El Camino Real and Quarry Road
Palo Alto, California
Greater San Francisco's third mall-type shopping complex was developed by Stanford University and Broadway-Hale Stores. It was designed by Los Angeles-based Welton Becket & Associates. STANFORD CENTER was built on 52.6 acres, located 27 miles southeast of San Francisco's Union Square.
The mall site, within the city of Palo Alto, occupied a portion of property bequeathed for the establishment of Stanford University in 1885. It had once contained Leland Stanford's vineyards. Construction commenced in October 1954, with Roos Brothers apparel, the mall's first operational store, beginning business in September 1955.
Open-air in format, the 15 million dollar shopping facility was officially dedicated on February 23, 1956. The grand opening was attended by J.E. Wallace Sterling (President of Stanford University) and Lloyd Dinkelspiel (Board of Trustees Chair). Shirley Temple Black cut the first slice of a 9-tiered cake.
Blum's Restaurant served its first meals on October 22, 1956, signifying completion of the original shopping complex. At this time, STANFORD CENTER encompassed approximately 548,000 leasable square feet and contained forty-five stores and services.
The original anchors were two San Francisco-based department stores; a 2-level (260,000 square foot) Emporium and 2-level (54,000 square foot) I. Magnin. Inline stores included Joseph Magnin, Livingston Brothers, Chandler's Shoes, a 2-level (26,100 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10 and (23,100 square foot) Purity Stores grocery.
A 2-level (150,000 square foot) Macy's California opened for business on October 12, 1961. This was followed by a 3-level (62,000 square foot) Saks Fifth Avenue, which held its dedication on August 7, 1963. The Saks store was not adjacent to the mall proper, but situated on a 15.4-acre plot southwest of the shopping center. A 2-level (150,000 square foot), Bullock's, added to the Saks site, was dedicated on March 2, 1972. This was the first operational store in a newly-created, San Francisco-based Bullock's North division.
Shopping malls in the vicinity of STANFORD CENTER included HILLSDALE CENTER (1954) {9.3 miles northwest, in San Mateo}, VALLEY FAIR CENTER (1956) {14.4 miles southeast, in San Jose}, SAN ANTONIO CENTER (1957) and MAYFIELD MALL (1966) {4.1 miles southeast, in Mountain View}, FREMONT HUB (1961) {11.9 miles northeast, in Fremont} and NEWPARK MALL (1980) {10.8 miles northeast, in Newark}.
Conceived as a middle-market venue in the 1950s, STANFORD CENTER did not immediately adjust to the changing demographics of its surroundings. Palo Alto evolved into a more affluent area during the 1960s. By the mid-1970s, leases of several original tenants were set to expire, presenting the opportunity to reposition the shopping hub. Ms. Rosemary McAndrews had been hired to manage and reposition the complex.
A large-scale mall renovation commenced in June 1976. During Phase One, building exteriors were renovated using a Tuscany Town, Olde European Village motif. New stores were added, with some inline spaces being divided. Other stores were relocated. By mid-1977, the tenant list had grown from fifty-four stores to seventy. New tenants included Grodin's, The Limited, Topps & Trowsers and B. Dalton Bookseller.
Phase Two added 80,000 square feet of selling area in two buildings situated west of Macy's. These new structures faced a plaza and clock tower. The first stores opened in January 1978. Eventually, the new buildings would house fourteen businesses. These included Bank of America, Crocker Bank, Robinson's Delicatessen, Snowden Mise Sporting Goods, Casual Corner and the very first Victoria's Secret.
As inline space was being enlarged and rebuilt, mall anchor stores were renovated. Macy's had a third level added to their store, enlarging it to 225,000 square feet. I. Magnin expanded, with a 3-level addition, into a 96,000 square foot unit. Bullock's also completed a third level for their building, expanding its area to 225,000 square feet.
Ground was broken for a Phase Three expansion on January 23, 1978. A (26,600 square foot) store block was built between Macy's and The Emporium. Stores in this new section began opening in late 1978 and included Yogurt Village, The Gap and The Cupola Antiques & Gift Items.
Renovation work resumed in the mid-1980s. Phase Four added a 3-level (120,000 square foot), Dallas-based Neiman Marcus. This store welcomed its first patrons on August 10, 1985. Meanwhile, Joseph Magnin had closed for good in September 1984. The vacant building was gutted and expanded. A 2-level -seventeen-store- mall-within-a-mall was installed, that was known as "The Inner Circle." The Tailor Made and Talbots became its first operational stores in August 1986.
A final facet of the 1976-1986 renovation was a multi-level parking garage, which was constructed at the southwest corner of the site. By 1987, STANFORD CENTER spanned approximately 1.3 million leasable square feet and contained 150 stores and services.
