This field guide documents Bullock's department store sites across the San Francisco Bay Area. Each entry records the building’s original anchor tenant, architectural context, and current use.
Unlike a corporate history, this guide focuses on the physical remains of the stores themselves—the structures that still shape mall corridors long after the signage has changed.
All of Bullock's stores were purpose-built. Unlike other department stores that occupied converted anchor stores, Bullock's brought a unique architectural signature to Bay Area shopping centers.
Palo Alto
The chain made its debut at Stanford Shopping Center. Opened March 2, 1972 with a 150,000 sq. ft. store. Closed January 1984 and replaced by Nordstrom.
Walnut Creek
Opened November 8, 1973 at Broadway Plaza with a 180,000 sq. ft. store. This was their second location to open. Closed January 1984 and replaced by Nordstrom.
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| Former Bullock's in Walnut Creek's Broadway Plaza, now Nordstrom. |
Cupertino
Opened September 25, 1975 with a 150,000 sq. ft. store. Closed January 1984 and replaced by Emporium-Capwell, then Macy's, before being demolished.
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| Former Bullock's at Vallco Mall in Cupertino, later rebranded as Emporium-Capwell, then Macy’s before being demolished in the 2010s. |
San Francisco
Opened November 3, 1977 in San Francisco, closed January 1984, Replaced by Nordstrom.
San Jose
Opened September 1978 at the expanded Oakridge Mall. A 150,000 sq. ft. store with unique teflon roof in the center of the store. It closed late 1984 and replaced by Nordstrom, then Sears.
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| From a 1981 Progressive Architecture ad—Bullock's San Jose was the world's first department store under a Fiberglass fabric structure. |
San Mateo
Bullock's expanded the teflon roof idea and opened at the new San Mateo Fashion Island mall September 24, 1981. Although the chain closed most stores by 1984, this store remained open two years longer. Closed November 1986.
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| Bullock’s San Mateo Fashion Island — part spaceship, part style pavilion. |
Collection
Historic department stores that anchored shopping centers and shaped the retail experience of Northern California.
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