This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2023) |
Puente Hills Mall,located inCity of Industry, California,United States, is a major regionalshopping centerin theSan Gabriel Valleyregion ofLos Angeles County.It is most notable for serving as the filming site for the Twin Pines/Lone Pine Mall for the 1985 movieBack to the FuturestarringMichael J. FoxandChristopher Lloyd.Anchor tenants areRound 1 Entertainment,AMC Theatres,24 Hour Fitness,andRoss Dress For Less.
 South Exterior | |
 | |
| Location | City of Industry, California |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°59′37″N117°55′39″W/ 33.99356°N 117.92750°W |
| Opening date | 1974 |
| Developer | The Hahn Company |
| Owner | Kam Sang Company |
| No. of stores and services | 155 (at peak) |
| No. ofanchor tenants | 7 (2 open, 5 vacant)[1] |
| Total retail floor area | 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m2)[2] |
| No. of floors | 2 |
History
edit1974-75 opening
editPuente Hills Mall was opened in phases over a year from February 1974 through Spring 1975, after the completion of thePomona Freewaya few years earlier.[citation needed]
The first anchor to open, on February 18, 1974, wasThe Broadway,with three levels and 160,000 square feet.J.W. Robinson'sfollowed, opening in March.Searsfollowed, and by March 1975 the mall had about 150 shops open.JCPenneyopened on April 16, 1975.[3][4]By September 1975 the mall reported 152 shops open and announced plans for construction of an adjacent 41-acre auto mall and home improvement and home furnishings retail district.[5]
The mall has a cross-shaped design and was developed byThe Hahn Company.[citation needed]
1990s
editIn 1993, J.W. Robinson's rebranded asRobinsons-Mayafter the chain merged withMay Company.In 1996, two anchor stores, The Broadway (at the time purchased byMacy's) and JCPenney, were closed. At the time of JCPenney's departure, the mall was at about 50% occupancy.[6]The mall was extensively renovated afterwards and features a 20-screenAMC Theatresmegaplex,and stores traditionally found inpower centerssuch as24 Hour FitnessandBurlington Coat Factory,in addition to the remaining two original anchors, Robinsons-May and Sears.Ross Dress for Less,Circuit City,Linens 'n Things,Spectrum Club, Burlington Coat Factory,Borders,andCompUSAall opened in 1998.[citation needed]
2000s
editIn September 2006, Borders was officially closed while Robinsons-May rebranded as Macy's, afterFederatedpurchasedThe May Department Stores Companyin 2005. Linens 'n Things, Circuit City, and CompUSA all closed their locations at the mall in 2008 and 2009. Circuit City and CompUSA had both gone bankrupt while Linens 'n Things was closed as part of a strategy to focus on online shopping. On August 28, 2010, the Japanese sports entertainment chain Round1 opened the first U.S. location ofRound1 Bowling & Amusement,a video game arcade and bowling alley, as a new anchor. It was the company's first overseas store, replacing Linens 'n Things.[citation needed]
The center of the mall previously featured a large cubed water fountain, then amerry-go-roundattraction built in 1990, but it was later removed by the mall's owners, Krausz Companies, as they were losing money in its operation. An East Asian-stylekoi pondreplaced the carousel, but was removed as of 2006. The koi were moved to Sycamore Lake at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier. The mall underwent a full interior makeover in 2007 after the removal of the koi pond.[citation needed]
Due to the large and influential Asian immigrant populations residing and/or operating businesses in nearby areas (notably in Industry, Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, Walnut, and Diamond Bar), some redesigns of the mall incorporatedfeng shuiprinciples.[7]
Decline
edit
Toys "R" Usopened in June 2011, taking the spot previously occupied by Circuit City. Toys "R" Us had formerly been located at the Plaza at Puente Hills on Gale Avenue in Industry. It closed along with all USA Toys 'R' Us stores in early 2018, shutting down on April 15, 2018.[8]In 2021, Round1 expanded into the former Toys 'R' Us retail space to open the first U.S. location of their Japanese "Spo-Cha" indoor sports and interactive activity centers.[citation needed]
On May 31, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 72 stores nationwide. The store closed in September 2018.[9]
On December 1, 2019,Forever 21announced it would close the Puente Hills Mall store along with 21 other locations in California, and 90 stores nationwide. The store closed in January 2020.[10]
On January 5, 2022, Macy's announced that their Puente Hills Mall anchor would be closed in the first financial quarter of 2022.[11]The store closed on March, with Burlington slated to close on March 22, 2024; leaving Round 1 and AMC as the final two remaining anchors in the mall.[citation needed]
Crime
editNumerous crimes have been reported around the mall property going back into the late 1980s. Recent decline in foot traffic around the mall has been a catalyst for recent crimes.
