Monday, September 05, 2005

Eastridge Mall


San Jose, California - '60s or '70s

23 comments:

  1. Those pools in the centre are kind of neat.

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  2. Milford lives!...or...rises from the grave!

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  3. Wow. That fountain is something else.

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  4. Eastridge is undergoing a wild expansion and remodeling project.. those of you that have been there, know how cool it looks. I'm not sure what to think about those ceilings...

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  5. Wow really pretty

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  6. Yeah, for sure that fountain and the pools are the real centerpiece here. Just fantastic!

    Chris: Braaaains! I need BRAAIINNNS!! ;)

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  7. This mall looks (or at least once looked) a lot like Woodfield outside Chicago.

    I have to agree...awesome fountain!

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  8. That is awesome. Looks like something they would've used to film Logan's Run.

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  9. I remember when Eastridge was first built. At the time it was the largest and most modern mall in the country. There was even a TV special about it.

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  10. Mitch -- I'm glad someone else saw the Woodfield similarities. When I first saw the photo, that's what I thought it was. Wonder if it was the same architect.

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  11. @Cora

    Logan's Run wasn't filmed in a mall. It was shot at the Apparel Mart building near downtown Dallas. It's generally not open to the public, but serves as a business trade center for the fashion industry.

    Many, many years ago, when I was a little kid, I was in it (my mom worked for a short while in the building). Wish I could see it again.

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  12. Here's a photo of the Dallas Int'l Apparel Mart:

    http://www.langfordarchitects.com/IMAGES/Saintnicks/apparelmart.jpg

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  13. Eastridge was originally a Taubman mall. Its layout was very similar to that of Woodfield. Quite some time ago Eastridge had a remodeling job that included building a two-level walkway across the middle of the expansive center court. The fountain seen in this photo has been gone for a long time. The sculpture seen in one of the pools of the fountain has been sitting in relative obscurity in downtown San José for many years. Eastridge is undergoing an extensive remodeling job that is making it completely unrecognizable from what's in the photo here.

    Steven

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  14. Does anyone remember the manequin elevators in the middle of the old Liberty House/Emporium site at Eastridge, that use to take the manequins up and down? So cool. Any pics would be appreciated!

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  15. Here is a website that contains BEAUTIFUL pictures of San Jose's Eastridge Mall (as I remember it fondly).

    http://www.frontiervillage.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=88&sid=dcd27dd0d8079014fa3ceac0d2d04e39

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  16. That mall is reminiscent of the Sherman Oaks Galleria of Fast Times, T2, and Commando fame.

    There's also an Eastridge Mall in Gastonia, N.C.

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  17. This is the mall Toledo should've got!

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  18. As a 5-year-old in the mid-70s, I lived in Mountain View (near San Antonio shopping center?) and Cupertino (near Vallco Mall). We only lived in the area for about 2 years. Besides the cool Eichler homes, one thing I remember from that time period is shopping with my Mom at this huge, 3-story mall with crazy walkways. Anyhow, we only went to this 3-story mall a few times. And although I never forgot the place, for the life of me, I could never rememeber its name. Now I know it was Eastridge. Another life mystery solved. Thanks MOA!

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  19. I am now 40 and I remembred Eastridge just a round the corner of my elmentary school.....WOW! The Brady Bunch Stars were there too....The mall was packed with onlookers and admirers alike....the center fountain was dyed green ....what a sight.I think it was awesome to be there at that time....A trip to
    Blast from the past

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  20. I worked at Eastridge for 10 years in security. 91'-01'. A scene from the Robert Redford movie "The Canidate" was filmed there. Knew that mall inside out.

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  21. I lived in San Jose from 1976-1985.

    About that sculpture - It was local legend among the kids that if you threw a Penny or some other coin and could make the sculpture ring, your wish would come true. And, the higher up you were when you did it, the better the chances of fulfillment. I saw it later on in some documentary about the redevelopment of downtown SJ.

    Now, about Eastridge. It used to be a classy place when we first moved to town. But over the years, it began to get kinda' seedy as the teens and their gangs from the East side of SJ made it their turf. A lot of people started to avoid it, favoring the smaller Oakridge Mall just to avoid the hassles. I don't know if that's changed much over the last 20-25 years or not. Nonetheless, it was a very nice Mall in the early days.

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    Replies
    1. A lot has changed with this mall.

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