River Park (Fresno, California) facts for kids
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River Park Shopping Center sign at North Blackstone Avenue
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| Location | Fresno, California, United States |
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| Coordinates | 36°50′50″N 119°47′20″W / 36.84723°N 119.78877°W |
| Address | 70 El Camino |
| Opening date | 1996 (Marketplace) 1997 (Shops) 2004 (Kohl's) 2005 (Gottschalks-Macy's/REI) |
| Management | Lance-Kashian & Company |
| No. of stores and services | >75 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 5 |
| No. of floors | 1 (2 in Macy’s & REI) |
| Parking | lot and garage |
River Park is a large outdoor shopping center in Fresno, California. It's located on the east side of Blackstone Avenue. River Park is split into three main parts, each with different kinds of stores and restaurants.
One part is called The Marketplace. This area is like a big outdoor mall with large stores. It has popular places like Target and Kohl's. There's also another shopping area nearby with restaurants like Chick-fil-A, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and In-N-Out Burger.
The third part is The Shops at River Park. This section is designed to feel like a town square. It has stores like Macy's, a movie theater called Edwards Theatres, and an outdoor gear store called REI.
Discovering River Park's History
River Park opened in different stages, starting in 1996. The first stores to open included Target and Best Buy. Other early stores were Old Navy, Marshalls, OfficeMax, and Sports Authority. There was also a JCPenney Home Store and a store called Linens 'n Things, which is no longer open.
In 2004, Kohl's opened its doors. The shopping center grew even more in 2005. This expansion added more stores to The Shops at River Park. New main stores included Gottschalks and REI. Other stores like Home Fabrics, Borders (a bookstore that closed in 2011), and Edwards Cinema were also part of this expansion.
Over the years, some stores closed down. For example, CompUSA, Gottschalks, Borders, and Sports Authority all went out of business. But new stores quickly moved in to fill their spots. These new stores included an Ashley Furniture, Macy's, an H&M, and a Dick's Sporting Goods.
The JCPenney Home Store closed in August 2017. After it closed, you could find a smaller selection of home items at the main JCPenney store at Fashion Fair Mall nearby.
A restaurant called Romano's Macaroni Grill, which had been at The Marketplace since 1998, closed permanently in April 2020.
Main Stores and Attractions
River Park has many large and popular stores. These are often called "anchor stores" because they are big and attract many shoppers. Here are some of the main ones:
- Target - This store is very large, about 126,929 square feet.
- Macy's - This department store opened in 2010. It took the place of the old Gottschalks store and is about 100,000 square feet.
- Edwards Cinemas - This movie theater is huge, covering about 94,600 square feet.
- Kohl's - This store is about 90,000 square feet.
- Bob's Discount Furniture - This furniture store is about 50,885 square feet. It used to be the JCPenney Home Store from 1996 to 2017.
- Dick's Sporting Goods - This sports store opened in 2017. It's about 43,200 square feet and is where Sports Authority used to be.
- Best Buy - This electronics store is about 40,438 square feet.
- OfficeMax - This office supply store is about 5,000 square feet.
- Marshall's - This clothing and home goods store is about 30,500 square feet.
- REI - This outdoor gear store is about 25,526 square feet.
- H&M - This fashion store opened in 2014. It's about 25,000 square feet and is located where Borders bookstore used to be.
- Buy Buy Baby - This baby supply store opened in 2011. It's about 20,000 square feet and took over the spot of the old Linens 'n Things store.
- Yard House - This restaurant opened in 2014. It's about 6,000 square feet.
- Ashley Furniture - This furniture store opened in 2010. It's about 5,000 square feet and is located where CompUSA used to be.
