Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza (alternately BHCP) is a shopping mall located in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. This was one of the first regional shopping centers in the United States built specifically for the automobile. Two anchor buildings, completed in 1947, retain their original Streamline Moderne style. Since the mid-1960s, the mall has become a major economic and cultural hub of surrounding African American communities which include a spectrum of socioeconomic classes.
Its remaining anchor store is TJ Maxx after the closure of Macy's, Sears and Walmart. An additional net of new development was approved by the city in 2018. The approved plan includes apartments, condominiums, a 400-room hotel, office space and additional stores. The mall has been seeking a buyer who would build out the approved plan. The sale has been challenged with community protests including a group of neighborhood activists who made a play to acquire the property and develop it as a community-owned project. In 2021, Harridge Development Group bought the mall for about $111 million.
History
Broadway-Crenshaw Center
The Broadway-Crenshaw Center was the first post-WWII open-air retail complex in the state of California. It was one of the first regional shopping centers in the United States built specifically for the automobile. The center, which opened its doors on November 21, 1947, was anchored by a , five-story branch of The Broadway department store, Woolworth variety store, and Vons supermarket. The Broadway Building, designed by Albert B. Gardner, is excellent example of Streamline Moderne architecture. Loading was done below ground via an underground service tunnel stretching the length of the property. The Broadway-Crenshaw Center covered a gross area of 550,000 square feet (51,000 m2) on with of parking space for 7000 cars per days along Santa Barbara Avenue (now MLK Boulevard).
Silverwoods opened April 8, 1949, , in size, Albert B. Gardener, architect. More retail stores were added to the complex in the early 1950s and mid 1960s, including a Desmond's department store. A bridge was built across MLK Boulevard (Santa Barbara Avenue at the time) to the north, to the May Company building that had opened on October 10, 1947. The building, although constructed by different parties, is also an excellent example of the Streamline Moderne architecture. The entire block became part of the mall property.
Major expansion
Renamed Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, the new indoor shopping complex opened its doors to the public with a grand opening ceremony in November 1989 by Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley who wanted to see a major shopping center in the neighborhood. With his encouragement to link the stores into an indoor mall, the mall's size increased to .
The shopping complex had undergone a massive renovation that started in mid-1986. Much of the original building was demolished. A two-level, enclosed regional shopping mall structure was built in its place and included a new Sears as the third anchor. The Broadway and May Company anchor stores were connected with a covered pedestrian bridge over Santa Barbara Avenue. The original May Company building became Robinsons-May in 1993.
On July 12, 1995, the first Magic Johnson Theatres opened as a 15-screen cinema complex. The grand opening featured many well-known celebrity guest such as then Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and others. The mall contains an additional 115 new retail and specialty shops on over of land which is located in one of the most densely populated and busiest areas in the United States. The original Broadway building became a Macy's in 1996 which closed 3 years later and became a three-story Walmart store in 2002. Lucky's supermarket became an Albertsons in mid-1999 after being purchased by the grocer.