Barstow Mall Explained

Barstow Mall
Address:1866 E Main St, Barstow, CA 92311
Opening Date:1975
Developer:E.W. Hahn Company
Ryan-Baron Development Company
Manager:JC Investment
Number Of Stores:4
Number Of Anchors:2
Floor Area:141819square feet[1]
Floors:1

Barstow Mall is a small shopping mall in Barstow, California. It was formerly anchored by Kmart and Sears.

History

The Kmart store was originally slated to be W. T. Grant, which withdrew from the mall plans due to the chain's filing for bankruptcy. This resulted in the mall being only the second in the country to have both a Kmart and a Sears in it. Ernest Hahn was the mall's developer.[2] The mall, previously delayed due to financial issues, began construction in March 1976, and was planned to have 144,600 sq ft of space including both anchors and 40 interior tenants.[3] Sears was the first store to open at the mall, on October 20, 1976.[4] The mall had its grand opening on November 19, 1976, with tenants including Rude's Department Store, Karl's Shoes, Kinney Shoes, Hartfield's Dress Shop, a card and gift shop, and several smaller clothing and food tenants.[5]

The mall suffered in the early 1990s, with the closure of Kmart in November 1992, followed by the closure of Sears in January 1993.[6] The Sears building was later occupied by a Big Lots discount store, which closed in 2003.[7]

In August 2010, renovations began on the mall at the Sears end for conversion to office space.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Barstow Features.
  2. News: Kmart, Sears will anchor Barstow mall. April 1, 1975. The San Bernardino County Sun. B2. September 1, 2018.
  3. News: Work restarted on shopping mall. March 26, 1976. The Sun-Telegram. February 26, 2020.
  4. News: Sears to open at Barstow Mall. October 19, 1976. The Sun-Telegram. February 26, 2020.
  5. News: New shopping mall has grand opening. November 20, 1976. The Sun-Telegram. February 26, 2020.
  6. News: Mueller. Chuck. Barstow employees weep at closure. January 26, 1993. The San Bernardino County Sun. February 27, 2020.
  7. Web site: Close-Out Retail Giant Big Lots to Close Barstow, Calif., Store.. https://web.archive.org/web/20121104150725/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-110706875.html. dead. 4 November 2012. Moniz. Leo. 2 December 2003. Victorville Daily Press. 11 August 2010.
  8. Web site: Hodgdon-Miank Construction Begins Renovation of Barstow Mall and Tenant Improvements for New County Offices. 9 August 2010. 1888 Press Release. 11 August 2010.