Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton, California, opened in 1980, developed by the renowned mall builder Taubman Company and designed by Avner Naggar (who also gave us Sunvalley Mall, Eastridge Mall, Hilltop Mall, and parts of Southland Mall). Its original anchor tenants were JCPenney, Emporium-Capwell, and Macy’s, forming the foundation of what would become one of the Tri-Valley’s key retail destinations.
Early planning: a mall with big ambitions
Plans for a major regional mall in Pleasanton date back to 1966. By the early 1970s, plans included an ambitious proposal to bring five department stores to the region: JCPenney, Emporium-Capwell, Macy’s, Liberty House, and Sears. While space was allocated for five anchors—with potential for two additional wings—only three department stores would open with the mall in 1980.
Right out of 1985, here is a promotional picture of the center court.
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| Center court of Stoneridge Shopping Center in 1985, as featured in a promotional ad—complete with lush indoor planters, glass railings, and signature ’80s modern styling. A popular gathering spot, the space reflected the elegance and optimism of suburban retail during the decade. |
While the Charles O. Perry sculpture now permanently hovers near the ceiling, in the 1980s it sat where it was meant to be—at eye level from the second floor, fully visible and central to the mall’s design. Originally built to be adjustable, it could be raised or lowered depending on the day’s needs, whether for maintenance or simply to change the atmosphere. But the real spectacle? Earthquake days. When the ground moved, that sculpture would begin to sway slowly and eerily, like it was caught in some invisible California rhythm—a haunting, graceful dance only the Golden State could cue.
Trivia: A nearly identical sculpture floats above the atrium at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero 5 in San Francisco. Same style, same quiet grandeur.
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| Stoneridge Mall logo from 1989, featuring sleek typography and a clean, understated design typical of late-’80s branding. This version appeared on mall signage, directories, and promotional materials during the decade of modern retail expansion. |
Growth and expansion
The long-anticipated Nordstrom wing opened in 1990, marking the mall’s most significant expansion and bringing a new level of upscale retail to the East Bay. Six years later, in 1996 Sears joined the mall lineup. However, unlike Nordstrom, Sears was added without a new wing or significant expansion to the center’s footprint.
Trivia: Stoneridge Mall has a twin, and it's Meadowood Mall in Reno. It opened a year before Stoneridge, and it's one level instead of two. Perhaps more curvy in nature, it has all the expansions Stoneridge didn't get.
The curse of the Stoneridge elevator
I've probably been to Stoneridge Mall more times than I’ve brushed my hair—okay, maybe that’s a stretch, but it’s definitely my most-visited mall. And yet, for all those visits, I’ve baffled friends and family with one small, stubborn habit: I refuse to ride the elevator.
It’s not claustrophobia. It’s not some architectural gripe. No, it’s something deeper. Something... cursed.
Let me explain.
When Stoneridge first opened its gleaming glass doors, it did so with full Taubman flair. There were banners, ribbon cuttings, and even Foothill High’s marching band pounding out some celebratory beat. Alfred Taubman himself—yes, the mall mogul—gave a grand speech about a bright future of consumer joy.
And then... the brand-new elevator didn’t work.
Just stood there. Shiny, silent, sulking. From that moment on, I was convinced it was doomed.
But really, my grudge against elevators goes back even further—to the "incident."
I was just a little thing, trailing behind my grand aunt—the one who’d quite literally walk out of her shoes if a sale caught her eye (no lie, it happened). We were in a Joseph Magnin store somewhere, probably Serramonte Mall. She pressed both the “up” and “down” buttons in the elevator (dyslexia mistake), and in we went—me, my cousin, and our fearless, fashion-hunting aunt.
We ended up in the basement. Doors opened... but the elevator wouldn’t go anywhere else. It was as if we had been ejected from the matrix. Cue panic. My cousin and I, certain we’d be trapped forever, started bawling right there among boxes of perfume and pantyhose.
Eventually, we exited—not into the store, but into some forgotten corridor that led us outside. We had to hike all the way around the mall to get back in. For us, it was practically a survival story. From that moment on, I didn’t trust elevators—especially not in malls.
