This vintage 1950s postcard offers more than just a charming view of Stonestown—it captures a defining moment in the rise of suburban retail in San Francisco. Framed by tall palm trees and sleek mid-century architecture, The Emporium’s iconic “E” logo anchors the scene, with late 1940s and early ’50s cars parked neatly in the foreground. But behind the glamour is a bigger story: the evolution of Stonestown Shopping Center, from a neighborhood concept to the region’s first pedestrian mall, and eventually to the enclosed Stonestown Galleria that still stands today.
A community-centered start
When Stonestown was first conceived in 1948, it wasn’t originally planned as a mall in the modern sense. The earliest proposal was for a modest community hub—a supermarket and a few shops lining the roads of a new suburban neighborhood. Parking would sit in the center, surrounded by storefronts facing outward, blending retail into the residential fabric of San Francisco’s Lakeside district.
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| An early 1948 newspaper rendering of the original Stonestown Shopping Center plan—shops lined the surrounding streets with parking concentrated in the center. A far cry from the open-air pedestrian mall it would eventually become. |
But once The Emporium expressed interest in opening a location there, everything changed. The development was quickly redesigned to include a pedestrian-only mall at the center, with parking moved to the outer edges. This early attempt to separate people from cars—and pollution—was forward-thinking, and Stonestown became the first pedestrian shopping mall of its kind in the region
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| Vintage 1952 newspaper sketch from the San Francisco Chronicle previewing the upcoming Stonestown Shopping Center, featuring The Emporium and Bank of America as anchor tenants. |
A new era of suburban retail
The Emporium opened on July 16, 1952, as the center’s flagship store. The rest of the outdoor mall officially debuted on November 6, 1952, developed by the Stoneson brothers, who also built the surrounding neighborhood. They loved their palm trees—and clearly, their mid-century modern design.
Original tenants included:
Walgreens
F.W. Woolworth’s
Red Chimney restaurant
Bank of America
Butler Brothers
And of course… plenty of free parking
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| Mid-1950s postcard of The Emporium at Stonestown Mall in San Francisco, showcasing its grand department store facade framed by palm trees and streamlined mid-century architecture—a glamorous symbol of suburban retail's golden age. |
The back of the postcard reads: "Stonestown, California. One of San Francisco's newest residential sections. It is served by a complete shopping district where many downtown stores and institutions have established branches."
At a time when most shopping was still focused downtown, this was a bold move. Stonestown brought a full-line department store to the suburbs, backed by the rising car culture and the promise of free, convenient parking. The formula worked: give people a reason to skip downtown congestion, and they’d come from across the region.
Stonestown steps into the '70s
In the early 1970s, the City of Paris store that occupied the former Butler Brothers since 1960 was purchased by Amfac, the owners of the Liberty House of Hawaii department store. With bold ambitions to bring Liberty House to the region, Amfac constructed a flagship Liberty House at Union Square, and in turn, closed the City of Paris store at Stonestown in 1974.
To stay in step with changing tastes, Stonestown underwent a major remodel to attract new retailers. The renovation included modernized exteriors, updated storefronts, and a new pedestrian bridge over Winston Drive, improving the flow between shops and parking.
Then in 1977 Bullock’s arrived—an upscale Southern California department store that brought a touch of luxury and trendiness to the west side. Positioned as a second anchor where the City of Paris formerly sat, Bullock’s helped reposition Stonestown as a regional fashion destination, not just a neighborhood shopping center.
From outdoor mall to Stonestown Galleria
Bullock’s closed in 1983, and by the mid-1980s, retail trends were shifting again. The open-air format no longer felt modern. In 1987, the original Stonestown Mall was demolished and replaced by the fully enclosed Stonestown Galleria, a two-story indoor mall that still stands today.
Though the Emporium brand disappeared after its 1995 merger with Macy’s, its presence—and legacy—remains embedded in the layout and bones of the Galleria.
Related posts:
- Lost department stores: Emporium-Capwell (1896—1996)
- Lost department stores: Bullock's (1972—1986)
- Lost malls: Westlake Shopping Center in Daly City — from mid-century mall to modern marketplace
- The history of Tanforan Mall in San Bruno — last stop on the infamous three malls in three hours whirlwind
Comments
Since there have been no new news on this blog on Stonestown. Here it goes.
Since the Willie Brown was mayor and maybe during Newsomes early year, there was a some what major idea to the Stonestown mall, on what to do to it. Well that idea have been long gone and scraped.
Since then minor stuff have been done to the mall. Also tenants have come and go. What is happening now is that the Gap will be moving to another part on the upstair of the mall from it old spot. The new spot will be next to Banana Republic is. That is two spots that use to Blcak and white and American Eagle's. Who and what will take the Gap spot, when it is empty. The Giant Dugout use to be outside of Nordstorm on the upstairs, it has move next door to See's Candy. The expanive Chinese Jewely shop, that use to be at Chinatown on the corner of Washington and Stockton for a very long time, has moved to bottom floor outside of Nordstorm for four or five years now. The stuff they sell are more expanive then mall jewely shops like Zales. Also next door to it, that use be Chico's, that will become a desert shop with the kind one would get at Hungry Hunter, Outback Statehouse and the Cheese Cake Factory. Where Tablot was that spot is close up and being fixed up for whoever might want to come in. The Olive Garden has gotten a minor face lift on the outside. don't know has anything been done on the inside. Stonestown has now put up a mall sign on 19th Ave, by where 29 and 17 muni buses turns. The chvery near the mall entrance have been gone for a while, part of it is being used for Pete's Coffee. The rest is just being fixed up with no tenant yet.The old Copeland spot by Mcdonalds has become Chase and Trader Joe's. Next to it the old Border spot is now Sports Authority. But it didn't right away become Sports Authority. It was empty for a time being then a mom and pop old and bargain books came in for a like four or five months. then they left saying the rent was just too high. what I heard they went over to the TriValley. Finally the former Tower Records spot will be a fitness club, called City Sports Club which belongs to LA Fitness. I would say don't know is that a good or bad idea,the kind of people that live in the Sunset, Parkside and Ocean View. Would they get the kind of business they want. Should the Tower Record CompUSA spot haven more shop and more places to eat or something big coming in like Frys or Half Price Books.
Well that how is Stonestown now.