Main Street Pedestrian Mall

The Main Street Pedestrian Mall is a pedestrianized shopping street in downtown Riverside, California, United States. It stretches along Main Street from 5th to 10th Street and was opened in 1966, converting what had been Riverside's principal shopping street into a car-free retail environment. The mall is flanked by the City Hall and the convention center at either end, anchoring it within the civic and commercial core of the city. Before pedestrianization, Main Street had served for decades as the main shopping street of Riverside. A succession of major department stores and variety chains operated along the corridor at various times, including Sears, Westbrook's, Grout's, Montgomery Ward, J. C. Penney, Pic 'n Save, S. H. Kress, Reynold's, and Woolworth's. Sears, for example, opened at 5th and Main in February 1929 and moved in June 1938 to a larger 38,000-square-foot store in a new art deco building designed by architect Henry L. A. Jekel at the southeast corner of 7th (Mission Inn) and Main, on the site of the former Rubidoux Building; it expanded further in the 1950s. The mall is owned and maintained by the City of Riverside, making it a municipally operated retail environment rather than a privately held shopping center company. In 2008 the city carried out a $10 million renovation of the mall as part of the larger "Riverside Renaissance" project, an initiative aimed at renewing downtown Riverside's public spaces and commercial district. As a pedestrian mall, the Main Street Pedestrian Mall functions as an open-air, walkable retail and civic corridor rather than an enclosed shopping center. Its identity is closely tied to the history of downtown Riverside retail and to the mid-twentieth-century urban planning movement that created pedestrian malls in many American downtowns.

Main Street was the main shopping street of Riverside, California, for decades before it was pedestrianized in 1966. During that era it hosted a rotating roster of major department stores and variety chains. Sears opened in February 1929 at 5th and Main, then moved in June 1938 to a larger 38,000-square-foot store in a new art deco building designed by architect Henry L. A. Jekel, located at the southeast corner of 7th (Mission Inn) and Main on the site of the former Rubidoux Building; the store expanded further in the 1950s. Other retailers along the street at various times included Westbrook's (1935–1964), Grout's, Montgomery Ward, J. C. Penney, Pic 'n Save (1930–1980), the S. H. Kress dime store on the east side of Main between 8th and 9th streets, Reynold's at 9th and Main, and Woolworth's at the southeast corner of 9th and Main (1940–1957). In 1966 the street was converted into a pedestrian mall, closing it to vehicle traffic and creating a walkable retail environment along Main Street from 5th to 10th Street. The mall is flanked by the City Hall and the convention center at either end, tying the retail corridor to the civic core of downtown Riverside. In 2008, the City of Riverside carried out a $10 million renovation of the mall as part of the larger "Riverside Renaissance" project, a downtown renewal effort. The mall remains a municipally owned and maintained pedestrian retail corridor in downtown Riverside.

• 2008

  The City of Riverside carried out a $10 million renovation of the mall as part of the "Riverside Renaissance" project.

• 1966

  Main Street was pedestrianized and the Main Street Pedestrian Mall opened, stretching from 5th to 10th Street.

• 1938

  Sears moved to a larger 38,000-square-foot art deco store at 7th (Mission Inn) and Main.

• 1929

  Sears opened at 5th and Main in Riverside.

A municipally owned, open-air pedestrian shopping street in downtown Riverside, California, anchored by City Hall and the convention center.

• Pedestrian shopping street along Main Street from 5th to 10th Street

1. 1Main Street Pedestrian Mallwikidata.org
2. 2Main Street Pedestrian Mall (Riverside, California)en.wikipedia.org