The Citadel Outlets are an

outlet mall An outlet store, factory outlet or factory shop is a brick and mortar or online store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public. Traditionally, a factory outlet was a store attached to a factory or warehouse, sometimes allowin ...

in the City of

Commerce, California Commerce is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 12,823 at the 2010 census, up from 12,568 at the 2000 census. It is usually referred to as the City of Commerce to distinguish it from the ...

along the

Santa Ana Freeway The Santa Ana Freeway is one of the principal freeways in Southern California, connecting Los Angeles and its southeastern suburbs including the freeway's namesake, the city of Santa Ana. The freeway begins at its junction with the San Diego Free ...

southeast of

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

, which features the Exotic Revival architecture of a tire

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

, whose partial remnants the complex occupies, built in the style of an

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

n castle of King

Sargon II Sargon II (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 722 BC to his death in battle in 705. Probably the son of Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727), Sargon is general ...

. In 1929, architects Morgan, Walls and Clements, who also designed Los Angeles’

Mayan Theater The Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, California is a landmark former movie palace and current nightclub and music venue. History The Mayan Theater opened in August 1927 as a performance arts theater. Leon Hefflin Sr. rented out the Mayan Theater d ...

, built the

Samson Tire and Rubber Co Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

. factory; the factory closed in 1978 and the Commerce government bought the site for $14 million in 1983. In 1990,

Trammell Crow Fred Trammell Crow (June 10, 1914 – January 14, 2009) was an American real estate developer from Dallas, Texas. He is credited with the creation of several major real estate projects, including the Dallas Market Center, Peachtree Center in Atlan ...

Co. was hired for the site's $118 million redevelopment into an outlet center and adjacent 201-room Wyndham Garden Hotel. After the

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...

defaulted on its ground lease the city sold the complex to Craig Realty bought for $50 million in July 2002, with the condition that Craig would double the size of the mall. A expansion was completed in 2010. It is also the site of Black Friday on

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

, which led to longer lines since there are discounted prices on merchandise. There are some security measures implemented recently. In 2019, there was a proposed expansion of shopping center that would include both hotel towers and monorail while linking the sprawling property. This focuses new development on three sites. It would also include construction of multiple new retail buildings. The two story building would be used for Adventure Experiential Retail. In July 1, 2022, it would unveil “''Los Angeles: Home of Champions''”, with paying homage to Los Angeles’ world champion sports teams. This would feature Super Bowl LVI Champions, Los Angeles Rams, as well as World Series Champions. This would start through July 1 through Labor Day, September 6.

Proposed LA Metro Station

As part of the LA Metro Gold Line

Eastside Transit Corridor The Eastside Transit Corridor is a light rail line extension that currently connects Downtown Los Angeles with East Los Angeles. However, the extension is planned to extend further southeast to connect with the Gateway Cities, continuing from a ...

, a station at the Citadel Outlets is planned. The line is projected to break ground in 2029, with start of operations in 2035.

References

External links

"Samson Tire and Rubber Factory" at Pacific Coast Architecture Database
{{Authority control Outlet malls in the United States Shopping malls in Southeast Los Angeles County, California Commerce, California Morgan, Walls & Clements buildings