The Market Place (also known as the Tustin Market Place or the Tustin/Irvine Market Place) is an outdoor shopping center located in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

. Opened in 1988, the center is located along

Jamboree Road Jamboree Road is a long major arterial road through Orange County, California, running through the cities of Newport Beach, Irvine, California, Irvine, Tustin, and Orange, California, Orange. Route description The southern terminus of Jamboree ...

and

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

, straddling the borders of

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier * Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia * Irvine Island * Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada * Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut Scotland *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotlan ...

and

Tustin Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, United States, within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city does not include the unincorporated community of North Tustin. History Pres ...

. The Market Place features 140 tenants including Athleta,

Amazon Fresh Amazon Fresh is a subsidiary of the American e-commerce company Amazon in Seattle, Washington. It is a grocery retailer with physical stores in some U.S. cities, as well as in London and delivery services in the United States and various intern ...

, Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar,

Nordstrom Rack Nordstrom Rack is an American off-price department store chain founded in 1973. It is a sister brand to the luxury department store chain Nordstrom. , Nordstrom Rack operates 348 stores in 41 U.S. states. History In 1973, the company open ...

REI Recreational Equipment, Inc., doing business as REI, is an American retail and outdoor recreation services corporation. It was formerly governed, and continues to brand itself, as a consumers' co-operative. REI sells camping gear, hiking, clim ...

Sephora Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products, offering nearly 340 brands alongside its own private label, the Sephora Collection. Its product range includes cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, nail color, beauty t ...

and

Texas de Brazil Texas de Brazil is a family owned churrascaria (Brazilian steakhouse) restaurant chain with locations both internationally and domestically. It debuted October 13, 1998, in Addison, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The restaurant is a Brazilian-America ...

. The property is owned and managed by

The Irvine Company The Irvine Company LLC is an American private company focused on real estate development. It is headquartered in Newport Beach, California, with a large portion of its operations centered in and around Irvine, California, a planned city of more ...

Design

The Market Place covers an area of and has more than 120 stores, restaurants, cafes and theaters. Designed by Mexican architect

Ricardo Legorreta Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis (May 7, 1931 – December 30, 2011) was a Mexican architect. He was a prolific designer of private houses, public buildings and master plans in Mexico, the United States and some other countries. He was awarded the pres ...

, it consists of monumental but extremely simplified cubic forms, with anchor stores marked by massive towers roughly high displaying the store name. The center is also unique in that all the store signs are displayed in

neon Neon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is the second noble gas in the periodic table. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with approximately two-thirds the density of ...

. The overall design operates on the idea that center's tenants add most of the color and character to the otherwise plain center, a concept that had previously (though unsuccessfully) been attempted with Britain's

Tricorn Centre The Tricorn Centre was a shopping centre, shopping, nightclub and car park complex in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. It was designed in the Brutalist architecture, Brutalist style by Owen Luder and Rodney Gordon and took its name from the sit ...

. The buildings are arranged in a ring around a large central series of parking lots and fast-food restaurants. The center on the whole has a "desert" look to it, with parking lots shaded under groves of

date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...

s, and extensive rock landscaping around the perimeter of the center. The parking lots are illuminated by arrays of

xenon Xenon is a chemical element; it has symbol Xe and atomic number 54. It is a dense, colorless, odorless noble gas found in Earth's atmosphere in trace amounts. Although generally unreactive, it can undergo a few chemical reactions such as the ...

floodlights set inside the peaks of high towers. The buildings themselves are uniformly surfaced in bright orange, purple, and pink

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

History

Phase 1

Construction of Phase I began in 1988 on the Tustin (northwest) side of Jamboree Road, and this phase was opened in three distinct sections. The first section opened in 1988, with of space allotted for home improvement (

The Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

), furnishings/decor retail stores including the second

STØR STØR Furnishings International Inc. was an American furniture chain based in City of Industry, California, that opened in 1987. It sold European-style furniture and ready-to-assemble furnishings. Advertisements for the chain ended with the sta ...

location (became

IKEA IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...

in 1992 which relocated to

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge o ...

in 2003, now

Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...

and

), and a Home Express store (later became

Toys R Us A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and ...

