Golden Mall

The Golden Mall was a pedestrianized mall in downtown Burbank, California from 1967-1989. It consisted of San Fernando Boulevard from Tujunga Avenue to Magnolia Boulevard, immediately south of the present Burbank Town Center.

Origins

The Golden Mall was built at a cost of $915,000 and opened in November 1967.[1]

Success

During the mid-1970s one source stated that the mall was still considered an important retail hub in Burbank.[1] However, another source stated that already by 1970, only three years after opening, new businesses stopped coming in to the mall, and customers starting coming less and less. The reasons given for lower customer traffic were firstly, because of the difficulty of parking away from the stores (instead of in front as previously), and secondly, that the store windows were not visible from any major street, so people driving by were not inspired to stop and shop there.[2]

Attempts at revitalization as a pedestrian mall

By the late 1980s, the mall had deteriorated. Overgrown landscaping and deteriorating vegetation were a haven for vagrants, according to the Los Angeles Times. Unkempt storefronts and vacant stores were also putting off customers.[3] Revitalization efforts focused on an empty 40-acre (16 ha) parcel adjacent to Golden Mall, now the site of the Burbank Town Center mall. Ernest Hahn didn't follow through on plans to build a $140 million "Towncenter" there - plans that included transforming Golden Mall into a themed " village street" that would feed into the new development. In April 1988 Walt Disney Co. abandoned plans to build a $611 million shopping and entertainment center there.[2]

Reintroduction of vehicle traffic

The city decided in the end to revitalize the area by reintroducing automobile traffic to the street. A multicinema opened in the late 1980s as well, helping bring traffic to the mall.[2]

The plan to return vehicular traffic to the mall was proposed in 1985.[3] 1987, the block from Tujunga to Olive were opened to vehicles. In June 1988, the city council studied the opening of the remaining three blocks from Magnolia to Tujunga.[4]

Burbank Town Center finally opened at the north end of the former Golden Mall, built by European mall developer Haagen Co, in 1991, with IKEA moving in earlier in 1990.[5]

Today this stretch of San Fernando Road forms part of the "Burbank Village" district.[6]

  • "Golden Mall", Wes Clark (blog) - historic photo gallery of Golden Mall
  • "Golden Mall" in Growing up in Burbank, Wesley H. Clark, Michael B. McDaniel, 2017, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 9781439663806. Also in Lost Burbank by same authors,

References
  1. Mayers, Jackson (1975). Burbank History. Indiana University. p. 177. Retrieved August 20, 2020. The six - block traffic - free " Golden Mall " was opened in November , 1967 , on San Fernando Road . Cost was $ 915,000
  2. Braxton, Greg (May 30, 1988). "Golden Mall Called Key to Downtown Burbank". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 20, 2020."(second page of article)". Los Angeles Times. May 30, 1988. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  3. Braxton, Greg (October 7, 1985). "Burbank Trying to Polish Golden Mall's Image". Los Angeles Times. p. 15. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  4. "Burbank Studies Plan to Open Mall to Cars". Los Angeles Times. June 2, 1988. p. 45. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  5. Greg Braxton (August 22, 1991). "Burbank gets its mall". The Los Angeles Times. pp. B3, B8. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  6. "BURBANK : Downtown District Gets a New Name", Los Angeles Times, September 30, 1993
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