MacArthur Broadway Center (commonly known as M/B Center) opened on September 9, 1965, as an unconventional retail development at the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Broadway in Oakland. A full-page advertisement in the Oakland Tribune promoted the center as "the most fantastic one-stop shopping and dining extravaganza in the entire universe," reflecting the era's fascination with futurism and technological progress.
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| Annotated Apple Maps view of Oakland showing the location of MacArthur Broadway Center, positioned off Broadway and MacArthur |
Unlike most regional shopping centers of the period, M/B Center opened without a traditional department store anchor. Instead, the development centered on Woolworth's and a collection of specialty retailers organized around a highly themed retail environment.
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| A 1965 newspaper ad celebrates the grand opening of the MacArthur Broadway Center in Oakland—billed as a modern retail destination and quickly embraced by locals as the beloved “M/B Center.” |
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| In this 1965 newspaper ad, Edmond E. Herrscher, founder of the MacArthur Broadway 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—the center's rooftop parking deck reflected the growing emphasis on automobile-oriented retail design during the 1960s.
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| September 8, 1965 newspaper photo showing a costumed “Space Girl” welcoming shoppers to the MacArthur Broadway Center in Oakland—part of a futuristic-themed promotion during the space race era. |
The center also included The Hamlet, a dining complex that brought multiple food vendors together in a common seating area—an arrangement that anticipated the food courts that would become common in enclosed malls during the following decades.
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| Vintage 1971 Oakland Tribune ad for The Hamlet food court at the MacArthur Broadway Center in Oakland, featuring dining options like Hof Brau, Pepe’s, Chef Kory, and Lord Kyle’s Fish ’n’ Chips. |
Despite its innovative design, M/B Center faced increasing competitive pressure during the 1980s and 1990s. The absence of a major department store anchor and the emergence of larger regional malls reduced its ability to attract sustained foot traffic.
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| 1981 Oakland Tribune ad promoting “50 Shopping Ideas” at MacArthur Broadway Center, highlighting a wide range of stores and services—from fashion and electronics to gifts, food, and home goods. |
The center remained in operation for several decades before being demolished in 2009. In its place now rises a new Kaiser Permanente medical facility.
Legacy of MacArthur Broadway Center
Although short-lived as a retail model, MacArthur Broadway Center represented a distinctive experiment in mid-century shopping center design. Its futurist branding, rooftop parking, shopping-cart escalators, and early food-court concept reflected a period when developers viewed retail centers as showcases for innovation as much as commerce. Today, the site serves a different function, but M/B Center remains one of the Bay Area's most unusual retail developments of the space-age era.
Comments
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
Thanks!
Scott
It makes me sad to look at that press release..Such high hopes!
...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.
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.