So when Stoneridge's elevator debuted broken? That sealed it. In my mind, it was cursed, too. Even now, decades later, I still take the stairs—or the long way around—just to avoid tempting fate.
Some people fear haunted houses. Me? I fear mall elevators with a history.
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| The infamous elevator at Stoneridge Mall in 2013 — the one I always took the stairs to avoid. |
2007 Stoneridge Mall directory
Minor renovations occurred at Stoneridge Mall in 2007. All of the sunken sitting "pits" have been removed. You can see exposed dirt, which hasn't seen sunlight since 1979. Towards the Macy's Women's store, new floor tiles are being installed in multiple circle patterns. The color is more brown with a marble look. The original floor is white terrazzo. A giant sculpture was precariously moved and leaning against the glass rail on the second story. I tried to push it to see if it would topple, but it wouldn't budge.
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| 2007 Stoneridge Mall directory in Pleasanton, offering a snapshot of the retail landscape before the major remodels of the 2010s. Featuring longtime anchors like Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Sears, along with a variety of early 2000s-era chains that once defined the shopping experience. |
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| Reverse side of the 2007 Stoneridge Mall directory, featuring promotional material for mall gift cards—"the perfect gift"—along with customer service info and branding typical of Simon Malls at the time. |
The most exciting part in the renovation is the opening of P.F. Chang's China Bistro and The Cheesecake Factory. Nothing thrills suburbia more than the opening of a national chain restaurant. Wait times to get into Cheesecake factory exceed 2.5 hours, with scantly less for P.F. Chang's.
The legacy of Stoneridge
Stoneridge isn't just a mall—it was a backdrop to my awkward youth, my retail education, and my lifelong grudge against elevators. It was where I learned that cliques don’t stop at high school, that sculptures can sway like slow-motion metronomes during earthquakes, and that sometimes the most memorable part of Cheesecake Factory is the three-hour wait.
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| The center court of Stoneridge Mall today (2025) — a modern space still echoing the footsteps and stories of years past. |
Sure, the terrazzo floors have been covered, the sitting pits filled in, and the anchor stores keep shifting with the times. But walk through that center court today and you’ll still catch echoes of everything that made it special: the hum of escalators, the scent of soft pretzels, and maybe—just maybe—that haunted elevator humming quietly in the background.
I may have taken the long way around more times than I can count, but every step brought me closer to a story. And really, isn’t that what a good mall always gives us?
Comments
However, (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) the old EMPORIUM stores never changed their signs to "Emporium-Capwell". Interior signage, bags, badges, and window decals were changed, but exterior neon signs did not.
I've always wondered if this was due to budget constraints, or because the intent all along was to eventually change everything to just "Emporium", which they would do ten years later.
There WAS one holdout amongst the former Capwell ranks however, and that was El Cerrito. That branch kept the old "Capwell's" signs (including a huge rooftop one) through the 80's and early 90's until the chain dropped Capwell from the name. Then and only then was the sign changed to "Emporium". Ironically, this was only a couple of years before Federated's takeover and the store's closure.
But get this: After the store was closed the management at El Cerrito Plaza continued to keep the "Emporium" sign lit up at night even though there was now nothing inside. Were they trying to give the appearance of life to a dying mall, or just trying to make up for all the years that the store had the wrong sign?
BTW, the building was demolished in 2000 and an Albertson's parking lot now sits in its place.
I was the one that noticed that the "mushroom" lights were removed, mostly because I wanted to show them to a friend I had visited Fairlane and Lakeside malls with. I can't say that ever much cared for them, though now that I realize they were part of a legacy of variations on the Taubman "look", they hold a much greater significance. It would be nice if they came up with another light fixture to replace the ones that were there. The mounts for them are still in the planters.
I asked the Information lady what's going on and she gave me the canned answer that they are going to be putting in "upscale seating", whatever that is. Having been an architect, all I can say is that is a description straight out of marketing lingo. It will be interesting to see what transpires.