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Lost malls of the Bay Area: M/B Center in Oakland (1965—2009)

Long before Amazon Prime and same-day delivery, Oaklanders were promised a shopping experience "a whole century ahead of its time." On September 9, 1965, the MacArthur/Broadway Shopping Center—affectionately known as M/B Center—opened to much fanfare. A full-page ad in the Oakland Tribune heralded it as “the most fantastic one-stop shopping and dining extravaganza in the entire universe!”

Vintage 1965 newspaper advertisement announcing the grand opening of the MacArthur/Broadway Shopping Center in Oakland, also known as the M/B Center.
A 1965 newspaper ad celebrates the grand opening of the MacArthur/Broadway Shopping Center in Oakland—billed as a modern retail destination and quickly embraced by locals as the beloved “M/B Center.”

With no traditional department store anchor, M/B Center dared to be different. Anchored instead by Woolworth’s, it offered a bold, modernist take on retail—wrapped in aluminum, terrazzo, and atomic-era optimism.

1965 newspaper advertisement featuring Edmond E. Herrscher, founder of the MacArthur/Broadway Shopping Center, offering a warm welcome to shoppers during the mall’s grand opening.
In this 1965 newspaper ad, Edmond E. Herrscher, founder of the MacArthur/Broadway Shopping Center, greets shoppers with a heartfelt message on opening day—ushering in a new era of retail in Oakland.

Among its “space-age” features:

  • A Space Ramp, the region’s first escalator made for shopping carts—decades before multi-level Targets made it mainstream.

  • A quirky shuttle called the Astro-Bus, which ferried shoppers from the mall’s entrance to their parked cars like a theme park ride.

  • Space-Port parking for 1,100 cars—right on the roof. Because nothing said “future” like parking above your shopping.

Inside, hungry space explorers could grab a bite at The Hamlet, an early precursor to the modern food court, offering multiple dining choices in one place.

But while M/B Center was bold in concept, it struggled over time. Without a major department store to anchor foot traffic, the center slowly declined through the '80s and '90s, unable to compete with flashier malls and big-box chains.

After limping along for decades, M/B Center was finally demolished in 2009. In its place now rises a new Kaiser Permanente medical facility—less space-age, perhaps, but arguably more useful.

Still, for those who remember it, M/B Center wasn’t just a mall. It was a mid-century dream—a local lunar outpost that briefly made shopping feel like a mission to the stars.

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Comments

Rob said…
MacArthur Broadway was the first indoor mall I never saw and we went their all the time to have dinner at the Hamlet. Because the Mayfair market was a 24 hour operation, many of the other stores there kept late hours as well.

I think the deterioration of MacArthur Boulevard, especially when it became a haven for prostitution; played a big part in the demise of M/B. You'd think that with it's proximity to the popular Piedmont Avenue district that they could have tried to tie it in more with a pedestrian bridge across Macarthur Blvd.

Ultimately though, Kaiser likely had their eyes on the site for a long time and wouldn't allow it to be redeveloped
Unknown said…
I remember the M/B Center well and we went there the opening week. I also remember Eastmont Mall, but can't think of a third enclosed center in Oakland.
Scott Parsons said…
Kaiser Center Mall being the 3rd. Some people don't consider it due to its size.
Thanks!
Scott
Anonymous said…
In 1965, my dad opened London Ltd a combination book store and smoke shop. He kept late hours and stocked lots of paperbacks for the Kaiser nurses and the visitors to Kaiser's patients. There was a pastel artist who worked in the mall. He could do nice portraits or cartoon-like drawings. We framed the one he did of my dad. My dad sold the store to one of his employees in about 1969-70. I think the name was changed. There were lots of prostitutes on Broadway even when the center opened in 1965.
doug said…
OMG!!! Oh the memories!!! This was the place to shop in Oakland. No doubt the MB was ahead of it's time. Ok now let me remember..Pine Tree candies, Hallmark card store, Flower shop, shoe store including Kinney, Drug King, Beadazzled, Import store, Bookstore, Record store, Movie theatre, several clothing stores and Star TV. Oh yea and The Instep the addidas store, Radio Shack and of course The Hamlet!!! Many childhood memories there including meeting the Raiders day!!! Memories forever...R.I.P.MB center!!
Anonymous said…
Does anyone remember the names of the 15 different restaurants in the Hamlet?
Anonymous said…
I remember The M B fondly also. All the shops and the movie theatre. A friend and I saw Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory and then went for ice creams at that candy store. It was safe for two 11 year old girls to browse around and then go outside on Telegraph and wait for a ride home.
It makes me sad to look at that press release..Such high hopes!
Bill said…
I used to live nearby on Montell St off Piedmont Avenue and I used to feel all grown up when I'd make what I thought was a long trek down to MB center. I used to buy my science fiction magazines at Woolworth's every month and look at the books in the smoke shop across the hall. Remember those spinning book racks? I still have the paperbacks I bought there. I bought an early Eagles album at the record store there as well. My youth has flown but it feels bittersweet to think about it.
Anonymous said…
I used to love going there as a kid (1965)
...Parents would take me to eat there on Thursday nights...the place had a great friendly feeling...but sadly...by the 70's...turned into a foodstamp haven...all kinds of lowlifes starting stealing form the stores...became kind of dangerous...would never go there after dark....Too bad...once was a wonderful place.
Anonymous said…
I was a kid in 1965...but remember the M/B Center well...Thursday nights, my Dad took the family to the Hamlet...they had it all Japanese Chinese, Bo's ...several others I don't remember...Pine Tree candies was right there in the food court area next to the bookstore/pipe shop...Kinney shoes' Capri Florist's, Woolworth's...loved that so called space ramp up to the parking lot...but sadly...the area went downhill fast in the 70's became a haven for welfare/food stamp folks and shoplifters...many stole the stores blind until they had to close...Drugs and hookers all over the place...became dangerous place to be after DarK...Yep...R.I.P. M/B Center...
Unknown said…
I was the manager of Wolff's Jewelers. Those were the years!
Anonymous said…
There was also the Bluechip Stamp redemption center off to the side. I bought a lot of things at the Radio Shack and Woolworth's. The Mayfair market was the hub. Pushing the shopping carts up the ramp to the rooftop parking would never work in today's safety/legal conscious
environment. I sure miss the feeling when I was a kid going there. I remember seeing Mary Poppins and the Godfather in the theater. The movie Clockwork Orange used to play for a long time there. I agree that in theory that place should have thrived. If they could enforced keeping the riff raff out of there, it probably could have thrived.
Unknown said…
My parents owned the orange whipzit next to the book store in the hamlet. 1970-73 I'm glad that dump is gone!
Anonymous said…
Who remembered the name of the night club there in the late 60s/early 70s?
Anonymous said…
Probably Durant Square..idk

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