Work begins on vacant Broadway at Galleria at Tyler
After nearly 5 years of being vacant, renovation work has begun on the former Broadway/Macy’s department store at the Galleria at Tyler in Riverside. Unofficial reports have clothing retailer Forever 21 relocating from a smaller store elsewhere in the mall into the much larger, 3-story building.
Opening with the then-Tyler Mall in 1970, the 164,000 sq. ft. store for The Broadway was designed by Los Angeles-based architectural firm of Charles Luckman & Assoc. The building’s cantilevered style of architecture showcases department store design from a now bygone era.
Also of note was the store’s original interior, which had a bit of late 1960s flair. Designed by Jim Van Schaak, it was honored as “Department Store of the Year” in the national “Store Interior Design” competition.
In 1996, The Broadway chain — and its sister stores, Emporium and Weinstock’s — was purchased by Federated Department Stores, becoming part of Federated’s Macy’s West division. As with most stores in the newly-acquired chain, the Riverside location was re-branded as a Macy’s.
In 2005, Federated purchased May Department Stores, parent of several regional chains, including Robinson’s-May, Marshall Field’s, Foley’s, Filene’s and Caldor. This resulted in duplicate properties at several malls, including at Riverside’s Galleria at Tyler. As such, the Riverside Macy’s relocated in late 2006 across the mall into the Robinson’s-May building (2000 | 2006), leaving the former Broadway building vacant.
Recently, work began on renovating the vacant Broadway space. Associates at the mall have indicated the building is being spruced up for Forever 21, which currently occupies a much smaller store within the mall.
Established in 1984, Forever 21 has been on a major expansion the past few years. The Los Angeles-based clothing chain has been gobbling up several vacant department stores, a departure from its typical small-store format.
One such large store is the former Harris’ / Gottschalks building at Riverside Plaza. With three floors (plus basement) and 204,000 total square feet, it’s one of the largest buildings in the Forever 21 chain. However, only two of the building’s three above-ground floors are currently in use (one | two).
Which begs the question — will Forever 21 keep both large-format stores open?
Previous
- RaincrossSquare.com – Then & Now – Galleria at Tyler: Part One (Aug. 2007) | Then & Now – Galleria at Tyler: Part Two (Aug. 2007) | ‘North Village’ opens at Galleria (Dec. 2007) | (Harris’) Gottschalks gone (July 2009) | Forever 21 at Riverside Plaza (Aug. 2009) | Postcard: Harvest House at the Tyler Mall (April 2010) | Riverside’s Galleria at Tyler mall turns 40 (Oct. 2010)
- Flash: The Broadway (1970) to Macy’s (vacant/2006)
- Photo Gallery: Galleria at Tyler
Related
Images courtesy of: *Jim Van Schaak
Sources: Riverside Public Library, The Press-Enterprise, Wikipedia, Jim Van Schaak
