NEW BOOK!
 |
| Anne Evers Hitz has followed up on her excellent book on The Emporium with this new one - that chronicles the history of San Francisco's other stores. |
Joseph Magnin Co., Inc.
77 O'Farrell St.
Stocton & O'Farrell
San Francisco, California
Palo Alto
University Avenue & Bancroft St.
1928/1935/1946
Reno, NV
136 N. Virginia Street
1940
San Mateo
42 3rd Avenue
(February 1943-February 1950)
4th Avenue & San Mateo Drive
Sacramento
10th & K Streets
September, 1946
30,000 s.f.
Oakland
15th & Broadway
November, 1948
Lake Tahoe
Cal-Neva Resort
1950
Walnut Creek
Broadway Plaza
November, 1951
Stonestown
Stonestown Shopping Center
1952
Country Club Centre
Sacramento
1954
Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto
1955
25,000 s.f.
Valley Fair
San Jose
1956
Modesto
McHenry Village
November, 1957
Hayward (#15)
280 Foothills Blvd.
November, 1957
Las Vegas, NV
3201 Las Vegas Blvd., South\
1958
Ventura
597 E. Main Street
(at Chestnut)
March, 1961
Oakland
Kaiser Center
1962
30,000 s.f.
Berkeley (#20)
Bancroft Center
2650 Bancroft Way
August, 1964
8,000 s.f
Topanga Plaza
Canoga Park
August, 1964
18,000 s.f.
Santa Barbara (#22)
October, 1964
Buenaventura
Oxnard
March, 1965
21,000 s.f.
Del Amo Fashion Square (#23)
Torrance
April, 1965
24,000 s.f.
Century City
October, 1965
38,000 s.f.
Glendale Fashion Center (#27)
Sherman Oaks
13750 Riveside Drive
Santa Rosa
Coddingtown Center
1966
Concord
Sunvalley Mall
1967
South Coast Plaza (#30)
Costa Mesa
March, 1968
La Habra Fashion Square (#31)
August, 1968
24,000 s.f.
Palm Springs (#32)
Desert Inn Fashion Plaza
July, 1968
26,000 s.f.
Fashion Valley (#33)
San Diego
October, 1969
30,000
Citrus Heights
Sunrise Mall
1967
Honolulu, HI
AMFAC Center
745 Forst st.
1971
Honolulu, HI
Pearlridge Center
1972
Los Angeles
Broadway Plaza
700 W. Seventh St.
October, 1973
10,000 s.f.
Eastridge
San Jose
1978
Meadowood Mall
Reno
1978
Coming in due course.
0
There was also a store in Carmel at the Carmel Plaza. I. Magnin was in the front of the shopping center on Ocean Avenue and JM was in the back. It closed and sat empty for many years before Saks relocated to that space from Monterey.
ReplyDeleteWhen JM relocated from Downtown Reno, they opened in Park Lane Mall, Plumb Lane and S. Virginia St. Meadwood Mall followed that location.
ReplyDeleteThe "Other Magnin" as it was known in the industry. Much trendier than I. Magnin and had its own flair, it is one of the overlooked stores in San Francisco department store history as wll as American department store history.
ReplyDelete@ ANONYMOUS...Thank You for that bit of trivia. I was a Buyer for Saks and I always wondered if that was built as a Sak's or if it was acquired. Unfortunately, both stores in the Carmel Plaza are now gone.
ReplyDeleteThe Hayward store (on Foothill Blvd (not Foothills) was in the Foothill strip, across from the Capwell's store. Later, the JM moved to Southland Mall and the downtown store closed. The Southland store should be included in the list
ReplyDeleteI remember the Southland Mall store. Loved shopping there.
DeleteRemember going there to buy Oakland A's tickets at the very back of the store, although, now that I think of it, it might have been Smiths that I'm thinking of. They had the actual tickets for most of the games there. Went from there and walked down to See's or Thrifty's for a 5 cent sucker (See's) or a 5 cent ice cream cone (Thrifty's). Wow, I am old.
DeleteThe Oakland store, still standing, is at 20th and Broadway - not 15th. When I moved to Oakland after law school in 1989, the store was still in operation and had large crystal chandeliers on the first floor. An elegant store even then. It was across the street from the Capwell's "Lace House" store also mentioned on this page.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know in what year (or about what year) the big arrow supergraphic was added to the J. Magnin store in the Valley Fair mall in San Jose, California?
ReplyDeleteAlso there was one located at Kahala Mall in Honolulu Hi . Loved that Store !
ReplyDeleteAfter being considered the "step child" Magnin, JM finally did flourish by the late 60s as a force to be recognized. It pioneered "mod" fashion and created California trends which went country wide. It's ads were unique and usually did not even mention the stores name...customers knew it was JM and not IM. Now, sadly they are both gone.
ReplyDeleteThere was also a store in Fox Plaza in San Francisco
ReplyDeleteThere were three locations in Denver - downtown, Cherry Creek, Cinderella City
ReplyDeleteI was the manager of the Cherry Creek store in 1979....1980
DeleteBit of trivia: The legendary Doris Day's wardrobe for her '70's television show was from Joseph Magnin. Remember her yearly "fashion show" segments and her wild spiral staircase show opening? Classy lady.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 06Aug13 is confusing I Magnin w/ Joseph Magnin; the latter was indeed at 15th Broadway before relocating to the Kaiser Center; the location later became Goldman's flagship.
