Eastridge, officially Eastridge Center, is a shopping mall in
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
, located in the
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
district of
East San Jose
East San Jose (abbreviated as ESJ), commonly called The East Side and less commonly as the East Valley, is the eastern region of the city of San Jose, California. The East Side is made up of numerous neighborhoods grouped into two larger distric ...
. Eastridge opened as the largest mall on the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
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* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
in 1971 and has been redesigned multiple times throughout its history, most recently in 2017.
[Eastridge - About](_blank)
/ref> Eastridge serves as an important community hub in Evergreen and the larger East Side, hosting farmers markets, holiday celebrations, and community events. The anchor stores are JCPenney
Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...
, Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
, AMC Theatres
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fou ...
, Round 1 Entertainment, and 24 Hour Fitness
24 Hour Fitness is a privately owned and operated fitness center chain headquartered in Carlsbad, California. It is the second largest fitness chain in the United States based on revenue after LA Fitness, and the fourth in number of clubs (behi ...
.
History
The mall opened on May 17, 1971, with the original anchors of Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
, Liberty House, J. C. Penney
Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...
, Joseph Magnin Co.
The Joseph Magnin Company was a high-end specialty department store founded in San Francisco, California, by Joseph Magnin, 4th son of Isaac Magnin founder of the I. Magnin department store. Joseph Magnin Co. and I. Magnin Co. were rivals.
Histo ...
, and Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
. Eastridge Center was the largest enclosed shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
in the Western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
. Emporium-Capwell
The Emporium, from 1980 to 1995 Emporium-Capwell, was a mid-line department store chain headquartered in San Francisco, California, which operated for 100 years—from 1896 to 1996. The flagship location on San Francisco's Market Street was a des ...
replaced Liberty House when the chain pulled out of California. After Macy's bought Emporium-Capwell, the store was closed. It sat vacant until the 2005 remodel when it was demolished.
In 1993, the Spillman Engineering 3 Abroad carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
, made c.1920 by Allan Herschell Company
The Allan Herschell Company specialized in the creation of amusement rides, particularly carousels and roller coasters. The company manufactured portable machines that could be used by traveling carnival operators. It was started in 1915 in the ...
was restored and placed in the mall. The carousel has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
since 2000.
In February 2012, two teenage boys were stabbed and left in critical condition at the mall, which led to J. C. Penney and Macy's closing temporarily. In the wake of the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting
On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, United States, during a midnight screening of the film ''The Dark Knight Rises''. Dressed in tactical clothing, James Holmes set off tear gas g ...
, a mysterious package was thrown into an AMC theater at Eastridge during a showing of ''The Dark Knight Rises
''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...
'', which led to an evacuation of the theater. On July 20, 2012, a fire broke out near the mall at a homeless encampment in a 100-by-100 ft area, but was extinguished before the fire could reach any buildings.
On January 15, 2016, a joint adventure between Pacific Retail Capital Partners and Silverpeak Real Estate Partners acquired the mall from GGP for $225 million, excluding the Sears and Macy's stores. The new owners announced that they will invest approximately $15 million to upgrade the mall. In March 2017, a renovation of the mall was announced.
In December 2017, it was announced that Barnes & Noble would close its store in the mall in January 2018. On November 7, 2019, it was announced that Sears would be closing this location as part of a plan to close 96 stores nationwide. The store closed on February 2, 2020.
In 2017, Eastridge underwent its most recent and largest renovation. As part of the renovation, the Eastridge Murals were painted.
Eastridge Murals
As part of the major renovation of Eastridge in 2017, the four Eastridge Murals were commissioned, which constitute the world's largest murals on a shopping center. The four murals cover a total of 20,000 square feet of artwork and carried out by four different artists: Aaron de la Cruz, Brendan Monroe, CYRCLE, and Lila Gemellos.Pacific Retail - Eastridge Redevelopment Mural Project
/ref>
File:Eastridge Murals (Aaron de la Cruz) 0901 (cropped).jpg, Mural by Aaron de la Cruz
File:Eastridge Murals (CYRCLE) 0907 (cropped).jpg, Mural by CYRCLE
File:Eastridge Murals (Lila Gemellos) 0912 (cropped).jpg, Mural by Lila Gemellos
File:Eastridge Murals (Lila Gemellos) 0913 (cropped).jpg, Mural by Lila Gemellos
Location
Eastridge is located in the Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
district of East San Jose
East San Jose (abbreviated as ESJ), commonly called The East Side and less commonly as the East Valley, is the eastern region of the city of San Jose, California. The East Side is made up of numerous neighborhoods grouped into two larger distric ...
. It is bound on the east by the Capitol Expressway
There are 21 routes assigned to the "G" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "G" zone includes county highways in Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz cou ...
. Nearby landmarks include Lake Cunningham
__NOTOC__
Lake Cunningham is an artificial lake in Lake Cunningham Park, in East San Jose, California, near the Eastridge Center, Eastridge Mall and Eastridge Transit Center. It is not a geological feature recognized in the Geographic Names Infor ...
and Raging Waters San Jose
Raging Waters are a chain of four water theme parks in Sacramento, San Dimas, San Jose, California, and Sydney, Australia. The parks are operated by Palace Entertainment and owned by its parent company Parques Reunidos, but they each contain d ...
.
Reid-Hillview Airport is located north of Eastridge, across Tully Road.
Transportation
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) operates the Eastridge Transit Center
The Eastridge Transit Center is a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus terminal located at the Eastridge Mall in the Evergreen District of San Jose, California. The station is located alongside Capitol Expressway near Tully Roa ...
on the northeast edge of the mall along Capitol Expressway
There are 21 routes assigned to the "G" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "G" zone includes county highways in Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz cou ...
.
Popular culture
A scene from Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...
's '' The Candidate'' (1972) was filmed at Eastridge.San Jose Mercury News
''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...
Five Things You Didn't Know About Eastridge
/ref>
Several scenes of Logan's Run
''Logan's Run'' is a science fiction novel by American writers William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Published in 1967, the novel depicts a dystopic Malthusianism future society in which both population and the consumption of resource ...
(1976) were filmed at Eastridge.
References
External links
Eastridge Center official site
{{Shopping malls in California
Economy of San Jose, California
Shopping malls in the San Francisco Bay Area
Shopping malls in Santa Clara County, California
Shopping malls established in 1971