Grossmont Center
| Location | La Mesa, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Address | 5500 Grossmont Center Drive |
| Opening date | 1961 |
| Developer | Del E. Webb Construction Company |
| Owner | Rainbow Investment Co. |
| Architect | Welton Becket & Associates |
| No. of stores and services | 100 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 |
| Total retail floor area | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value).[1] |
| No. of floors | 1 |
Grossmont Center is an outdoor shopping mall in La Mesa, California. Opened in 1961, it features Macy's, Sports Authority, Target, and Walmart as its anchor stores. Other major tenants include Barnes & Noble, Cost Plus World Market, and a movie theater. The mall is managed by CBRE Group.
History
The mall was built in 1961 by Del E. Webb Construction Company, with Welton Becket and associates as architect. It occupied 110 acres (45 ha) of land and cost over $20 million to build. At the time, it was the largest development in La Mesa's history.[2]
Marston's (later The Broadway)[3] and Montgomery Ward were the original two anchor stores. Marston's, which had a location in downtown San Diego, had begun consultations in 1956 to choose the site of the Grossmont Center store, their first branch location. The store design featured 3,200 feet (980 m) of moldings, gold leaf lettering, murals painted by five artists, and a Gothic-style canopy over its entry.[2] Other major tenants included Longs Drugs, a barbershop, several shoe stores, a florist, a fabric shop, a jeweler, and two dime stores: S. H. Kress & Co. and F. W. Woolworth Company.[2]
Fifty thousand people attended the mall's opening ceremonies on October 5, 1961 – 20,000 more than the population of La Mesa at the time.[2] Present at opening ceremonies were the regional manager of the Montgomery Ward chain; June Wilkinson, a Playboy model; and several representatives of the Marston's chain.[2]
By 1965, a 1,000 seat movie theater had been added to the mall.[2] Buffum's was added in 1979 as a third anchor store in a newly constructed wing,[4] and Bullock's in 1983 as a fourth.[5] Also at this point, a parking deck was added to the mall.[2] Buffum's closed in 1990, with Bullock's and Woolworth following in 1993, although Cost Plus World Market[6][7] and a food court were added.[8] The former Buffum's became Oshman's SuperSports USA (now Sports Authority) in 1991,[9] while Target opened in the vacated Bullock's store in 1995.[6]
In 1992, the mall's movie theater complex closed,[10] but it was reopened and expanded in 1995.[11] Barnes & Noble Booksellers was also added. The Broadway chain was bought out by Macy's a year later.[12] Montgomery Ward closed in 2000 and was replaced by Walmart four years later.[13]
References
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