The first STANFORD CENTER anchor nameplate change had taken place in November 1984. The Bullock's building, vacated in 1983, re-opened as a Seattle-based Nordstrom. F.W. Woolworth, a 1950s charter tenant, closed their STANFORD store in 1991. Saks announced the shuttering of their store in April 1994.
The plan was to re-open it as a Clearance Center before pulling out of the mall entirely. A brouhaha erupted between Saks Holdings and mall management, who argued that opening an off-price operation at the now-glamorous STANFORD CENTER would be a lease violation. The store closed in early 1995, without re-opening as a Clearance Center.
I. Magnin shut its doors on November 14, 1994 and re-opened, as a Macy's Men's store, in June 1995. The Emporium went dark in early 1996. Its space became the first Bloomingdale's west of the Rocky Mountains on November 9, 1996. Sitting vacant for over 2 years, the Saks structure was eventually divided into two retail spaces. The first, a Berkeley-based Andronico's Market, opened on July 16, 1997. A (39,000 square foot) Crate & Barrel began business on October 29th.
The turn of the century brought the first physical expansion of the shopping center since 1986. A freestanding Wilkes Bashford apparel (built adjacent to Neiman Marcus) welcomed its first shoppers in February 2001. A new building block in the north parking area housed stores such as Coldwater Creek, Talbots, Pottery Barn and Abercrombie & Fitch. These began opening in November 2001.
P.F. Chang's China Bistro, in the southeast parking area, made its debut on April 25, 2002. At around the same time, a second parking garage was built, which was southeast of Macy's and Bloomingdale's. These additions increased the gross leasable area of STANFORD CENTER to 1,475,000 square feet. There were now 140 stores and services.
By decree of Leland Stanford (benefactor of Stanford University), the land on which the shopping center stands can never be sold. However, the buildings comprising the retail hub were acquired by the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group in July 2003. The University leased the land and received a percentage of profits from the operation of the complex.
Simon announced a prospective expansion in August 2007. This was to entail the addition of 240,000 square feet of retail space, a 120-room luxury hotel and 5-level parking garage. The City of Palo Alto was slow in granting approval, so plans for the project (by then a year behind schedule) were shelved in April 2009.
In early 2012, a second major renovation of the center was formally announced. It would be conducted in four stages, with the first comprised of the construction of a new outparcel Fleming's Prime Steakhouse (the restaurant had been operating on the east side of the Bloomingdale's building). The newly-built bistro was dedicated on September 20, 2013.
The second stage of the STANFORD CENTER renovation entailed construction of a new Bloomingdale's, which relocated into a 3-level (120,000 square foot) store, built on the east side of the original building. It held its grand re-opening on October 10, 2014. With the new store in operation, the third stage of the renovation got underway. The old Emporium / Bloomingdale's was demolished. At the same time, common areas of the mall were given a face lift. This was done between the summer and winter of 2015.
The final stage of renovation involved the construction of 140,000 square feet of inline retail in four single-level structures. These were built on the site of the old Bloomingdale's. Forty-five stores were added to the tenant roster between April and October of 2016. These included All Saints, Lululemon Athletica, True Food Kitchen, Everything But Water, The North Face and Anthropologie.
Sources:
The Peninsula Times Tribune (Palo Alto, California)
The Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, California)
www.paloaltohistory.com / "The Stanford Shopping Center" / Matt Bowling
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
The second stage of the STANFORD CENTER renovation entailed construction of a new Bloomingdale's, which relocated into a 3-level (120,000 square foot) store, built on the east side of the original building. It held its grand re-opening on October 10, 2014. With the new store in operation, the third stage of the renovation got underway. The old Emporium / Bloomingdale's was demolished. At the same time, common areas of the mall were given a face lift. This was done between the summer and winter of 2015.
The final stage of renovation involved the construction of 140,000 square feet of inline retail in four single-level structures. These were built on the site of the old Bloomingdale's. Forty-five stores were added to the tenant roster between April and October of 2016. These included All Saints, Lululemon Athletica, True Food Kitchen, Everything But Water, The North Face and Anthropologie.
Sources:
The Peninsula Times Tribune (Palo Alto, California)
The Santa Cruz Sentinel (Santa Cruz, California)
www.paloaltohistory.com / "The Stanford Shopping Center" / Matt Bowling
preservenet.cornell.edu/publications/Longstreth Branch Store.doc
City of Palo Alto Planning Division Staff Report / March 2008
https://en-academic.com
Comment Post by "HushPuppy 212"
www.simon.com
www.stanfordalumni.org
http://news.stanford.edu
www.bizjournals.com (article by Nathan Donato-Weinstein)
www.simon.com
www.stanfordalumni.org
http://news.stanford.edu
www.bizjournals.com (article by Nathan Donato-Weinstein)
