North Blackstone and East Shields Avenues
Fresno, California
One of the first major shopping centers in the San Joaquin ["wah-keen"] Valley was built on 40 acres, lying 2.6 miles north of downtown Fresno. The site had previously been utilized as part of the Markarian fig orchard.
Fresno State College had considered the property for the development of a school of agriculture, but abandoned the plan in 1949. The site was sold to Fresno's C. Arthur Berfield and his Manchester Mortgage Company in early 1952. Soon after, ground was broken for MANCHESTER CENTER. The single-level complex was designed by Fresno's Walter Wagner.
A (32,000 square foot) Mayfair Market grocery became the first operational store on November 5, 1953. A Formal Opening for the shopping complex was held on September 20, 1955, with nine operational stores. These were Mayfair Market, Mode O' Day Frock Shop, Longs Drugs, Trend O' Fashion, Gallenkamp Shoes, Freeman Shoes, Kirk's Sportswear, Cover Girl Sportswear and a (10,700 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10.
A 2-level (131,000 square foot) Sears opened its doors on May 23, 1956. This store was located north of -and across the street from- the main MANCHESTER CENTER store blocks. By November 1957, the 15 million dollar open-air mall enveloped approximately 364,400 leasable square feet and housed twenty-seven stores and services. It was now owned and operated by the Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Early competitors of MANCHESTER CENTER were MAYFAIR CENTER (1949) {1.3 miles southeast, in Fresno} and FIG GARDEN VILLAGE (1956) {1.9 miles northwest, also in Fresno}.
A second anchor department store was completed in the late 1950s. A 3-level (110,00 square foot), Tacoma-based Rhodes welcomed first shoppers on March 6, 1959. Honolulu-based AMFAC (American Factors), who operated Hawaii's Liberty House chain, acquired the Rhodes chain in November 1969. Stores were promoted as Liberty House-Rhodes between 1970 and late 1974. After this, they took on the Liberty House brand.
Los Angeles' Fred J. Russell bought MANCHESTER CENTER in 1966. At this time, the complex was still open-air in configuration. A fully-enclosed and air-conditioned block of stores, known as the MANCHESTER MALL, was added north of the MANCHESTER CENTER Sears. MANCHESTER MALL housed seventeen stores and services, including a Safeway supermarket and single-screen movie theater. This venue, the General Cinema Corporation Manchester Mall Cinema, debuted on December 21, 1967.
The MANCHESTER CENTER Sears was expanded into a 216,000 square foot store in 1972-'73. On October 8, 1978, a 20 million dollar mall expansion got underway, which was designed by Fresno's Bode & Bode Architects. The (45,000 square foot) East Promenade structure was demolished. A 2-level (86,000 square foot) Gottschalks was built, which commenced operation on October 27, 1979. The renovation's second phase enclosed shopping concourses and added a second retail level. An 8-bay Food Court was installed in the new upper floor.
When construction dust settled, MANCHESTER CENTER covered approximately 682,200 leasable square feet and contained seventy-nine tenant spaces. Stores added as part of the remodeling included Grodin's men's wear, Granat Brothers Jewelers, Malin's Shoes, Baskin-Robbins ice cream and Valley Sports. Joseph Magnin assumed a vacant Woolworth space on September 10, 1980. A second expansion -costing 8 million dollars- was undertaken in August 1988. The mall proper was extended northward, taking out Dayton Avenue and connecting the existing Sears into the complex.
By this time, shopping alternatives in the "Mid Valley" included FRESNO MALL (1964) {a downtown redevelopment}, FASHION FAIR MALL (1970) {1.6 miles northeast, in Fresno}, SIERRA VISTA MALL (1988) {5 miles northeast, in Clovis} and -eventually- RIVER PARK (1997) {4 miles north, also in Fresno}.
All of the commercial competition took its toll on MANCHESTER CENTER. The Liberty House location was shuttered, with Home Express taking up shop on the first level and a Gottschalks Clearance Center opening on the second. These stores were short-lived.
A 30 million dollar renovation and expansion was proposed in February 1994. This was to include a third mall level, United Artists 20-screen megaplex and parking garage. These were never built. By 1996, the shopping hub was in default. It was auctioned off in 1997. A new owner embarked on a transition to a mixed-use office and retail format. The vacant Liberty House was leased as offices for CalTrans.
By the turn of the 21st century, MANCHESTER CENTER was 60-percent vacant. The mall's doldrums improved a bit with the dedication of the Signature Theatres Manchester Stadium 16. This movie megaplex showed first features on July 16, 2000. Unfortunately, as the years progressed, more stores were shuttered. Longs Drugs, a charter 1956 tenant, closed in late 2007. Gottschalks went dark, along with the entire chain, on June 28, 2009.
Beverly Hills-based Omninet Properties acquired the struggling complex in 2011. In May 2015, they released details of a major renovation and repositioning. Under this plan, the interior and exterior of the complex would be thoroughly rebuilt. An indoor Dining Court and gourmet grocery (in the old Rhodes building) were included in the prospectus.
An amended plan was announced in early 2016. The moribund mall would be redeveloped, with its focal point being a new outdoor Events Plaza. The bulk of the Lower Level would be dedicated to retail, with the Upper containing leased office space. The old Gottschalks would be gutted and rebuilt as a high-end restaurant Marketplace. Vendors would include Mariscos Las Adas Manzanillo, Green's Family Grill, Pineapple Kitchen, The Smokin' Burrito and Yummz Street Treats.
Ground was broken in September 2016. The first phase of the project, a freestanding strip center housing Chipotle Mexican Grill, was completed in mid-2017. At the same time, Sears downsized its store into a 132,000 square foot section. The northern end of the building was reconfigured as five store spaces. Sears ended up closing for good on February 2, 2020. Businesses in two of the five store spaces opened soon after. A (21,000 square foot) dd's discounts rang up its first sale on September 25, 2021. A (23,500 square foot) Ross Dress for Less began business on October 9th.
MANCHESTER CENTER now covered approximately 1,023,800 leasable square feet and contained around fifty-one stores and services. Among there were Azkara, El Rodeo, Sally Beauty Supply, Footlocker, K's Sportswear, Studio 58 and a campus for UEI College.
Unfortunately, the grand redevelopment eventually ran out of steam. The mall exterior was totally refurbished. Renovation of inside shopping concourses was started but never completed. Work on the vacant Gottschalks never started. The decline of brick and mortar retail in the United States caused mall renovation plans to be totally rethought.
Instead of over 1 million square feet of retail, the "new" MANCHESTER CENTER would house around 112,000. The Lower Floor shopping concourse would be flanked not with stores, but studio and 1 bedroom apartments. When fully-realized, One Fresno at Manchester Center would house 600 residential units, on-site tenant services, a common area business center, police station and swimming pool. A first phase project would complete 221 residential units.
Sources:
The Fresno Bee (Fresno, California)
The Modesto Bee (Modesto, California)
Western Department Stores Annual Report 1958
http://www.fresno.gov / "Mid-Century Modernism Historic Context" / City of Fresno Planning & Development Department / September 2008
"Fresno Growing Up, A City Comes of Age: 1945-1985" / Stephen H. Provost / 2015
http://www.labelscar.com
http://www.manchester-center.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://omni-manchester.squarespace.com
"Gottschalks Store Location Chronology & Current Statuses" / Randy Hansen
https://www.fresnocountyca.gov / Fresno County, California
https://www.barrons.com
https://thenewmanchester.com
https://thebusinessjournal.com
https://www.yourcentralvalley.com / "The Idling Potential of Fresno's Manchester Center" / Manny Gomez / February 2023
https://gvwire.com
