Shopping centers in Santa Fe Springs, California facts for kids
Santa Fe Springs, California, has been home to several places where people could shop. These included two large indoor malls and one outdoor shopping area. They all had big department stores as their main attractions.
Santa Fe Springs Mall: A Shopping Transformation
| Location | Telegraph at Carmenita, Santa Fe Springs |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°56′24″N 118°02′55″W / 33.9400198°N 118.0486143°W |
| Opening date | 1985 |
| Total retail floor area | 540,000-square-foot (50,000 m2) |
This mall, built in 1985, was a huge shopping center. It was about 540,000 square feet, which is like nine football fields! It used to have a big Sears store and an 8-screen movie theater.
Today, this same spot is called Gateway Plaza. It's now a different kind of shopping area, known as a power center. A power center has many large stores, but they are usually separate buildings, not all under one roof like a traditional mall.
Gateway Plaza has popular stores like Target (which used to be K-Mart), Ross Dress for Less, El Super, Walmart, and L.A. Fitness. You can find this shopping area on Telegraph Road, right where it meets Carmenita Road.
Whittier Downs: From Mall to Marketplace
| Location | Washington and Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°58′23″N 118°04′23″W / 33.9729628°N 118.0731365°W |
| Opening date | 1955 |
| Closing date | 1980s |
| Total retail floor area | 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) |
The Whittier Downs Shopping Center was a large outdoor shopping area. It served the community of West Whittier-Los Nietos, California for many years. It was open from the 1950s through the 1980s.
This center was about 200,000 square feet. Its main store was J. C. Penney. It was located at Washington and Norwalk boulevards, inside the city of Santa Fe Springs. The famous architects Pereira & Luckman designed it.
When it opened in 1955, it had parking for 740 cars. It was special because shops faced both a walking path and the parking lot. In the late 1980s, the old center was taken down. A new shopping area, the Santa Fe Springs Marketplace, was built in its place. This new center has a Food 4 Less supermarket and a large Rite Aid pharmacy.
Santa Fe Springs Shopping Center: A Community Landmark
| Location | Telegraph at Orr and Day, Santa Fe Springs |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°56′54″N 118°05′22″W / 33.948268°N 118.089395°W |
| Opening date | 1954 |
The Santa Fe Springs Shopping Center first opened in 1954. It had stores like W. T. Grant, Market Basket, and David's Department Store. Today, it is known as the Santa Fe Springs Promenade.
This shopping center is now a neighborhood shopping spot. It is about 112,000 square feet. A special event happened here in 1956. A 40-foot-tall sign spelling out "Santa Fe Springs" was put up. The city celebrated this with a three-day festival!
