Fresno's Manchester Center

Mid-Century signage, which promoted one of Greater Fresno's first major shopping centers. Its original stores opened for business between November 1953 and October 1960.
Photo from the Manchester Mortgage Company

Nino's Restaurant, serving Continental and American food, opened for business in January 1959. It was located in the Manchester Promenade, which was a freestanding group of stores in the mall's east parking area.

Rendering from Walter Wagner & Partners Architects

MANCHESTER CENTER had a sole anchor (Sears) during its early years. In March 1959, a Rhodes department store opened its doors. This two-page spread was included in a contemporary Western Department Stores Annual Report.

Graphic from Western Department Stores Annual Report 1958

 

The basic footprint of MANCHESTER CENTER is established by 1960. The core structure is indicated in black. Sears had become a shadow anchor in 1956. A mall-connected Rhodes -and store space shown in medium gray- were completed in 1959. The complex now encompassed ten buildings, approximately 360,400 leasable square feet, and housed forty-one stores and services. Free parking was provided for 4,200 autos.

An aerial rendering of MANCHESTER CENTER, dating to about 1969.
Drawing from http://www.flickr.com / "El Foto"

FULTON MALL was Fresno's Urban Renewal center city shopping hub.
Designed by renowned mall architect Victor Gruen, Fresno's FULTON
was dedicated in September 1964. In 2015, vehicular traffic was
returned to the pedestrian promenade.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Bryan868"
Graphic from Fresno County, California

Meanwhile, in the late '60s, MANCHESTER CENTER is still open-air. An adjacent strip complex has a fully-enclosed and air-conditioned concourse.

MANCHESTER MALL occupies the city block north of MANCHESTER CENTER. This mini-mall, which included a Safeway supermarket and Manchester Mall Cinema, was built in 1967-'68. 

MANCHESTER CENTER AND MALL TENANTS 1969:

MANCHESTER CENTER
RHODES (with Beauty Salon) / SEARS (with Coffee House, Garden Shop and freestanding Auto Center) / MAYFAIR MARKET (with Bakery & Restaurant) / F.W. WOOLWORTH 5 & 10 (with luncheonette) / Atkinson Foundations / Baldwin's Jewelers / Bank of America / Bert's Shoes / C. H. Baker Shoes / Cover Girl ladies' wear / Crocker Citizen's National Bank / Gallenkamp Shoes / Hollywood Camera Shop / Kirk's ladies' wear / Lerner Shops ladies' wear / Longs Drugs (with luncheonette) / Manchester Beauty Salon / Rodder's Mademoiselle ladies' wear / Roos-Atkins apparel (with Beauty Salon) / See's Candies / Singer Sewing Center / US Post Office / Utilities Payment Office / Weil Brothers Ladies' Shop / Weil Brothers Men's Shop / Young Miss / Youngsters 

ARCADE SHOPS
Annie Laurie Konfections / Dane's Nutrition / Ennis China / Gardner's Bootery / KEAP Radio Studio / Trend-O-Fashion ladies' wear / United California Bank 

EAST PROMENADE
American Parisian Laundry / Base's Health Food / Big M Shoe Repair / Chez Renee' ladies' wear / Doctor William E. Thill, Optometrist / Eddie's Pastry Shop / Household Finance Corporation / Imhoff's Yardstick fabrics / Manchester Barber Shop / Manchester Laundramatic / Mode O'Day Frock Shop / Nanci Maternity / Party Tips / Perry Boys' Smorgy / Record Center / Sherman Clay Music Center 

MANCHESTER MALL
SAFEWAY supermarket, bakery & coffee shop / American Acceptance / Beaver's Fried Chicken / Carnation / Carpet Town / Gloria Marshall Figure Salon / Greenbriar Men's Shop / Hairmaster Barber Shop / Interior Systems / Kim's Fashions ladies' wear / Kopy Kat Knits / Lewis Jewelers / Lyle's College of Beauty / Manchester Mall Cinema / Manchester Mall Cleaners / The Gunay Sack / Unique Shop 

In October 1978, work began on a 3-year-long renovation of MANCHESTER CENTER. During the 20 million dollar project, two shopping concourses would be enclosed, a second level of retail added and third anchor store built. 

Drawing from Bode & Bode Architects

Sears and its Auto Center were expanded in 1972 (in dark gray). By mid-1981, the mall has also been expanded with additional stores (light gray). A fully-enclosed concourse has been created, leaving Sears out in the rain. The 682,200 square foot shopping venue now has two levels of shopping and a shiny new Gottschalks; a branch of Fresno's hometown department store.

Sears operated at the shopping hub between May 1956 and February 2020.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"

The MANCHESTER CENTER Gottschalks was in business between October 1979 and June 2009.
Photo from www.labelscar.com / "Caldor"

At the turn of the 21st century, MANCHESTER CENTER has been expanded for a fourth time. A new addition to the shopping concourse (in medium gray) connects the mall with its formerly freestanding Sears. A 16-plex cinema has also been added to the store directory.

As stated, the store strip north of Sears was promoted as MANCHESTER MALL in the late 1960s. Its air-conditioned shopping concourse was removed in the 1970s, with all stores opened to the front parking area. Today, the 104,000 square foot complex is known as MANCHESTER NORTH.
Photo from www.loopnet.com

A Beverly Hills-based firm acquired MANCHESTER CENTER in 2011. They released details of a prospective renovation in May 2015.
Drawing from Omninet Properties

In said plan, an abandoned Gottschalks would be transformed into the Marketplace Food Court. This "artisan food community" would house over twelve restaurants and open onto an outdoor Events Plaza. The Upper Floor of the mall would be devoted to leased office suites and educational institutions.
Drawing from http://thenewmanchester.com

Eventually, the renovation fizzled out. The mall exterior was refurbished along with a portion of the shopping concourse. The redevelopment may have simply been too upscale. Given the state of the local economy, an elaborate -and expensive- "artisan food community" may not have gone over. In 2024, it was decided to reconfigure the interior of the mall with apartments (in green). Outward-facing retail will line the west and south sides of the complex.   

MANCHESTER CENTER
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