Original drawing from http://history.sandiego.edu / "Evolution of the Shopping Center" / Steven E. Schoenher
A physical layout of the original LINDA VISTA PLAZA. Its first store, a Safeway grocery, opened in February 1943. The complex encompassed 82,000 square feet, with a retail roster of twelve stores and services. Its less-than-ample parking area accommodated 240 automobiles.
Original drawing from http://history.sandiego.edu / "Evolution of the Shopping Center / Steven E. Schoenherr
LINDA VISTA PLAZA was situated around a landscaped courtyard, as seen in this 1945 photo. A movie theater was added to the complex in the early 1950s. By the early '70s, the center had declined into a dilapidated, graffiti-ridden eyesore. It was demolished in 1972 and replaced with a traditional strip shopping center.
Photo from Online Archive of California / Huntington Library Photo Archives / Maynard Parker
Atkinson Plaza
Midwest City, Oklahoma, another defense-related development, featured an ultra-modern strip shopping center as its commercial hub. Business began at ATKINSON PLAZA in May 1943.
Photo from http://www.flickr.com / White Chipmunk's Photostream / Atkinson Heritage Center
Click here for an in-depth ATKINSON PLAZA article...
http://shoppingmallmuseum.blogspot.com/search/label/Midwest%20City%20Oklahoma%27s%20Atkinson%20Plaza
Sources, In The Beginning:
Library of Congress / Prints & Photographs Online Catalog / http://www.loc.gov/pictures/
http://theclevelandarcade.com
http://www.historicmarketsquare.com
www.idaillinois.org / Illinois Digital Architecture / "The New Market Square at Lake Forest" / October 1917
http://www.easternct.edu
www.historicmarketsquare.com
www.ghostsofdc.org
www.lindavista.org
Wikipedia
"Final Report Reconnaissance Level Architectural Survey of the Original Mile" - City of Midwest City / August 31, 1992
http://digital.library.okstate.edu
http://newsok.com
