The Main Street Pedestrian Mall in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, stretching along Main Street from 5th to 10th street, was opened in 1966. The

mall Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India ...

is flanked by the City Hall and convention center at either end. In 2008, the city carried out a $10 million

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

to the mall as part of the larger "Riverside Renaissance" project.

History

Before pedestrianization

Main Street was the main shopping street of Riverside for decades before it was pedestrianized in 1966. Major department stores included, at various times: *

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 ...

, opened in February 1929 at 5th and Main, moved in June 1938 to a larger 38,000-foot store in a new art deco building (architect Henry L. A. Jekel) at the southeast corner of 7th (Mission Inn) and Main, on the site of the former Rubidoux Building. It would further expand in the 1950s. *Westbrook's (1935–1964) *Grout's *

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

* J. C. Penney * Pic 'n Save (1930–1980) *

S. H. Kress S. H. Kress & Co. was the trading name of a chain of five and dime retail department stores in the United States established by Samuel Henry Kress. It operated from 1896 to 1981. In the first half of the 20th century, there were Kress stores wit ...

dime store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...

, east side of Main between 8th and 9th streets *Reynold's, at 9th and Main *

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

, southeast corner of 9th and Main (1940–1957)

References

External links

Photo GalleryPedestrian mall articles on "Raincross Square" blog
{{Shopping malls in California Pedestrian malls in the United States Shopping malls in Riverside County, California Shopping malls established in 1966 Buildings and structures in Riverside, California Streets in Riverside County, California