Linda Vista Shopping Center
The Linda Vista Shopping Center is a neighborhood shopping center San Diego and one of the first in the United States, built in 1943. It was predated in California only by the Broadway & 87th Street shopping center in South Los Angeles opened in seven years earlier in 1936.
Linda Vista was dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt.[1] Pasadena architects Karl F. Giberson and Whitney P. Smith designed the center. It is located in the neighborhood of Linda Vista, an area whose population soared in 1941, when 3000 homes were constructed in less than a year to house aircraft workers and their families. Linda Vista was America's largest defense housing project during World War II, and the world's largest low-cost modern housing development, according to the San Diego Historical Society.[2]
The design was innovative for the time and place, with Pasadena architect Whitney Smith following garden city principles, with parking around the edges and a landscaped "main street" or "town green" interior with a lawn, trees, and an arc-shaped, bench-lined covered promenade. Uniform paint color, shopfronts, and signage were also relatively new concepts. The center measured 82,000 square feet (7,600 m2) of leasable space, consisting of 10 specialty stores, a dime store, supermarket and small branch of San Diego-based Walker Scott department store (originally the independent "Linda Vista department store"). There was parking for 261 cars around the entire perimeter, also an innovative feature.[3][4]
The center won a Creditable Mention Award from the Southern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in January 1947.[5]
Much (but not all) of the complex was demolished and replaced in 1972. It still thrives with many shops now having an Asian-centric offering, reflecting the evolving population in the area.
References
- ^ "Linda Vista's Historic Role", San Diego Union-Tribune, June 2, 2009
- ^ "Don't let Linda Vista fool you | San Diego Reader".
- ^ Longstreth, Richard (1997). City Center to Regional Mall: Architecture, the Automobile, and Retailing in Los Angeles, 1920–1950. MIT Press. pp. 291–298. ISBN 0262122006.
- ^ "Linda Vista shopping center San Diego". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 April 1945. p. 8.
- ^ "PCAD - Linda Vista Shopping Center, San Diego, CA".
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with origins in
Central Los Angeles |
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L.A. neighborhoods |
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Long Beach |
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Pasadena | |
Rest of L.A. Co. |
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Bakersfield | |
Inland Empire |
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Orange Co. |
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San Diego–Tijuana |
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Elsewhere |
- Bond's
- Brooks Clothing
- C. H. Baker shoes
- C&R Clothiers
- Hartfield's
- Judy's
- Leed's shoes
- Mandel's (shoes)
- Miller's Outpost/Anchor Blue
- Victor Clothing
- Weatherby-Kayser shoes
- Zachary All
membership stores
- The Akron
- Curacao
- Fedco
- Fedmart
- Gemco
- Pic 'N' Save
- Unimart
- White Front
- Zody's
- Disco Drug and Discount Centers
- Sav-on
- Schwab's Pharmacy
- Thrifty
home furnishings
- Alpha Beta
- Boys Markets
- Chaffee
- Food Giant
- Giant
- Haas, Baruch & Co./Hellman, Haas & Co.
- Hughes Markets
- Market Basket
- Pantry Food Stores
- Pavilions
- Ralphs
- Shopping Bag
- Stater Bros.
- Smart & Final
- Thriftimart
- Tianguis
- Vons
tainment, appliances
- Adray's
- Cal Stereo
- Federated Group
- Golden Bear Home and Sport Centers
- Ken Crane's
- Leo's Stereo
- Pacific Stereo
- Rogersound Labs
- University Stereo
- Builders Emporium
- National Lumber
- Ole's Home Centers
- Licorice Pizza
- Music Plus
- Peaches Records and Tapes
- The Wherehouse
- Wallichs Music City
- Los Angeles:
- Plaza
- 1880s-90s CBD
- Broadway (CBD)
- Broadway & 87th, South L.A.*
- Seventh St.
- Flower St.
- Hollywood Blvd.
- Lankershim, North Hollywood
- Miracle Mile, Wilshire Blvd.
- Westwood Village (near UCLA)
- Other cities:
- Beverly Hills: Rodeo Drive
- Burbank: Golden Mall
- Huntington Park: Pacific Blvd.
- Long Beach: Pine St.
- Palm Springs: La Plaza/Palm Canyon Dr. - See also History of retail in Palm Springs
- Pasadena: Lake Ave.
- Pasadena: Old Pasadena
- Santa Ana: 4th St.
- Santa Monica: Main St. - 3rd St. Promenade
shopping center
"firsts"
- Oldest origins of a major L.A. chain: Harris & Frank (1876) - 1st dept. store on Broadway: A. Fusenot Co./Ville de Paris - 1st dept. store on 7th off Broadway: J. W. Robinson's (1915) - 1st planned shopping district: Westwood Village (1929) - 1st suburban dept. store branch: B. H. Dyas/Broadway Hollywood (1927) - 1st center with multiple supermarkets: Broadway & 87th Street shopping center (1936) - 1st center with department store anchor: Broadway-Crenshaw Center (1947) - 1st enclosed mall: Lakewood Center (1951) - 1st mall in Orange County: Anaheim Plaza (1955) - 1st center with 4 dept. stores: Panorama City Shopping Center (1964)