SOUTH COAST PLAZA
Bristol Street and San Diego Freeway / Interstate 405
Costa Mesa, California
In December 1964, plans were announced for a 30 million dollar Southern California retail complex that would "provide a weather-conditioned atmosphere for the shopper's comfort." Designed by Rudolf Baumfeld, of Los Angeles' Victor Gruen Associates, the facility had been conceived in the early 1960s by Harold and Henry Segerstrom, heads of the C.J. Segerstrom & Sons real estate development company.
In 1962, Henry had convinced California highway planners to route the future San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405) through the family's prospective shopping center site. Soon after, land parcels were sold to May Company and Sears for 1 dollar apiece. By this time, Seattle's Winmar Realty had joined on the project as a leasing agent.
Ground was broken in February 1965 for a 3-level (195,000 square foot) May Company California. It became the mall's first operational store on February 22, 1966. The second anchor, a 2-level (338,200 square foot) Sears, commenced operation on November 10 of the same year. This was one of the largest suburban stores in the chain.
SOUTH COAST PLAZA was built on 66 acres of a 200-acre parcel. This was located 40 miles southeast of center city Los Angeles, in suburban Costa Mesa. The mall was the first installment of the South Coast Town Center development, which would eventually included retail, office, entertainment and hospitality components.
In its original incarnation, the mall consisted of 2 retail levels, 1.1 million leasable square feet and fifty-four stores and services (out of an eventual eighty-five). The facility was officially dedicated -on March 15, 1967- as the state's largest fully-enclosed shopping mall. It held this distinction for 4 months. In August, 1967, SOUTH COAST PLAZA was moved to the number two position by Concord, California's new SUNVALLEY CENTER, which encompassed 1,255,000 leasable square feet.
Center Court at SOUTH COAST PLAZA featured a four-faced clock, suspended from the ceiling, and a 20-horse carousel. The North Court was decorated in a Far Eastern motif, with the South Court being equipped with a 50-foot-high "Wonderfall" water-less fountain.
Charter stores at SOUTH COAST PLAZA included Gudes Barnett, Mullen & Bluett, Harris & Frank, The Riviera gourmet restaurant, Singer Sewing Center, Kaplan's Delicatessen, Raj of India, Levy Drug and 2-level (66,300 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. Joseph Magnin welcomed its first shoppers on March 14, 1968.
The National General Corporation Fox South Coast Plaza Theatre showed its first feature on March 13 of the same year. Located across Bristol Street from the mall, it was twinned in June 1976. A second auditorium, the South Coast Plaza II, had opened on November 12, 1970. It was built directly north of the first cinema.
Construction commenced on a 7 million dollar West Wing in October 1972. The extension was anchored by a 2-level (190,000 square foot), Los Angeles-based Bullock's This store opened its doors on September 26, 1973. The remainder of the West Wing, which housed sixty inline stores, was completed in 1974. Its focal point was the 3-story-high Jewel Court; this topped by a 30-foot radius, multicolored glass dome.
Three anchor department stores were added to the West Wing. A 3-level (80,000 square foot) I. Magnin opened on August 19, 1977, followed by a 3-level (118,500 square foot) Nordstrom, which debuted on May 1, 1978. Saks Fifth Avenue's 3-level (103,600 square foot) unit welcomed its first patrons on November 2, 1979.
With completion of the West Wing, SOUTH COAST PLAZA encompassed approximately 1,802,100 leasable square feet. It reclaimed the title of largest shopping mall in California...snatching it from the San Fernando Valley's NORTHRIDGE FASHION CENTER. SOUTH COAST PLAZA would hold the title until November 1981, when a renovated DEL AMO FASHION CENTER, in Torrance, was dedicated.
In the mid-1970s, SOUTH COAST PLAZA began signing more upscale tenants. A Courrèges boutique was dedicated in 1975. In the following year, Mark Cross and Halston stores opened. Yves Saint Laurent’s Rive Gauche boutique was inaugurated in 1982.
