When Eastridge Center opened on May 17, 1971, it was promoted as the largest shopping mall in the West. With more than 160 stores, four department store anchors, and three climate-controlled levels, the project represented a new generation of regional shopping centers. Built on former agricultural land in East San Jose, Eastridge was designed not simply as a place to shop, but as a destination.
More than fifty years later, the mall remains one of San Jose's most recognizable retail landmarks, although many of the architectural features that defined its early years have disappeared through renovations and changing retail trends.
A new generation of shopping center
Developed by Bayshore Properties and Homart Development Company, Eastridge reflected evolving ideas about mall design in the early 1970s.
Architect Avner Naggar moved beyond the simple department-store layouts common in earlier malls. Rather than relying on long, straight corridors, Eastridge used angled walkways, dramatic sightlines, and expansive public spaces to increase storefront visibility and create a more dynamic shopping experience.
Landscape architect Lawrence Halprin and Associates contributed to the overall environment, helping shape the public spaces that connected the mall to its surrounding community.
At opening, Eastridge featured four major department stores:
Macy's
Liberty House
Sears (opened July 21, 1971)
JCPenney
Together, they anchored what was then one of the largest enclosed shopping centers in California.
The Grand Court
The architectural centerpiece of Eastridge was the Grand Court.
Stretching three levels high between Macy's and Liberty House, the Grand Court served as the mall's central gathering space. Visitors arriving in the early 1970s encountered sweeping expanses of red carpeting, dramatic sightlines across multiple levels, and a large fountain crowned by a steel sculpture created by Stephanie Scuris.
Unlike many contemporary malls that emphasized retail efficiency above all else, the Grand Court was designed to create a sense of spectacle. The space felt almost theatrical, encouraging visitors to linger, meet friends, and experience the mall as a public destination.
The sculpture remained one of the mall's defining features for decades before eventually being relocated to downtown San Jose.
Liberty House and the mannequin elevators
Among Eastridge's original anchors, Liberty House may have been the most distinctive.
The Hawaii-based department store made Eastridge home to its first mainland location, bringing a more upscale image to the center. While the store itself was notable, many visitors remembered something else entirely: the mannequin elevators.
Inside Liberty House, mannequins continuously rode glass elevators up and down through the store. The display became a memorable attraction for shoppers and children, creating a kinetic visual experience that blurred the line between merchandising and entertainment.
Despite its unique identity, Liberty House struggled financially and closed in 1978. The store was later replaced by Emporium-Capwell, ending one of the mall's most distinctive chapters.
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| Newspaper photo of the mannequin elevators inside Liberty House Eastridge. |
The mystery level
One of Eastridge's most unusual design features was its split-level layout.
Although commonly described as a three-level mall, portions of the building included an intermediate level that often confused first-time visitors. Elevators and stairways connected spaces that did not always align neatly with the mall's main floors, creating a layout unlike most Bay Area shopping centers.
For longtime shoppers, this "mystery level" became part of Eastridge's character. For others, it was simply confusing.
As retail design trends shifted toward openness and simplicity, these complex vertical relationships increasingly came to be viewed as obstacles rather than attractions.
Reinventing Eastridge
By the early 2000s, shopping mall design had changed dramatically.
In an effort to modernize the center, Eastridge introduced a series of renovations that altered many of its original architectural features. New skybridges were added to connect upper levels and improve circulation through the Grand Court.
While futuristic in appearance, the bridges interrupted the dramatic openness that had originally defined the central atrium.
Additional renovations followed. The fountain was removed, portions of the interior were reconfigured, and the intermediate level that had helped define Eastridge's unique character was eliminated. Much of the mall's original 1970s design language gave way to a more contemporary retail environment.
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| Around 2003, Eastridge Mall introduced this bold three-story skybridge in an effort to improve shopper flow and connect the three levels more efficiently. While futuristic in concept, they added visual clutter—and were ultimately removed in the next renovation. Photo courtesy of Dean Lundstrom. |
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| A 2003-era view of Macy’s at Eastridge Mall. Sleek glass and steel accents tried to usher in a new era—but the echoes of terrazzo floors and fountains still lingered just beneath the surface. Photo courtesy of Dean Lundstrom. |
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| A 2003 glimpse of Eastridge’s brown elevator—tucked between the skybridge and glass railings, bridging the mall’s split-level past with its open-concept future. A functional nod to the mystery level that once puzzled a generation of shoppers. Photo courtesy of Dean Lundstrom. |
Legacy
Today, Eastridge remains one of San Jose's most important shopping centers, but its appearance differs significantly from the mall that opened in 1971.
The red-carpeted Grand Court, Stephanie Scuris sculpture, Liberty House mannequin elevators, and unusual multi-level layout have largely passed into memory. Yet these features helped make Eastridge more than just a collection of stores. They reflected an era when shopping malls were designed as civic spaces, architectural statements, and destinations in their own right.
Although renovations have transformed much of the original structure, Eastridge's history offers a glimpse into a period when mall developers believed shopping could be an experience as memorable as the stores themselves.
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