Step into a time machine. Picture yourself in 1959. The South Bay Center is bustling. It’s not the South Bay Galleria yet. It’s an open-air shopping center. A May Company department store stands tall. Four stories of retail dreams. It even had a fallout shelter. Just in case.
This wasn’t just any shopping center. On its opening day a circus filled the parking lot. A car was the grand prize. People flocked here. They shopped. They ate at the Bay Shore Tea Room. They dreamed.
Then came November 1 1960. John F Kennedy himself spoke here. At the South Bay Center. On the last stop of his campaign tour. Eight days later he became president. The South Bay Center felt history.
Through the 60s and 70s shops came and went. A car wash opened. A theater. Sunset House Gifts. Pier One Imports. The South Bay Center evolved. It became a landmark. A meeting place.
In 1985 everything changed. Forest City Development built a new South Bay Galleria. An enclosed mall. Nordstrom and Mervyn’s became anchors. The open-air center was gone. But the history remained.
The Galleria saw changes. Robinsons-May became Macy’s. General Cinema became AMC Theatres. Mervyn’s closed. Kohl’s moved in. Even Nordstrom left for Del Amo Fashion Center. The South Bay Galleria adapted.
Today the South Bay Galleria thrives. There’s a Q department store. A Wonder of Dinosaurs exhibit fills the old Nordstrom space. AMC Theatres still shows movies. The South Bay Galleria continues its story. It’s a legacy. A place of memories. It has seen presidents and dinosaurs. Fashion trends and family outings. From open-air center to modern mall it continues to draw visitors. And it will continue to shape history. The South Bay Galleria is more than just a shopping mall. It is a living breathing part of Redondo Beach’s past present and future.