Major malls in the vicinity of SOUTH COAST PLAZA included FASHION ISLAND (1967) {5 miles southeast, in Newport Beach} and THE MARKET PLACE [a.k.a. "THE TMP"] (1988) {5.6 miles northeast, in Tustin}.
By the mid-1980s, SOUTH COAST PLAZA was firmly established as one of the most upscale shopping malls in Southern California. Retailers were clamoring to be added to the list of tenants, but there wasn't room for an expansion. The owners decided to build an annex shopping center on an adjoining property.
Going under provisional names SOUTH COAST PLAZA II and then BEAR STREET COLLECTION, the complex was eventually christened CRYSTAL COURT. The 100 million dollar facility, designed by Gruen Associates of Los Angeles, housed approximately 685,000 leasable square feet. Ten stores, out of an eventual sixty, were dedicated on October 31, 1986.
At the same time, the original mall was being given a major makeover, utilizing an ancient Egyptian motif. A new 3-level (237,000 square foot) Nordstrom was built, which was the largest suburban branch store in the chain. It opened for business on May 16, 1986. The old store, which was adjacent to the new structure, was sectioned into inline spaces.
Bullock's, wary of competition provided by new The Broadway and J.W. Robinson's stores in CRYSTAL COURT, had embarked on an expansion and renovation of their SOUTH COAST PLAZA unit in February 1986. The structure was enlarged by 90,000 square feet. When work on the 30 million dollar renovation was completed in late 1986, the store encompassed 280,000 square feet.
Several anchor store changes transpired in the the 1990s. I. Magnin was shuttered and re-opened, as California's first Bullock's Men's Store, on July 16, 1991. J.W. Robinson's operations were consolidated into May Company California, with stores being rebranded -under a Robinsons-May nameplate- on January 31, 1993. The SOUTH COAST PLAZA and CRYSTAL COURT malls both housed Robinsons-May stores. The CRYSTAL COURT location was shuttered on January 4, 1999.
Two Bullock's operations at SOUTH COAST PLAZA were rebranded by Macy's on April 29, 1996. The original Bullock's morphed into a Macy's Women's, with Bullock's Men's becoming a Macy's Men's. The Robinsons-May store closed on January 29, 2006. The building was expanded by 50,000 square feet and re-opened, as a Bloomingdales, on May 4, 2007.
As these anchor alterations were playing out, pedestrian bridges were built which connected SOUTH COAST PLAZA with its surroundings. The Unity Bridge, crossing Bristol Street, spanned 560 feet and provided traffic-free access to the Westin Hotel and adjoining office buildings. It was completed in 1992. The Bridge of the Gardens, linking SOUTH COAST PLAZA with CRYSTAL COURT, extended for 611 feet and was dedicated on September 29, 2000.
Gruen Associates designed and executed an interior face lift of SOUTH COAST PLAZA during 2014. New Travertine flooring, teak benches, guardrails, lighting, a granite fountain, grand staircase and glass-enclosed elevator were installed. Sears' SOUTH COAST PLAZA was downsized in the 2010s. A 1-level (43,000 square foot) XXI Forever, carved out of the southeast corner of the store, opened on June 25, 2011. Sears now encompassed 295,200 square feet. This downsized store closed for good on January 1, 2019.
In the 2020s, SOUTH COAST PLAZA and the CRATE & BARREL WING (CRYSTAL COURT) malls are owned and operated by their original developer, C.J. Segerstrom & Sons. The malls form one of the largest concentrations of retail stores in California. In fact, the SOUTH COAST PLAZA mall is currently one of the highest-grossing shopping centers in the United States, a distinction it has held for several years.
Sources:
The Los Angeles Times
The Chicago Tribune
The Orange County Register (Irvine, California)
The Tustin News (Tustin, California)
https://www.orangecoast.com / "Celebrating 50 Years: A Look Back at Fashion Island & South Coast Plaza" / Pat H. Broeske / August 25, 2017
Newport Beach Lifestyle / March 2017
www.mitchglaser.com
http://henrysegerstrom.com
wwwsouthcoastplaza.com
http://www.southcoastmetro.com/pdf/SCM360_0512.pdf
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