, now

). The second section of Phase I opened in 1989, with of soft goods and apparel stores like

Ross Dress for Less Ross Stores, Inc., operating under the brand name Ross Dress for Less, is an American chain of discount department stores headquartered in Dublin, California. It is the largest off-price retailer in the U.S.; as of July 2024, Ross operates 1,795 ...

, Kids R Us (later became

CompUSA CompUSA, Inc. was a retailer and reseller of Personal computer, personal computers, consumer electronics, technology products and computer services. Starting with one Brick and mortar, brick-and-mortar store in 1986 under the name Soft Warehouse, ...

, now

Sprouts Farmers Market Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc., is a supermarket chain headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The grocer offers a wide selection of natural and organic foods, including fresh produce, bulk foods, vitamins and supplements, packaged groceries, meat, poul ...

), and

T.J. Maxx TJ Maxx (stylized as T•J•maxx) is an American discount department store chain. It has more than 1,000 stores in the United States, making it one of the largest clothing retailers in the country. TJ Maxx is the flagship chain of the TJX Co ...

and electronics stores like

The Good Guys! The Good Guys, Inc., was an American chain of consumer electronics retail stores with 71 stores in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The company was headquartered in Brisbane, California, in the Dakin Building in the early 1990s and ...

(now

PetSmart PetSmart Inc. is a privately held American chain of pet Big-box store, superstores, which sell pet products, services, and small pets. It is the leading North American pet company, and its direct competitor is Petco. Its indirect competitors ...

). The third and final section of Phase I opened in 1990, with of restaurants, services and a six-screen Edwards movie theater complex.

Phase 2

In 1996, Phase II of the Tustin Market Place opened on the Irvine (southeast) side of Jamboree Road. This phase expanded the Market Place by , adding stores like

Sports Authority Sports Authority, Inc. (formerly The Sports Authority) was an American sports retailer based in Englewood, Colorado. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commer ...

(closed in 2016),

OfficeMax OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. As an independent chain, it was the third-largest office supply retailer in the United States. Following a 2013 merger, it is currently a brand and subsidiary of Office Depot. ...

(relocated to another space in 2012, closed in 2021, original location later became

Stein Mart Stein Mart is an American discount men's and women's online retailer & former department store Chain store, chain based in Jacksonville, Florida. Stein Mart had locations primarily in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, Texas, and Califor ...

Bed Bath & Beyond Bed Bath & Beyond was an American big-box retail chain specializing in housewares, furniture, and specialty items. Headquartered in Union, New Jersey, the chain operated stores in the United States and Canada, and was once counted among the ...

Circuit City Circuit City Corporation, Inc., formerly Circuit City Stores, Inc., is an American consumer electronics retail company, which was founded in 1949 by Samuel Wurtzel as the Wards Company, operated stores across the United States, and pioneered th ...

(now

24 Hour Fitness 24 Hour Fitness is a privately held 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 (behin ...

), and

Babies R Us In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...

(now

), restaurants and a 10-screen Edwards Stadium Theater.

Phase 3

Phase III, also on the Irvine (southeast) side of Jamboree Road, opened in 1999. Another of retail space were added to the Market Place in this phase, which included a new

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. ( ) is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States. As of October 28, 2022, Lowe's and i ...

store (closed 2019, now Mathis Brothers Furniture), a large food court, and a

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

store.

Later Additions

The newer 10-screen Edwards theater, which opened as part of Phase 2, operated alongside the original 6-screen theater built in Phase 1, which was also operated by Edwards, until 2012 when the older six-screen theater closed, due to more people going to the newer theater across the street as well as the new AMC Tustin 14 at the District at Tustin Legacy. A community center operated by the City of Tustin opened in 2014 in the space originally occupied by the six-screen theater. In Spring 2014, three new restaurants were added in close proximity to the existing Best Buy store. A

Chase Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Trade name, doing business as Chase, is an American National bank (United States), national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the retail banking, consumer and commercial bank, commercial banking su ...

branch and a Food Court were also added close to the existing Lowe's store. The Market Place added a Starbucks, with a drive through, and an Urban Plates restaurant near the former Lowe's building in late 2015. A new building was added close to the theater to accommodate the two new restaurants. The former Babies R Us space was renovated to hold one of the first

stores, a new grocery store concept by

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

, which opened in October 2020.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Market Place Shopping malls in Orange County, California Tustin, California Shopping malls established in 1988 1988 establishments in California Ricardo Legorreta buildings Postmodern architecture in California