 | |
| Location | 251 Stonewood StreetDowney, California,USA 90241 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°56′08″N118°07′10″W / 33.9355°N 118.1194°W /33.9355; -118.1194 |
| Opening date | Originally October 9, 1958; 67 years ago (October 9, 1958), reopened October 1990 |
| Developer | E. Morris Smith |
| Management | Macerich |
| Owner | Macerich |
| Stores and services | 150 |
| Anchor tenants | 3 (JCPenney, Macy's, & Kohls) 1 Vacant (Future Round 1) |
| Floor area | 939,423 square feet (GLA) |
| Floors | 1 (2 in JCPenney, Kohls, and Macy's) |
| Website | http://www.shopstonewoodcenter.com/ |
Stonewood Center, sometimes referred to asStonewood Mall, is a shopping mall located inDowney, California, which is one of theGateway Cities of Southeastern Los Angeles County. It is located at the intersection of Firestone andLakewood Boulevards, and it is from this intersection that the mall's name is derived ("Firestone" + "Lakewood").[1] It is within a few miles of many freeways in the area:I-5 andI-605,I-710 andI-105 freeways. The mall is owned and operated byThe Macerich Company and is part of its pair of malls insoutheast Los Angeles County along with theLos Cerritos Center inCerritos,California
Stonewood Center comprises 143 stores, including several restaurants.
The mall is anchored byJ. C. Penney,Macy's (formerlyRobinsons-May),Kohl's (formerlyMervyn's). ARound1 & Spocha will open inside the old Sears anchor building in 2026.
Before Stonewood Center, in the 1940s and 1950s, DowntownHuntington Park was the most popular upscale shopping district for residents ofDowney,South Gate,Bell, andCudahy.
In 1953, William M. Lansdale of Downey announced plans to establish Downey as the next shopping "mecca" in the area and build a 63-acreshopping center.
The mall was developed by E. Morris Smith of Newport Beach and on a budget variously reported as $5,000,000 or $12,000,000, on a 62-acre (25 ha) site and designed by Jacobson, Coppedge & Huxley, The mall's original name was going to be the Lansdale Shopping center. Then Later, the name changed to Stonewood, an abbreviation of the shopping center's location - Firestone at Lakewood, once one of the busiest intersections in the world. The original plan was for five buildings with over 60 stores and over 335,000 square feet (31,100 m2) of gross leasable area. Construction was kicked off in late 1957.
Prior to the opening of the mall proper, in February 1956, construction began with a $750,000 coffee shop and restaurant, Stonewood Restaurant, designed byPereira & Luckman, who also designed the Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport and numerous other Greater Los Angeles] mid-century landmark buildings. Downey Stonewood Community Bank and a 40,000-square-foot Shopping Bag Food Stores also opened during this time.
The mall opened on October 9, 1958, with a larger gross leasable area than the original plan (390,000 square feet (36,000 m2)) and 40 stores includingJ. C. Penney,W. T. Grant and Woolworth variety stores,Thrifty Drug, Miller, Miller West Men's, Downey Music and Hollander Cafeteria.
In the 1960s, the mall was expanded with a 143,400-square-foot (13,320 m2) Broadway department store (opened 1965, now a Sears), and in 1966,Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, Showcase Cinemas, an additional twin cinema, and aRadio Shack. In 1969 JCPenney Moved from a smaller space in the mall to a larger spot in the northwest part in the mall. A new anchor space was constructed for JCPenney, Being much larger than their old space.
In the 1970s the center grew, taking up more of the original land, with almost 80 stores & 2 Anchors
A 2-storyMervyn's (nowKohl's) was added in 1981.
In 1986 Stonewood was sold to Hughes Investments, The mall was facing fierce competition from other nearby indoor malls at the time likeLakewood center,Whittwood Mall, and the newly openedSanta Fe Springs mall &Montebello Town Center.
In 1990 an $100-million transformation (funded by Hughes Investments) into an enclosed mall was completed which included over 40 new stores, a new "Filling Station" Gas station themedfood court, aMay Company California department store anchor, andAcapulco andOlive Garden restaurants. By the mid-1990s, the center had almost 940,000 square feet (87,000 m2) of gross leasable area.
In 1993, the May Company rebranded asRobinson's-May, and in 2006 it was rebranded asMacy's as well as the home store.
In 1996,The Broadway closed its branch, andSears took over the building and built aSears Auto Center in an outparcel. As of 2025 a faintBROADWAY labelscar can be seen from the mall parking lot towards the west part of the building
In 2009, Mervyn'sLiquidated and closed all their locations, Including their Stonewood Center anchor space.Kohl's opened in October that year after taking the leases of 31 former Mervyn's stores, which included their Stonewood Center store.BJ's Restaurant also opened the same year in an old CitiBank next to the Macy's home store
In 2021 It was announced Sears was closing its anchor store at the mall as a plan to close more stores, the store closed on November 14, 2021, leaving the mall its first vacant anchor. Also in 2021 Photos went viral of an abandoned drained pool underneath the mall. The pool used to be a part of the "Nautilus Gym" from when the mall was still outdoors which also had asauna and restrooms. Then when the mall was enclosed the whole underground gym section was mostly "honeycombed" from the rest of the enclosed mall. The pool has sat abandoned since with few people having access to it. The abandoned pool is located under the management office by the Macy's.
In 2022 the mall received a renovation to the mall entrances and welcome signs from the parking lot.
In 2024Round 1 Submitted conceptual plans to turn the old Sears anchor into a Round 1 family-friendly bowling and arcade center.
As of 2025, the mall is at around 87% occupancy which includes vacant spaces only accessible from the outside.In July it was announced some of the mall interior and food court would be renovated to a more modern look like other Macerich malls in the area. In July Construction started on gutting the old Sears anchor building to turn it into a Round 1.
The mall has been a retail hotspot for Downey and surrounding areas for decades since the mall was built. From having stores like WT Grant & Woolworth in the 60's to having stores likeKB Toys,Sam Goody &Waldenbooks in the 90's and having stores likeHot topic,H&M &Bath & Body works in the present day.
Today some of its 60'sarchitecture can still be seen with the JCPenney anchor and vacant sears. The mall also has some 90's architecture from the 1990 renovation like the marble entrances to anchors JCPenney & Macy's from inside the mall & in the exterior of the mall entrances.
In 2023 " The Button Hole"plaque and wall gap was rededicated, It was originally put in place at the request of Wallace C. Button. Button would enjoy walking the area of the mall when it was still a open field andfarmland. When the mall was built in 1958, he requested that when they put the wall up that they leave this gap so he could continue his routine, and his request was granted. When Button died in 1969, A plaque was dedicated next to the wall gap in his honor. However in 2016-17 the plaque was stolen, Leading to the rededication in 2023. It is located on the northwest side of the mall property near the JCPenney and next to the Firestone Complete auto care center