Monday, July 25, 2005

Los Cerritos Shopping Center


Cerritos, California - Early '70s

The only mall I've seen with stained glass on the cieling! Stunning. Current website.

12 comments:

  1. That's a beautiful thing. It gave me sensory memories of grandparents, long gone (I think it's the Woolworths).

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  2. i have noticed that the "current website" does not show what the mall looks like justpictueres of happy people
    also has anyone found anything on tyrone square mall in st. petersuburg florida or desoto square mall in bradenton forida?

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  3. Chris: As we've discussed on my vintage Halloween blog, I share the warm feelings for Woolworth stores, too. I may have some old 'worth's newspaper circulars around here somewhere. I'll see if I can dig some up.

    Johnsing: Point noted. Thanks for the clarification. I was just going by their own postcard which, as you can see, says Orange County. I split the difference and updated it to the city; Cerritos. Which is what I meant to do in the first place. Don't know why I went with the county there. It was late. :)

    Anonymous: Most shopping mall websites are really lame like that. Rarely do they have a lot of recent photos or history sections with old photos. They simply serve as a calling card, really, just to tell people what stores they house and where you can find them. Most are woefully lacking in pictures.

    As for the Tyrone and Desoto Square malls, I have pics of them, I believe. I'll try to get some up for ya soon. Just stay tuned.

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  4. Ah! I just found your site and love this picture. This mall is where I went school clothes shopping every year.

    The mall actually looked like this until the 90's. Now, it's opened up a bit with more natural light and typical stores. I live in Seattle now so I can't give a detailed description from memory, but it's changed a great deal.

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  5. Dang, that brought back memories. I remember wanting to duck in Woolworth because they had an animal section...I really wanted a puppy.

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  6. The stained glass is long gone. Los Cerritos looks completely different now.

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  7. The mall looked the same until the late 90's when it went through a remodel. Originally this was opened in the 70's with:

    Robinsons
    Ohrbachs
    Sears
    The Broadway.

    In 1981, a new little wing opened south Of Ohrbachs that added a Nordstroms, but no remodel.

    Around 1998, when a UA Theatre was planned to replace their old 3-plex in the mall, thats when they decided to remodel the mall, losing all signs of the 70's, except for the browish-red brick that adorns the Robinsons. The Mall Department Stores outside still look like they are from the 70's (except Nordstroms) as they were never remodeled.

    Oh, and get a last look at the old Robinsons store. Its still a bit in the 70's inside, and is closing early next year....

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  8. I grew up in the Cerritos/Lakewood area and hung out at both Los Cerritos Mall and Lakewood Center. The Woolworth photo is still how I remember it so clearly. It was in the Broadway wing of the mall and had a Harvest House Cafeteria connected to it. It was before foodcourts were invented. About a mile up the road, Lakewood Center has a rich history, once being the largest shopping center in the USA. It had a wonderful May Company store which will soon be only a memory, as will the Robinsons in Los Cerritos. By the way, we should launch a boycott of Macy's because of their corporate greed and for gobbling up all the great department stores of yesteryear. One last thing, does anyone have any vintage photos of Del Amo Mall in Torrance, CA? They would be great to see.

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  9. If I remember correctly, the Ohio Valley Mall in St Clairsville, OH (near Wheeling, WV) had very similar stained glass ceiling panels, although I haven't been there since the early 1980s.

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  10. I remember the Cerritos Center when it had the stained glass skylights! Cerritos was opened long after Lakewood Center Mall had been established, and it was much more modern (and enclosed). It took Lakewood a few years to enclose the mall (they had to in order to compete with Cerritos-which had the reputation for being the last word in malls-in about the mid-1970's!). The two malls were in direct competition, yet both have thrived over the years. My first job was at the UA Movie Theater inside Cerritos Mall in about 1981. I spent many an hour roaming that mall!

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  11. It's practically criminal that they did away with that stained glass.

    Here is a page about the UA Movie Theatre showing more stained glass:

    http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/14905/photos/95665

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