DeadMalls.com
   


DEADMALLS.COM PRESENTS
THE QUAD: WHITTIER, CA

Jeff Arellano's Commentary

Posted October 2, 2005(user submitted)

Whittier, California is the only city I know of that had two malls die in it, and two neighboring city's malls dead (Fashion Square La Habra and Santa Fe Springs Plaza), and one that was on life support (the famous Puente Hills Mall in The City Of Industry)

But The Quad was opened during the 60's as an outdoor mall. It was a simple design that had one department store (a local chain called Hinshaw's), and some shops and restaurants in one wing. The center during the 70's later added some outbuildings with a supermarket, drug store, and a second department store, May Company. The May Company store was not attached to the mall, in fact, you had to cross the parking lot to get to it from the main mall. It was around this time the mall was enclosed.

This malls death came with a mighty rumble. January 1987, at 6:45a.m., an earthquake hit causing massive damage to the mall, and severely damaging the May Company store. It was deemed unsafe. The mall reopened but lost several businesses. Hinshaws closed around 1988.

The mall was torn down except for the market, drug store, and Hinshaws, and rebuilt as a strip mall. Today, the always empty parking structure behind the old Hinshaws store is a suttle reminder how a bustiling mall can die suddenly. Hinshaws became a Golds Gym on one level and a Burlington Coat Factory on another, and a Staples.

Steve Carras' Commentary

Posted December 5, 2006 (user submitted) The mall was built not in 1960s, but in 1953 with "Hinshaws" (which still stands now housing a Burlington Coat factory and a Staples). Happily, as with the Whittwood as Jeff wrote, elsewhere business is MAJORLY booming and in fact, since the NINETIES, has had several successful family chain restaurants -- "Red Lobster" and "Olive Garden". "Lobster" was replaced in 2000 by, in my opinion, the BEST Chinese (and some other Oriental) food resturant, "The Grand Buffet". Excellent, largely to due their specialty: seafood. Also, a new Chili's opened in October '06.

As for May Company, that HAD to have opened at LEAST 1965 (NOT seventies as this and Wikipedia claims to the contrary). A Heck's, Nash, and WT Grant used to be at the mall proper. It was in 1974 that the center was enclosed, and on 10/1/1987 when the infamous Narrows Quake destroyed the garage. May Co. was intact but since 1984 already closed. Many stores were destroyed.

Ross, Marshalls, Ralphs, Rite Aid, and very RECENTLY a Starbucks occupy Whittier Quad.

   
Translate Site



User comments (new!!)

(Please be respectful of other users, thanks! For a permanent essay post, please use this link.)


 Check out Deadmalls.com's Dead Malls Media archive!



Click here for books from Amazon about Retail and Malls!

Have information on this mall's history, current conditions, future plans, personal memories, corrections or general comments?

Please let us know using the contact form!

Thank you to all those who have contributed to DeadMalls.com!

DeadMalls.com makes no guarantee of the completeness or accuracy of any information provided herein. You, the reader, assume the risk of verifying any materials used or relied on. DeadMalls.com is not liable for and does not necessarily endorse viewpoints expressed by the authors of content presented. Information is presented as a historical account and may not reflect present-day status. All submissions become property of DeadMalls.com and are posted at will. By using DeadMalls.com in any manner you understand and agree with these policies.


<--- Back to dead mall stories
<--- Back to main page
Google
Deadmalls Search



©2000-2024 DeadMalls.com unless otherwise noted, All Rights Reserved.