Stanford Shopping Center facts for kids
Walkway at Stanford Shopping Center
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| Location | Palo Alto, California |
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| Coordinates | 37°26′35″N 122°10′16″W / 37.44306°N 122.17111°W |
| Opening date | 1955 |
| Developer | Stanford University |
| Management | Simon Property Group |
| Owner | Simon Property Group (94.4%) |
| No. of stores and services | 152 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,347,935 sq ft (125,227.3 m2) (GLA) |
| No. of floors | 1 |
The Stanford Shopping Center, often just called Stanford, is a fancy outdoor shopping mall. You can find it in Palo Alto, California, right near Stanford University.
Even though it's on the university's land, Stanford University only owns the ground. The buildings and stores belong to a company called Simon Property Group. This company also manages the mall.
This big outdoor center is about 1.3 million square feet. It has four main department stores: Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom. You can also find many other famous stores there, like Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.. The very first Victoria's Secret store also opened here!
How Stanford Shopping Center Started
In 1954, construction began on what used to be vineyards owned by Leland Stanford. Workers built nine buildings that would hold 45 businesses.
The first store, Roos Brothers clothing, opened in September 1955. A restaurant called Blum's opened in October 1956, finishing the center. Important people like university President J. E. Wallace Sterling were there. Even famous child star Shirley Temple helped celebrate!
The mall was a big hit right away. It became a major way for the university to earn money. The first main stores were The Emporium and I. Magnin & Co..
Changes Over the Years
More big stores joined the mall later. Macy's California opened in 1961. Saks Fifth Avenue came in 1962.
In 1972, another store called Bullock's opened. But Bullock's closed its northern California stores in 1983. Nordstrom then took its place, opening in November 1984. Neiman Marcus became the sixth main store in 1985.
In the mid-1990s, some stores changed again:
- Saks Fifth Avenue closed in 1994.
- I. Magnin became a Macy's men's store in 1995.
- The Emporium store closed and became Bloomingdale's in 1996.
In 1997, the old Saks Fifth Avenue building was split into two new stores: Crate & Barrel and a gourmet market. The market closed in 2011. The Container Store opened there in 2013.
In March 2020, the mall had to close for a short time. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recent Updates at the Mall
The Stanford Shopping Center has kept changing over the years. It gets new stores and new buildings. For a long time, Stanford University managed the mall.
But in 2003, the university decided to sell most of the mall. They sold it for $333 million to Simon Property Group. Simon Property Group now owns the buildings. They pay rent to the university for the land. This rent is a share of the mall's profits.
In 2012, Bloomingdale's announced a big move. They planned to open a new, larger store. This new Bloomingdale's opened in 2014. The old Bloomingdale's building was then torn down.
A new area of stores was built where the old Bloomingdale's stood. This new section opened in 2016. It includes stores like Anthropologie and a True Food Kitchen restaurant.
In 2019, Simon Malls shared plans for more changes. They want to tear down the Macy's Men's building. In its place, they plan to build new spots for stores like Restoration Hardware.
