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 suburb. Simultaneously, in the environs 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, would be 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 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 Market grocery and covered Kiddieland ride area.
A third phase was designed by San Francisco's John Savage Bolles, who had envisaged the BAY FAIR Macy's. An eight-store west wing was dedicated on November 11, 1959. New tenants included Drug King, Hartfield's, Gallenkamp Shoes and 2-level (24,700 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. BAY FAIR CENTER now housed thirty-six stores and services and spanned over 600,000 leasable square feet.
Major shopping malls in the BAY FAIR trade area would eventually include 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 major renovation of the complex 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), 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, was completed in August 1971. Macy's was also expanded, with a third floor, to 213,000 square feet. The mall now housed sixty stores and services, including 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 system began revenue service. The mall was adjacent to the Bay Fair BART station, which ran parallel to its south parking area.
A major mall renovation was performed later in the 1970s. 82,000 square feet of retail area was added, with the mall being fully-enclosed. When construction dust settled in 1977, BAY FAIR CENTER housed 100 stores and services.
By the early 1990s, the complex was being promoted as BAY FAIR MALL. It had been enlarged, with a concourse built along its north side. Moreover, the Mall Level in the southeast corner had been refitted with the Cascades Food Court. A freestanding T.J. Maxx, built in the southeast parking area, opened its doors on April 28, 1994.
By the late 1990s, BAY FAIR 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.
The mall's owners, Chicago-based M. & J. Wilkow, Limited, planned to completely renovate the struggling shopping center, but fell short of this goal. However, two major improvements were made. On April 29, 2001, the Century Theatres Century 16 Bayfair Mall opened. 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.
BAY FAIR MALL now encompassed approximately 871,000 leasable square feet. The shopping hub was sold to Washington, DC's Madison Marquette in September 2003. They performed a more thorough refurbishment, which began with the razing of the northwest store block in late 2003.
Four big-box tenants were signed to fill most of the the space and make the mall into more of an outward-facing power center. The hallmark of the 35 million dollar revitalization was a 2-level (100,000 square foot) Kohl's, which opened in October 2004. This was followed by Bed, Bath & Beyond, which was dedicated in June 2005.
By this time, the name of the complex had been changed to BAYFAIR CENTER. The final tenants to open in the reconfigured northwest block were Old Navy and Staples, who welcomed first shoppers in November 2006. A face lift of the Lower Level was also completed at this time.
BAYFAIR CENTER now spanned approximately 820,000 leasable square feet and contained eighty-eight stores and services. In 2009, the existing Food Court was refurbished and renamed the Central Fork. The mall lost its primary anchor store several years later. Macy's pulled the proverbial plug on their 66-year-old BAY FAIR store on March 31, 2024.
Sources:
The Oakland Tribune
The San Francisco Examiner
https://patch.com
"Bayfair Center to Celebrate 50th Birthday on Saturday" / www.sanleandrotimes.com / Julie Barsamian / April 9, 2008
http://www.bart.gov
http://www.shopbayfair.com
http://madisonmarquette.com
https://bestattractions.org
www.bayfair.mallfinder.com
Bay Area News Group
"Bayfair Center" article on Wikipedia