A dead mall
In all of my years working with the airlines, I never managed to make the trip to San Diego. Part of the reason why, even as a Navy brat growing up in coastal communities, is that I no longer really care all that much for the sun and beaches. I love places more like my own, temperate and with all four seasons. But I still wanted to see the city, and there were two major reasons why. As an airliner enthusiast, the dramatic approach into Lindbergh Field….
...And the place that made its debut more than thirty-five years ago and opened as the centerpiece of downtown in another time and age, the super-regional urban center, Horton Plaza.
1- The spires at Horton Plaza Park. 2- Artwork at the Park. 3 & 4- The façade of Horton Plaza facing the park. 5- Macy’s mall entrance. 6- Inside Horton Plaza.
Years ago when I first saw pictures of the outdoor, urban shopping complex, I was fascinated. The earthy, pastel tones. The geometric shapes used as design elements. The neon accents and dark glass peppered in. Of course, this was the nineties, so that kind of stuff wasn’t outdated yet.
Horton Plaza lease plan, ca. 2011. View the full PDF version here.
When I finally got the chance to see the downtown monolith in 2019, I knew that it was already in serious decline. The Nordstrom had closed and Macy’s hung on in its seemingly perpetually precarious position. I needed to see it before, like most malls of its type such as Downtown Plaza in Sacramento and the Saint Louis Centre, it was reduced to dust and photographs. I was lucky enough to capture both before they were gone.
The MC Escher meets the Peach Pit-esque interior of Horton Plaza.
I was greeted by the twin spires of Horton Plaza Park on Broadway. And just behind them was what I though was a rather handsome façade. I was disappointed in a way; I wanted obnoxiously eighties. So I walked under the fuchsia, multi-level skybridge into the empty main corridor of the mall.
I was definitely not disappointed by the interior, which had to have been envisioned by set designers from Saved By the Bell. It was like a marriage of the classics Labyrinth and Ruthless People. But upon a closer look, the vibrant colors were dull and fading. And there were no people anywhere on this gorgeous Saturday afternoon.
Horton Plaza framed by the skyscrapers of downtown San Diego.
Framed by the glass boxes of San Diego’s downtown skyline, Horton is definitely a relic of the past. Its odd angles and split levels were a joy to explore, even though they were reminiscent of Lego being randomly stacked together by a five year old. But I loved all of it. I wish I could have seen this place in its prime; full of everything from business women sporting bulbous shoulder pads to teenagers in Jncos hanging out in the corners. It would have been beautiful.
Horton Plaza made its debut in 1985 and was immediately embraced for its groundbreaking architectural variety. It quickly became the destination in a city already blessed with such treasures as the Gaslamp Quarter and Balboa Park. Its main corridor ran diagonally from northeast to southwest, the latter corner opening into the Gaslamp. The structure contained five inconsistent levels, around 100 stores and just over 750,000 square feet.
1- Jessop's Clock. 2- Bitchin' storefronts on the top level. 3- Horton's crazy angles on display. 4- Random walkways, ramps and escalators abound.
The innovative retail destination debuted with four department store anchors. Mervyn’s original space was on the mall’s west end while Nordstrom’s brutal façades loomed on the southeastern end abutting the Gaslamp. Robinson’s made its home in a separate building where Horton Plaza Park now lays and The Broadway once occupied the walls where Macy's last held residence.
Its centerpiece was Jessop’s Clock, which was moved from the front of the eponymous jewelry store located downtown. The complex saw much growth and success through the rest of the eighties and nineties, but the new millennium provided challenges to it and its downtown located shopping mall peers. Mervyn’s departed in 2005 while Nordstrom hung on until 2016, leaving their hulking storefront as a blank face on G Street. It suffered through several suicides from its top levels, a manhunt for Christopher Dorner and a high profile murder in 2017 before finally closing in 2019.
1 to 4- Empty corridors abound. 5- Nordstrom's label scar on its old store. 6- The monolithic, former Nordstrom's face on G Street.
Macy’s closed their doors after the rest of the mall in 2020. It is now being redeveloped into the Campus at Horton, a mixed-use complex featuring retail and commercial spaces. Demolition began in May 2020. Though it’s sad to see another ground-breaking retail facility be once again rendered obsolete, at least I was finally able to receive the Horton experience one time.
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