Broadway Plaza — the shopping center that became downtown Walnut Creek

Before regional malls transformed suburban shopping, Broadway Plaza offered a different model. Built along the southern edge of downtown Walnut Creek, it wasn't designed to replace Main Street—it extended it. 

Over the next seventy years, Broadway Plaza evolved from a modest open-air shopping center into Northern California's premier luxury retail destination, attracting department stores once found only in downtown Oakland and San Francisco. 

Its success showed that suburban retail didn't always have to move away from downtown. Sometimes, it could become downtown.

Broadway Plaza arrives

Broadway Plaza, originally called Broadway Shopping Center, opened on November 8, 1951. Built by MacDonald Products Company, featuring Sears, JCPenney, Woolworths, Joseph Magnin, and Lucky Stores. The opening ceremonies included none other than the legendary Harpo Marx and Mary Fenn in two stage performances.

Broadway Plaza originally referred to a short street that connected Main Street to South Broadway. Running perpendicular to it, South Broadway featured shops on its east side, like Lucky's and Capwell's, with parking lots occupying the west. As the area redeveloped over time, the street names and layout were reconfigured: a new South Broadway was established east of the shopping center, where it remains today. The original South Broadway was renamed Broadway Plaza, while the original Broadway Plaza street was permanently closed to vehicular traffic, transforming it into a more pedestrian-friendly, mall-like environment.

Aerial postcard of downtown Walnut Creek in 1965. Broadway Plaza developed as an extension of the city's commercial core rather than as a stand-alone shopping center. A larger version appears in the Broadway Plaza postcard collection.

Bringing the downtown department store to the suburbs

Broadway Plaza's direction changed in 1954 when Capwell's opened its first suburban branch. Until then, stores such as Capwell's had been destinations associated with downtown Oakland. Their arrival in Walnut Creek suggested that suburban shopping could offer the same department store experience without the trip into the city.

Capwell's experimented with suburban branches elsewhere, including Hayward, but Walnut Creek proved uniquely successful.

Grand opening advertisement for Capwell's at Broadway Plaza, March 1954. The store was the chain's first suburban branch and helped establish Broadway Plaza as a department store destination.

Walnut Creek becomes an upscale retail destination

During the 1960s and 1970s, Broadway Plaza expanded alongside Walnut Creek itself. What began as a modest suburban shopping center gradually evolved into a larger regional destination, attracting department stores that were once concentrated in downtown Oakland and San Francisco.

San Francisco luxury retailer I. Magnin opened across from Capwell's in March 1967. After I. Magnin closed, the building became Macy's Men's and Junior's before it, too, was eventually demolished for new retail development.

Originally built for I. Magnin in 1967, this building was photographed in 2006 during its years as Macy's before being demolished for Broadway Plaza's redevelopment.

The arrival of Los Angeles-based Bullock's in 1973 marked another turning point. Long associated with upscale fashion and luxury retail, the department store helped elevate Broadway Plaza's profile and signaled its growing importance as a regional shopping destination.

By the 1980s, Broadway Plaza was no longer simply a suburban shopping center. It had become an increasingly important retail anchor for downtown Walnut Creek, setting the stage for decades of redevelopment and expansion.

Reinventing the downtown shopping district

Broadway Plaza continued to evolve as retail habits changed, but its role as Walnut Creek's department store district remained remarkably consistent. After Bullock's closed, Nordstrom took over the building, preserving the shopping center's position as one of the Bay Area's premier fashion destinations. Rather than losing an anchor—as happened at many regional malls—Broadway Plaza successfully replaced one upscale department store with another.

The shopping center also adapted physically. Surface parking gradually gave way to parking structures, former retail buildings were replaced with new development, and the site became increasingly integrated with the surrounding downtown. By the early twenty-first century, Broadway Plaza had become less of a shopping center and more of Walnut Creek's primary retail district.

From department stores to luxury retail

A major milestone came in 2012 with the arrival of Neiman Marcus, signaling Broadway Plaza's growing focus on luxury retail. The addition helped attract other high-end brands and further distinguished the center from traditional suburban malls.

Construction of Neiman Marcus in 2011. Opening the following year, the store marked Broadway Plaza's transformation from a traditional department store center into one of Northern California's leading luxury shopping destinations.

Legacy of Broadway Plaza

Unlike many postwar shopping centers that were enclosed, expanded, and eventually declined, Broadway Plaza followed a different path. By remaining connected to Walnut Creek's downtown core and continually reinventing itself, it evolved from a suburban shopping center into one of Northern California's most successful open-air retail destinations.

Today, little remains of the original 1951 center beyond its location and name. Yet Broadway Plaza continues to reflect the same forces that shaped its creation: population growth, changing retail trends, and Walnut Creek's emergence as one of the Bay Area's most important commercial centers.

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Collection

East Bay Malls

Shopping centers that shaped retail history across Alameda and Contra Costa counties from the 1950s through today.

Continue exploring

• Broadway Plaza postcards — Walnut Creek (1950s and 1960s)
• Sunvalley Mall — when shopping became an attraction