Mayfield Mall '80s Conversion

Mountain View, California - mid '80s

Portions of the once fully carpeted and very groovy Mayfield Mall interior are bulldozed not long after the mall had closed in 1983, to make way for partial use by the Hewlett-Packard Co. as an office facility (they vacated the property in 2003, and it now awaits impending total redevelopment). Here's a descriptive quote (via the San Antonio District Guide) from a 1972 Mountain View Chamber of Commerce brochure:

"Mayfield Mall--Northern California's first fully enclosed, air conditioned, carpeted shopping mall--has more than 50 stores, and parking for several thousand cars. Such well-known firms as J.C. Penney, Joseph Magnin, Woolworth's, and Wells Fargo Bank are tenants of this unique complex on the west side of the city."

Thanks very much to MOA reader, Matt, for the nifty shot in this post!

Mall history: 1966 - 1983 (dead)
Previous entries: 1

The Daily Mall Reader: Mayfield Mall

A daily dose of mall-related reading...

"Mayfield Mall once a hot item"
Flashpoint of current debate was a popular spot in the '60s and '70s

Mountain View Voice - Friday, October 15, 2004

(Excerpt) Few who drive by Mayfield Mall's former location at the corner of Central Expressway and San Antonio Road realize they are passing the site of one of the first fully carpeted, air-conditioned shopping centers in the country.

Fewer still realize the mall's buildings remain intact, albeit heavily remodeled. However, if you want to see them, you better go soon -- they are not long for this world.

After over a decade of use as a Hewlett-Packard Co. campus, a new chapter in the site's history is about to unfold. The city has begun reviewing proposals to build a new housing development at the site, which some nearby residents are not looking forward to. The new residential neighborhood will replace what was once the Peninsula's premier shopping destination.

Read the full article here.

San Antonio Shopping Center

Mountain View, California - 1982

Vintage early '80s view of San Antonio Shopping Center (aka San Antonio Center), an outdoor strip mall located in Mountain View, California (here's an aerial). Above Image and the following history both via MVPA:

"San Antonio Center has gone through many incarnations. It started in the 1950s as a stand alone Sears Department Store surrounded by bean fields. It grew over the years and became Downtown Mountain View's first major competition. By the 1970s the center had expanded into the pedestrian mall viewed here in this picture. During Christmas time this fountain was covered up and became a place to meet Santa Claus.

At its height in the early 1980s, the mall connected Sears, JC Penny's (which had moved from Mayfield Mall) and Meryvn's. It was also home to the Menu Tree restaurant, a strange two story international restaurant remembered for its use of dozens of cuckoo clocks for decoration.

The mall fell on hard times in the early 1990s and grand plans for its expansion fell through. Most of the mall was demolished to make way for Wal Mart and a parking lot, although a remainder of the mall can still be found behind Sears."

Shopping Mall Sign: San Antonio Center

Mountain View, California

Finishing a couple more posts from earlier this morning, when my internet connection suddenly conked out on me because it hates me.

So this is the distinctive entrance sign at the San Antonio Shopping Center, in Mountain View, CA. Photo was taken in July of 2005 (courtesy of Marcel Marchon). I'm not sure how far back this particular signage design goes at this mall, so I don't know exactly how "vintage" it is (does anyone else?), but either way it's an interesting looking sign, isn't it?

More San Antonio Shopping Center