Stonestown Galleria


Stonestown Galleria is a shopping mall in San Francisco, California. It features Target. Its former anchor stores are Macy's and Nordstrom. It is located immediately north of San Francisco State University and near Mercy High School and Lowell High School.
The anchor stores are each two stories, but most in-line stores are one story. The hallways form a plus shape, with the former Macy's on the north side, and Target, former Nordstrom, Trader Joe's, Chase, Olive Garden, and Bank of America, on the south side. There are four wings, two on level one and two on level two. A food court is on the second story. There are some skylights in the mall. Marble columns adorn the center court. A demolition/rebuilding project in the late 1980s added many of the current architectural features.

History

Stonestown Galleria, originally called Stonestown Shopping Center, was built in 1952 by the Stoneson brothers. It was built in the Lakeside neighborhood, bordering Lake Merced, along with apartments that could house 3,000 to 3,500 people.
The anchor store, The Emporium, opened on July 16, 1952. Other early businesses included Walgreens, Butler Brothers, Gallenkamp Shoes, the Red Chimney restaurant and Woolworth's. There were stores for local residents, including a grocery store, a bakery, and movie theaters.
Stoneson Brothers also developed the Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton and Lakeside Village.
The Stoneson brothers aged and the mall was sold to a pension fund.
In 1987, Stonestown went through a renovation and major redevelopment spearheaded by architect John Field. Field's plan added one story of stores, including a food court, a glass ceiling and marble floors, plus 350 new underground parking spaces. These changes led to the Stonestown Shopping Center being renamed Stonestown Galleria.
In 1996, The Emporium, San Francisco anchor store was converted to Macy's when Macy's bought The Emporium.
In December 2003, Heitman Financial, the manager, abandoned efforts to construct nearly 300 new residential units and a grocery store on a parcel next to the mall's site. Neighborhood groups complained that the project would worsen traffic congestion in the area and create safety and environmental problems.
In 2004, General Growth Properties bought the mall from Pacific Acquisition Corp. for $312 million.
In November 2017, Macy's announced plans to close its store at the mall. The store closed in March 2018.
On June 6, 2018, an article reported that Nordstrom would also be closing within the next 18 months which will leave the mall with no anchors., however, the article also reported that Nordstrom "has no store closures to announce.”
Nordstrom eventually closed on September 13th, 2019, which leaves Target as the last tenant opened.