BUENAVENTURA CENTER
East Main Street and South Mills Road
Ventura, California
Ventura County's first mall-type shopping hub was developed by Broadway-Hale Stores and Santa Barbara's Gordon L. MacDonald Corporation. The open-air complex was designed by Los Angeles' Mazzetti, Leach, Cleveland & Associates. BUENAVENTURA CENTER was built on a 70-acre parcel, located 2.2 miles southeast of center city Ventura. The site was adjacent to a section of the Ventura Freeway-US 101, which had opened to traffic in October 1962.
Ground was broken on August 14, 1962 for the first store built as part of BUENAVENTURA CENTER. Los Angeles-based The Broadway had hired the firm of Charles Luckman Associates to design their 3-level (141,300 square foot) store.
A preview champagne opening was held on September 28, 1963, with entertainment provided by a troupe of strolling musicians. In attendance at the September 30th dedication were Charles Petit (Mayor of Ventura), Prentice C. Hale (Chairman of the Board of Broadway-Hale Stores), Edward W. Carter (President of Broadway-Hale Stores) and Dorothy Marshall (General Manager of the company).
Thirteenth in the chain, the 10 million dollar The Broadway had an exterior of specially-designed concrete brick and Portuguese mocha creme marble with windows of imported smoke topaz glass. Its interior was done in shades of gold and white.
An initial twelve stores in the adjacent BUENAVENTURA CENTER opened for business on November 12, 1964. These included Youngsterville, Kimo's Polynesian Shop, House of Strauss and a 2-level (45,300 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10.
The shopping concourse extended northwest of The Broadway and featured a campanile bell tower in Center Court. On the northern section of the site, adjacent to Telegraph Road, was a freestanding -three-store-block- North Mall. This was anchored by a (26,100 square foot) Vons-Shopping Bag grocery and (36,600 square foot) Barker Brothers Furniture.
In the South Mall section, a 2-level (22,000 square foot) Joseph Magnin welcomed first shoppers on March 11, 1965. A 2-level (204,000 square foot) J.C. Penney, built between the North Mall and South Mall, was officially dedicated on November 10, 1965. With Penneys' completion, BUENAVENTURA CENTER encompassed approximately 711,700 leasable square feet.
The National General Theatres' Fox Ventura was built across the street from the mall. The venue showed a first feature on October 2, 1968. By the early 1980s, the cinema was owned and operated by Mann Theatres. A second auditorium was dedicated in December 1982, with the venue renamed the Ventura Twin.
The mall would be known by three different names during its early years. Following a stint as BUENAVENTURA CENTER, it morphed into BUENAVENTURA FASHION CENTER and -then- BUENAVENTURA PLAZA. Its first commercial competitor, THE ESPLANADE {4.3 miles southeast, in Oxnard} was completed in November 1970.
Work on a BUENAVENTURA PLAZA renovation got underway in April 1983. As part of the 15 million dollar project, the main concourse was enclosed with a Teflon-coated fiberglass roof. 40,000 square feet of tenant space was added to the southwest corner of the complex.
Thirty-seven new stores, and a 13-bay Food Court, were dedicated on November 25, 1983. A joint venture of a pension fund and Santa Monica's MaceRich Company acquired the shopping hub in 1987, with MaceRich holding a minority interest.
A second renovation got underway in February 1989. A shuttered Woolworth was repurposed and partial second level of stores built over Center Court. The official name of the complex had been changed to BUENAVENTURA MALL in August 1990.
The upper level addition was still unfinished in 1991. Plans for a more comprehensive remodeling were announced in October 1992. This project would entail the construction of a full second level and addition of three anchor stores and parking garage. The mall owner and City of Ventura squabbled over the remodeling plan until a scaled-down compromise was worked out in May 1996. In December 1997, Macerich established full ownership of the property.
Meanwhile, construction on a new J.C. Penney got underway in late 1995. Trouble had begun to brew the previous May, when it was revealed that the Sears and Robinsons-May stores at Oxnard's ESPLANADE MALL were planning to relocate into an expanded BUENAVENTURA MALL.
Years of contentious lawsuits between the cities of Ventura and Oxnard followed. As the so-called "Mall War" dragged on, sales slipped at both shopping centers. The impasse ended in August 1998, with Oxnard officials throwing in the towel. The 89 million dollar BUENAVENTURA MALL renovation would proceed as planned.
A full second level would add sixty-five stores to the complex, including a 9-bay Food Court (in new second level space). Two anchor stores would be built; a 2-level (124,600 square foot) J.C. Penney and 2-level (120,000 square foot) Sears. The Broadway, which had been rebranded as a Macy's during 1996, was expanded into a 167,300 square foot structure.
Penney's became the first of the new anchors to open, on March 1, 1999. Sears began business on November 13th. The original Penney's was refurbished. It re-opened, as a Los Angeles-based Robinsons-May, on November 19, 1999. A 3-level parking garage had also been constructed.
A re-dedication had been held at the shopping center on November 15, 1999. Renamed PACIFIC VIEW MALL, it now encompassed 1,061,000 leasable square feet and housed over 140 stores and services. New tenants included Victoria's Secret, The Limited Too, Bath & Body Works, Foot Locker, Abercrombie & Fitch, Ann Taylor Loft and Sam Goody Music. Circuit City dedicated a (34,000 square foot) North Mall store in November 2002.
Robinsons-May was shuttered in the spring of 2006. In April of the same year, it had been divulged that the store would be re-opening as a second Macy's. However, this report was later dismissed. The store was thoroughly remodeled and re-opened -as a 2-level Target- on March 9, 2008.
Meanwhile, the North Mall had been languishing, in various states of vacancy and disrepair, since the late 1990s. Circuit City went dark in March 2009. In September 2010, Macerich announced that the section would be completely renovated and retenanted.
Monrovia, California-based Trader Joe's would occupy a 14,500 square foot space. Staples would set up shop in an 18,000 square foot section, with BevMo! (beverages) leasing 10,000. Trader Joe's opened its doors in May 2011, followed by Staples, in June. Staples eventually closed for good. The store was replaced by Ross Dress For Less, which commenced operation on July 21, 2021. Down in the mall proper, Sears closed for good on February 2, 2020.
