BIGMallrat | lost malls, department stores, and Bay Area retail history

When San Francisco Centre opened its doors on October 7, 1988, it transformed the urban retail landscape. Built next to the historic Emporium building on Market Street, this bold new vertical mall offered a uniquely compact, yet towering shopping experience: four levels of retail crowned by four more levels of Nordstrom—then the largest in the United States. The center introduced San Francisco to a type of retail previously unseen in the region: an enclosed, vertical shopping mall with modern flair. One of its most iconic features was the spiral escalators, the first in North America, connecting three levels in a dramatic, space-efficient design that became a hallmark of the mall’s futuristic interior. Spiral escalators add a dramatic modern touch to the interior design. The 1990s: A vertical retail success story During the 1990s, San Francisco Centre flourished. It became a premier downtown shopping destination, attracting both tourists and locals with high-end retail options, mul...

Tucked between the steel-and-glass giants of San Francisco’s Financial District, the Crocker Galleria feels like a quiet anomaly. Just two blocks from the bustle of Union Square, this petite, three-level shopping center offers a striking architectural contrast and, at least during our 2007 visit, an eerily tranquil atmosphere. A walk through in 2007 Stepping inside on a Saturday afternoon, we were struck by the silence. After navigating shoulder-to-shoulder crowds at the newly expanded Westfield San Francisco Centre, Crocker Galleria felt almost forgotten. We counted just three other people across the entire concourse. It was as if the entire downtown had gone home for the weekend—and in some ways, it had. Street view of Crocker Galleria in San Francisco—its glass arched roof and modern façade stand out amid the city’s Financial District. The glass-vaulted ceiling, inspired by the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, remains the showpiece of the mall. The light-filled interior fe...