The Shops at Tanforan facts for kids
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| Location | San Bruno, California, US |
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| Coordinates | 37°38′10″N 122°25′05″W / 37.636°N 122.418°W |
| Address | 1150 El Camino Real |
| Opening date | 1971 |
| Developer | Wattson Breevast (2003) |
| Management | QIC|GRE |
| Owner | QIC|GRE |
| Architect | Altoon + Porter Architects (2003) |
| No. of stores and services | 105 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 4 (3 open, 1 vacant) |
| Total retail floor area | 969,107 sq ft (90,033.0 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 (3 in former Sears) |
| Parking | 4074 |
| Public transit access |
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The Shops at Tanforan was a large shopping mall in San Bruno, California, United States. It was located on the San Francisco Peninsula, about 10 miles south of San Francisco. This mall had a long history, built on a site that was once a famous horse racing track. It was known for its main stores like JCPenney and Target. In 2022, the mall was bought by a new company and is planned to be replaced with a science and technology campus.
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The History of Tanforan's Land
The land where The Shops at Tanforan mall stood has a very interesting past. Before it was a mall, it was a racetrack. It was also used as an airfield, a military training center, and even a camp for Japanese American citizens during World War II.
Tanforan's Racetrack Era
The Tanforan Racetrack was built in 1899. It was named after Toribio Tanfaran, whose family owned the land. The track was a busy place where many different races were held.
- Horse Racing: Horse races were very popular here. One of the most famous horses, Seabiscuit, even stayed at Tanforan for a while. Today, a statue of Seabiscuit can be found at the mall site.
- Other Races: Besides horses, the track also hosted dog, motorcycle, and car races.
In 1909, California stopped gambling at racetracks, which changed things for Tanforan. The racetrack continued to operate until a big fire destroyed it on July 31, 1964.
Tanforan as an Airfield
Sometimes, the Tanforan Racetrack was used as an airfield. The flat center of the track became a runway for airplanes.
- Early Air Meets: In 1910, Tanforan hosted the Second International Air Meet in America. Famous pilots like Louis Paulhan and John J. Montgomery attended this event.
- Naval Aviation History: A year later, in 1911, pilot Eugene Ely made history here. He took off from Tanforan and successfully landed his plane on the USS Pennsylvania ship in San Francisco Bay. This was the first time an airplane successfully landed on a ship. A special plaque at the site remembers this important event.
During World War I, Tanforan was temporarily used as a military training center.
Tanforan Assembly Center During World War II
During World War II, Tanforan became the Tanforan Assembly Center. This was a temporary internment camp for Japanese Americans. Most of these people were from the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Temporary Home: Tanforan was one of 17 such centers. People stayed here before being moved to more permanent camps, like the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah.
- Living Conditions: Many of the living spaces were made from horse stalls. About 8,003 people were held at Tanforan between April and October 1942. A plaque at the mall site tells this part of its history.
After the Assembly Center closed in 1942, the site became a US Army camp. Later, it was a Naval base. It closed in 1946. Some soldiers who were stationed here are buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery nearby.
After the war, Tanforan went back to being a racetrack with a golf course in the middle. However, it faced competition and eventually burned down in 1964.
Building the Shopping Mall
In 1971, the Tanforan Park Shopping Center was built on the old racetrack site. It was designed to have two floors.
- First Stores: The first stores to open were Sears and J.C. Penney. The Sears Tire, Brake, and Accessory Section was the very first part of the mall to open in October 1970.
- Mall Layout: The mall was located between El Camino Real, Sneath Lane, Huntington Avenue, and Interstate 380.
The Emporium was another main store that opened in 1971. Later, in 1996, Target Stores bought The Emporium's building. By the late 1990s, the mall started to look old. In 1999, a new company bought most of the mall and planned to update it.
Modernizing the Mall: Reconstruction
Renovations began in 2003. The old stores were closed, and the inside of the mall was rebuilt. However, the main stores like Target, Sears, and J.C. Penney stayed open during this time.
- New Design: The company Altoon + Porter Architects designed the new look for the mall.
- Reopening: On October 7, 2005, the mall reopened as The Shops at Tanforan. It added many new shops and restaurants, including a new main entrance and a food court.
- New Features: A two-level Barnes & Noble bookstore and a BJ's Chicago Brewhouse were added. A new parking garage and a movie theater were also planned.
- Movie Theater: On April 18, 2008, Century Theatres opened a large 20-screen movie theater complex. A skybridge connected the mall to the new theater. The bottom floor of the garage also leads to the San Bruno BART station.
The Mall's Final Years and Closure
In 2015, the mall was sold to an Australian investment company. The Sears store at Tanforan closed in early 2020.
- Changing Times: The way people shop began to change, with more people buying things online. This, along with the COVID-19 pandemic in California, affected the mall's businesses.
- Safety Concerns: In 2019, an incident occurred in the food court. This made some people hesitant to return to the mall.
- Store Closures: Retailers like Forever 21 closed their San Bruno location. The JCPenney store was also sold, though it continued to operate for a time.
In 2021, the city of San Bruno began looking into new uses for the land. In February 2022, a company called Alexandria Real Estate bought the rest of the mall property. They announced plans to tear down the mall and build a large campus for biotech and technology companies.
Images for kids
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The Food Court at The Shops at Tanforan.