- On July 25, 2016; a 45 year oldClaremontman identified as Richard Camarena was arrested for indecent assault of a child in the mall's restroom.[12]
- On June 17, 2018; a woman was tased by a gang of three unidentified men in a botched robbery attempt.[13]
- On June 11, 2022; four suspects were involved in a smash-and-grab robbery at one of the jewelry stores in the mall before they fled into the parking lot.[14][15]
1991 murder spree
edit| Puente Hills Mall Murders | |
|---|---|
| Location | Puente Hills Mall |
| Date | July 5, 1991-August 27, 1991 |
Attack type | Robberies, Shootings |
| Weapons | 9 mm caliberBeretta |
| Deaths | 5;Jose Avina 22, Shirley Denogean 56, Elizabeth Nisbet 49, Willie Sams 40, Augustine Ramirez 53 |
| Injured | 3;Eugene Valdez 55, Juan Rios 28, Sonia Aguirre 26 |
| Victims | 8 |
| Perpetrator | John Irving Lewis;accomplices –Eileen Huber,Robbin Machuca,Vincent Hubbard[16] |
| Motive | Robbery |
In September 1991, a gang of four suspects fromWest Covinalater identified as John Irving Lewis, Lewis' girlfriend Eileen Huber, Lewis' step-sister Robbin Machuca, and Machuca's boyfriend Vincent Hubbard was arrested in connection with a murder spree around the mall property. The gang was found to have been involved in five murders and three robberies spanning between July and August of 1991.[17][18][19]The four were arrested at their apartment on August 30, 1991, pleading not guilty to the charges. Hubbard, Machuca, and Huber were all given life sentences on December 18, 1992. On March 4, 1993, the California Supreme Court granted Lewis the death penalty for his role of orchestrating the murders. Lewis is currently incarcerated in Death Row atSan Quentin State Prisonawaiting execution.[20][21][22]
Back to the Future
edit
Puente Hills Mall served as a filming location for the fictional Twin Pines Mall (later Lone Pine Mall) in the 1985 filmBack to the Future.In the film,Doc Brown(Christopher Lloyd) uses the mall's south parking lot (visible in the above photograph) to stage his time travel experiments with theDeLorean time machine.The JCPenney and Robinson's stores feature prominently in the background. A Ross Dress for Less store can be seen in a strip mall across the street. The scenes were filmed in January 1985.[citation needed]According to theDVDaudio commentary,screenplay writerBob Galesays that several fans gathered at the Puente Hills Mall in the early hours of October 26, 1985, the date given in the film as thepresent day,to see if anything would happen.
Puente Hills Mall featured replicas of the Twin Pines Mall sign, the time machine, and Dr. E. Brown Enterprises truck in its parking lot in October 2015.[23]
References
edit- ^"Puente Hills Mall"(PDF).glimcher.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 30, 2014.RetrievedDecember 22,2017.
- ^"Puente Hills Mall".glimcher.Archived fromthe originalon November 25, 2014.RetrievedDecember 22,2017.
- ^"Puente Hills Mall Celebrates".Los Angeles Times.March 13, 1975.
- ^"Broadway to Open $40-million Puente Hills Mall".Los Angeles Times.February 17, 1974.
- ^"Advertisement for Puente Hills Mall".Los Angeles Times.September 26, 1975. p. 184.
- ^Fickes, Michael (January 1, 1998)."The Puente Hills Comeback".Retail Traffic.
- ^Belgum, Deborah (2002-01-21),"Colima Road: Neighborhood puts Cultural Face on Firms. (Chinese Prosperity – L.A.'s Growth Market)",Los Angeles Business Journal
- ^"Toys 'R' Us casualties include West Covina and Puente Hills stores".24 January 2018.
- ^"Sears to close another 72 stores, one in City of Industry, as sales plunge".31 May 2018.
- ^"See the list of Forever 21 stores closing in Southern California".December 10, 2019.
- ^"Macy's is closing more stores in 2022. Will your location close? See the list".
- ^"Claremont man arrested for child molestation in Puente Hills Mall".
- ^"Woman Shocked with Stun Gun During Robbery Attempt at Puente Hills Mall".
- ^"Suspects seen fleeing from mall smash and grab: Deputies investigate".
- ^"Disney Employee Accused of Touching young Boy in Puente Hills Mall Bathroom".
- ^"California jury convicts four in 'mall murders'".
- ^"The Puente Hills Mall Murders - Pt. 1".
- ^"California True Crime - Puente Hills Mall Murders".
- ^"4 Convicted in Series of 'Mall Murders'".
- ^"20 years later: victim's husband recalls Puente Hills Mall Murders".
- ^"Death Term Ordered for Man in 1991 'Mall Murders' crime spree".
- ^""Mall Murder" Suspects Face More Charges ".
- ^Jensen, Danny."Photos: 'Back To The Future' Fans Swarm The 'Twin Pines Mall'".laist.Archived fromthe originalon November 5, 2017.RetrievedDecember 9,2017.