen. The first phase of BAY FAIR CENTER, the eighth mall-type shopping complex designed with his input, opened in San Leandro, an East Bay, San Francisco suburb. Simultaneously, on the outskirts of Detroit, finishing touches were being applied to Gruen's EASTLAND CENTER.
BAY FAIR was a sister center of San Jose's VALLEY FAIR, which had been dedicated in 1956. The BAY FAIR complex, developed by a joint venture of Macy's California and San Francisco's Capital Company, was anchored by a 2-level (160,000 square foot) Macy's; the chain's third suburban shopping center branch.
A ground breaking was held on April 11, 1956. The retail complex would open in three phases. The first consisted of the Macy's anchor store, which was dedicated on August 8, 1957. Present at the grand opening were Harry Rothrock (Bay Fair manager), Keith Erdman (Macy's California manager), Thomas O. Knick (Mayor of San Leandro) and Miss Marti Freitas (Queen of Bay Fair).
A second construction phase added a twenty-three store South Wing, which opened on November 7, 1957. Tenants included Premier Record Shop, Thom McAn Shoes, a Slenderella Figure Salon, Bay Fair Brentwood Market grocery and covered Playland kiddie-ride area.
A third mall phase was designed by San Francisco's John Savage Bolles, who had envisaged the BAY FAIR Macy's. A West Wing was built. Its first stores opened on November 13, 1959. The 3-day grand opening gala featured Eddie Edwards "Clown of Gaiety" as Master of Ceremonies.
Entertainment included a Flamenco Show, Macy's International Festival of Fashion, Record Hop, San Leandro Auto Dealers 1960 Show and "Sing Along With Mitch" presentation, hosted by Mitch Miller. Music was provided by Marty Marsala's Dixieland Jazz Band, Eddie Malie & His Hawaiians and the Marine Corps Band.
New BAY FAIR CENTER tenants included Drug King, Hartfield's,
Roos-Atkins, Gallenkamp Shoes, Bank of America, the Pine Cone Restaurant and 2-level (24,700 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. Store openings continued into March of 1960. At this time, BAY FAIR CENTER housed thirty-six stores and services and spanned around 691,000 leasable square feet.
Major shopping malls in the BAY FAIR trade area included SOUTH SHORE CENTER (1958) {7.6 miles northwest, in Alameda}, SOUTHLAND CENTER (1964) {3.3 miles southeast, in Hayward}, EASTMONT MALL (1970) {5.2 miles northwest, in Oakland} and STONERIDGE MALL (1980) {10.6 miles east, in Pleasanton}.
R.H. Macy & Company established full ownership of BAY FAIR CENTER in December 1965. The first renovation got underway soon after. The Bay Fair Market was remodeled and re-opened as an Alpha-Beta supermarket. By this time, a freestanding roller rink (The Rollarena), Woolworth Garden Center, Bay Fair Lanes bowling alley and Macy's Auto Center had been built in the mall's periphery.
A 2-level (122,900 square foot) Montgomery Ward, added to the center's south side, welcomed first customers on August 4, 1971. Macy's was also expanded, with a third floor, to 213,000 square feet. The mall now housed sixty-one stores and services and covered approximately 850,000 leasable square feet. Contemporary tenants included Carlin's Children's Bootery, Cinderella Wig Salons, See's Candies, Bay Fair Pet Center, Interior Systems and Baron's Jewelers.
On September 11, 1972, the 28-route-mile, MacArthur-to-Fremont, Bay Area Rapid Transit line commenced revenue service. The mall was adjacent to the Bay Fair BART station, which ran parallel to its south parking area.
A second mall renovation got underway in the summer of 1977. Open-air courts and concourses were fully-enclosed, with 82,000 square feet of new retail area added. When construction dust settled in 1978, BAY FAIR CENTER housed 100 stores and services.
Australia's Westfield bought BAYFAIR MALL in December 1986. Westfield invested 6 million dollars in a mall-wide face lift. This project, which added porcelain tile and skylights to interior spaces, was completed in 1988. Work resumed in March 1989. A single-level (40,000 square foot) North Wing was added to the mall's north side. With its completion, there were 127 stores and services.
By the early 1990s, the complex was being promoted as BAYFAIR MALL. The old supermarket space had been refitted with the 12-bay Cascades Food Court. A freestanding T.J. Maxx, built in the southeast parking area, opened its doors on April 28, 1994.
Unfortunately, by the late 1990s, BAYFAIR had become infamous for shootings and robberies. Several big name, national tenants pulled out...but Macy's held on. The downward spiral intensified following the bankruptcy and closing of Montgomery Ward, in March 2001.
Chicago-based M. & J. Wilkow, Limited bought the struggling shopping center in April 2001. A major renovation was already underway. On April 29, 2001, the Century Theatres Century 16 Bayfair Mall opened for business. The abandoned Montgomery Ward was razed and replaced with a new Target Greatland. This 1-level (143,000 square foot) store was dedicated on October 13, 2002. The official mall name changed to BAYFAIR CENTER in August 2004.
The northwest corner of the mall had been demolished in early 2004. Four big-box tenants were signed to fill newly-built store space; Kohl's, Bed Bath & Beyond, Staples and Old Navy. Kohl's 2-level (98,500 square foot) store opened in October 2004. A 1-level (24,600 square foot) Bed, Bath & Beyond was dedicated in June 2005.
The final BAYFAIR expansion added a 1-level (20,000 square foot) Staples, which opened its doors in November 2006. BAYFAIR MALL now encompassed approximately 871,000 leasable square feet and contained eighty-eight stores and services. The shopping hub was sold to Washington, DC's Madison Marquette in May 2007. In 2009, the existing Food Court was refurbished and renamed The Central Fork.
BAYFAIR was sold again in July 2022, with Bay Area-based B3 Investors becoming the new proprietor. 2 years later, Macy's pulled the proverbial plug on their 66-year-old store. It went dark on March 31, 2024. The mall at BAYFAIR was shuttered in September 2025, with some exterior-entranced stores remaining in business. These are being worked into Speedway At Bayfair, a research & development campus.
Sources:
The Oakland TribuneThe San Francisco Examiner
https://patch.com
https://www.acgov.org / Alameda County, California
"Bayfair Center to Celebrate 50th Birthday on Saturday" / www.sanleandrotimes.com / Julie Barsamian / April 9, 2008
http://www.bart.gov / San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
http://www.bayfair-mall.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://www.shopbayfair.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
http://madisonmarquette.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://www.globest.com
https://news.theregistrysf.com
"Bayfair Tenant Design Criteria" / May 12, 2005
http://www.bayfair.mallfinder.com
Bay Area News Group
"Bayfair Center" article on Wikipedia
