 Sign for Orange County Plaza in the late 1950s | |
 | |
| Location | Garden Grove, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°47′22″N117°57′51″W / 33.7893817°N 117.9642835°W /33.7893817; -117.9642835 |
| Address | 9635–9959 Chapman Avenue |
| Opening date | 1958 |
| Management | Donald H. Shanedling (original, 1958) |
| Owner | HGGA Promenade (Hughes Investments)[1] |
| Architect | Jacobson, Coppedge & Huxley |
| Anchor tenants | 8 |
| Floor area | 353,217 sq ft (32,814.9 m2) |
| Floors | 1 |
| Public transit | OCTA bus routes 35, 54 |
| Website | https://www.commercialwest.com/garden-grove-ca-promenade-at-garden-grove-860-18000-sq-ft/ |
Orange County Plaza, laterGarden Grove Mall,Garden Promenade, nowThe Promenade at Garden Grove, was upon its expansion in 1959, with sixty stores, the largest shopping center inOrange County, California, and at the time billed itself as "Orange County's first regional shopping center". However,Anaheim Plaza had in fact already opened In 1955, four years prior, and had an anchor department store (The Broadway).[2]
The open-air shopping center is located at Chapman Avenue and Brookhurst Street inGarden Grove, California, aLos Angeles suburb of 171,644 (2019 estimate).[3]
The center was announced in 1956 and was to cost $10,000,000. In 1956 and 1958, the project announced that Penney's, Newberry's and Grant's would locate in the Plaza, as well as the first branch ofRankin's department store of Santa Ana, which was to measure 28,000 sq ft (2,600 m2) – however, Rankin's never did wind up opening a branch there.[4][5]
The center first opened in 1956 with 20 stores and 60,000 sq ft (5,600 m2) of gross leasable area[6] on 10 acres (4.0 ha),[5] including:[7]
Phase II added 40 stores and 275,000 sq ft (25,500 m2) of gross leasable area on an additional 35 acres (14 ha). This phase added the anchor stores:[8]
in 1979 the center was known asGarden Grove Mall. There was a $5 million renovation of the mall in 1979 with new anchorsNational Lumber, and a new branch of Huntington Park-based 10,000 sq ft (930 m2)Wineman's Department Store that opened in the east end of the mall in the fall of that year.[9] Wineman's operated until acquisition of the chain byBoston Stores in 1984, when this and other branches were converted to Boston Stores. Additional stores that were added wereMcDonald's,Straw Hat Pizza,Citizens Savings and Loan,Bank of America andSee's Candies. The gross leasable area at that time was 345,000 square feet (32,100 m2).[9]
The site continues to function as a shopping center called The Promenade at Garden Grove. With 353,217 sq ft (32,814.9 m2) of gross leasable area it classifies as acommunity shopping center a.k.a. "large neighborhood center".[10] Anchors are Garden Grove's secondWalmart (opened July 16, 2014, formerlyCostco which opened in 1987 and relocated in 1994),[1] a 16-screenRegal Cinemas,Marshalls,Ross Dress for Less,24 Hour Fitness,Aldi,PetSmart andDollar Tree.[11][12]