In the early 1970s, both Tanforan Shopping Mall and Interstate 380 (upper right) were being constructed. Before it was completed, the Interstate 380 bridge of iron and steel fell causing a mess of steel and a commute traffic jam.
In the early 1970s, both Tanforan Shopping Mall and Interstate 380 (upper right) were being constructed. Before it was completed, the Interstate 380 bridge of iron and steel fell causing a mess of steel and a commute traffic jam.
World War II was over in the mid-1940s and peace had come to San Mateo County. The 447-plus square miles of land huddled between the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean had about 111,000 people living in it. The population would see a doubling of the population to 235,000. The land that had been developed was mainly to the east of the 150-year-old El Camino Real and the difficult hilly area to the west of it was mainly what was left to be developed. Highway 101 would be realigned in the mid-1940s so that two main avenues could be used to flow up and down the Peninsula.
In the mid-1940s, a man named Henry Doelger was having illusions about the vast expanses of sandy hills and deep gullies becoming a housing project. He bought up 1,300 acres of land in the Westlake area and proceeded to build low-priced houses for the masses. His next thoughts were about supplying this community with food, furniture, clothes, paint, beds, etc. Up to now, the center of the many cities was the shopping areas but, with the advent of cars available after the war, these centers were limited in supplying all of the needs of the community. He devised a revolutionary idea called a "mall” where all of the shops needed would be available. He would put adequate area for cars and hoped this would lure customers to the new mall. He succeeded beyond his expectations and, within a few years, many other communities began imitating his mall concept.
In the rolling hills of the "Colma” area, Patrick Brooks, in 1852, had acquired 442 acres fronting the Mission road. J.A. and Harry Christen later bought this land and developed one of the best dairies on the Peninsula. In 1963, the dairy land was sold to the Sunshine Realty Company and plans for the Serramonte housing development were begun. Carl and Fred Gellert had built homes in the 1920s and were very successful at it. This virgin area was devoid of streets, houses and stores. Gellert devised a bold plan never tried on the Peninsula before. He wanted to build a closed-in, climate-controlled and air-conditioned mall much like Doelger had built, but this mall was to be totally enclosed. Arthur "Buzz” Haskins, Inc. of South San Francisco agreed to move 2,700,000 cubic yards of dirt to prepare the land for the 900,000-square-foot shopping center. "Buzz” soon found out he had another problem. For years, the rice milling factories at Hunters Point had been dumping worthless rice hulls into the gullies of Colma so these had to be removed, slowing the project down considerably. When finished, the mall was to have tenants such as Montgomery Ward, Longs Drug, Macy’s and QFI as the cornerstones of the mall. Numerous specialty shops complemented the mall as well as restaurants and eventually McDonalds. By 1972, there were 152 tenants in the mall.
David Bohannon began building houses in the 1930s. In the early ‘40s, he bought up the Burleigh H. Murray property south of San Mateo and fronting on El Camino Real. He had monumental ideas of building thousands of low-cost homes priced between $5,000 and $6,000. Construction was halted during World War II and he went to build homes for workers in the defense industries. After the war, he returned to Hillsdale with the idea of building houses and possibly a mall like Henry Doelger had done in Daly City. His mall was to be bigger, better, closed to the weather and present a higher class of merchandise for the shoppers. This 40-acre site was projected to cost $30 million and be "anchored” by Sears, Macy’s and Emporium stores, plus smaller specialized retail stores. By 1970, the Hillsdale Shopping Center had more than 150 stores in it and was considered the finest shopping center on the Peninsula. On Nov. 8, 1980, Bohannon’s 1,300,000-square-foot reconstruction of the Hillsdale Shopping Center was approved. It was to be a climate-controlled enclosed mall with Nordstrom getting 120,000 feet of room. Mervyn’s also was added. At the same time and against the advice of Bohannon, Ernest Hahn of Los Angles planned the opening of an 856,934-square-foot mall near Foster City, named Fashion Center. Bohannon’s information told him the area could not support two major malls but, after a city election, it was approved. Hahn opened Fashion Island in September 1981 with J.C. Penny, Liberty House, Montgomery Ward and Bullocks in the center. November 1981 was to be the phase I opening of the Hillsdale Shopping Center, in time for the Christmas rush. Bohannon’s advice was proved correct in that two large malls in the area could not be supported by the population. Hillsdale Shopping Center prospered and Fashion Island never lived up to expectations. It is now Bridgepointe Shopping Center and doing quite well.
The Tanforan race track in San Bruno burned down in the 1960s. This large parcel of land sat with no development until 1971 when the Tanforan shopping center construction was begun. Being 10 miles south of San Francisco, it was developed to supply merchandise for those shoppers as well as the area between Serramonte Shopping Center and Hillsdale. One of the big advantages Tanforan had was BART that would have a stop at its doors as well as many of the bus lines. The stores that anchored the mall were Sears, Penney’s and Emporium (that was replaced by Target), On April 18, 2008, Century Theatres had a grand opening next to the main mall. The San Bruno Police Department opened its office at the BART garage. A two-level Barnes and Noble bookstore opened facing El Camino Real and close to the statue of the champion racing horse — Seabiscuit.
Rediscovering the Peninsula by Darold Fredericks appears in the Monday edition of the Daily Journal.
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