ReplyDeleteMy stepfather, Lee Cuningham, was credit manager for JM from about 1942 to 1944. As a teenager during the war years, I got a summer job at the Call Bulletin Newspaper. I was a copy girl and delivered advertising copy to all the major dept. stores including the Emporium, the White House, I Magnin, City of Paris, and more. I rode the cable cars back when they were used for transportration, not sight-seeing. I couldn't stand on the fenders, though, because I was a girl.
ReplyDeleteI don't see the JM at Mayfield Mall in Mountain View listed. It opened in Oct. of 1966. I was hired on for the opening and worked there until 1971. Lots of celebrities made appearances there including Eva Gabor. In 1968 Ted Kennedy made a stop there stumping for his brother Bobby who was running for President and was assassinated the following month. The Mall was torn down I think in the early 80's and Hewlett Packard built a campus on the spot. That too is gone and I'm not sure what is there now ('stack and pack' housing I think). A bit of Trivia: before Mayfield Mall was built there was a curling rink on the site. Not many people new what "curling" was unless they were from Scotland. My father took us to see it and watch the game (now an Olympic event) as a curiosity.
ReplyDeleteMayfield Mall was never torn down, it was remodeled into the Hewlett Packard campus. It is currently a Google campus (2016). Also, the Curling Rink was across Mayfield Avenue, not on the site of Mayfield Mall. After the curling rink was torn down the empty lot became a parking lot for Mayfield Mall. I lived around the corner from that mall and remember it's opening day when I was in 7th grade. I bought a lot at Joe Magnin's over the years.
DeleteMy Mom got a lot of her outfits from Magnin and I remember when Mayfield Mall and the Curling Rink were built. I lived in the apartment complex just South East of the mall on Whitney, working at Sylvania EDL. After I'd been gone a while, I remember being quite surprised when I went back for a class at HP and found they'd taken over the entire mall area.
DeleteMontgomery Street, San Francisco is missing from the list. Store opened in 1961.
ReplyDeleteSanta Barbara opened in 1966 not 1964. It was part of the El Paseo on Stae Street
My mom used to take me shopping at the JM in the then-new Century City mall in West Los Angeles in the mid-60s. It definitely had a fashion-forward vibe, was fabulously styled and had a terrific sales staff. It was sort of a proto-Barneys.
ReplyDeleteThere was also a JM at Pearl Ridge in Hawaii. There was also one in Fresno. I know because I helped open both of them.
ReplyDeleteI was V.P.Store design from mid seventy's to early 80's
ReplyDeleteI am writing about South Coast Plaza. I've interviewed Gere Kavanaugh, and have info on Deborah Sussman and Frank Gehry, all of whom worked on the JM there. But I'd love some more insight. Anyone who worked there, shopped there, loved or new the store.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
kedfrancis@gmail.com
I have some jewelry from Magnin's - still in the original packaging with price tags that was found in the attic of a family friend.
ReplyDeleteI worked in the Walnut Creek JM in '79 as a teen and helped with a local photo shoot. It's a great memory. I've never been in another store with the same vibe. Much cooler than IM.
ReplyDeleteSame age... agree that no other store I have EVER been in had the look and feel of that J Magnin. (I later worked down the Plaza a bit at Laura Ashley for many years.)
DeleteI lived in La Canada, CA when my grandmother took me, at 16 years old, to the Joseph Magnin Store on Foothill Blvd, (possibly i Magnin) in 1964 for my first "bra fitting". Allso got some beautiful contemporary young lady clothes and heals. So sorry those days are gone. Also Liberty House, Weinstocks, etc. I believe Macys bought out the Magnin's stores.
ReplyDeleteThe JM at Stonestown had the most interesting and modern staircase right in the middle of the store. I think it was what's now referred to as a floating staircase.
ReplyDeleteI was just watching the film 'Remember My Name' (1978) where there are extensive scenes inside a Joseph Magnin store. The film was clearly shot in the 'Los Angeles area' and the credits thank Joseph Magnin of 'Washington Square'. Can anyone identify where this store was?
ReplyDeleteI was just watching the film 'Remember My Name' (1978) where there are extensive scenes inside a Joseph Magnin store. The film was clearly shot in the 'Los Angeles area' and the credits thank Joseph Magnin of 'Washington Square'. Can anyone say exactly where this store was located? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI was just putting together an ad for an item from the Joseph Magnin store in Ventura. You have it listed as being located in Buenaventura, like its a mall, and in the city of Oxnard.
ReplyDeleteBuenaventura is the official name of the city of Ventura, and the store was on Main St in Ventura.
Not sure if there was one in Oxnard, but the one in 'Buenaventura' was the one on Main St in Ventura :)
http://articles.latimes.com/1997/aug/10/local/me-21262
In 1967,"Mr.C" decided that fashion was having a boring season so he ran full-page ads on his 12 buyers. The "portraits" were done by staff artist, Betty Brader. She was magnificent...the best of her time. The collection of these 12 rather unique ads was donated to the Smithsonian Institution and are currently housed in their archives. I was the gift buyer and the youngest; I may be the only one still living. Betty invited us one by one, to her studio where she took a Polaroid photo and conducted a short interview about current trends and products. I emailed the Smithsonian when I discovered the collection listed, not shown, on their website. I received a lovely reply inviting me to drop by; they would be happy to take me to see the collection. I have a framed proof sheet of my ad.
ReplyDeleteThe JM store in Hayward was very small but was still where you could find better clothing. Growing up we didn't have a lot of money and most of our school clothes were purchased at Sear's and if we wanted extra clothes we had to earn the money for them. I remember saving my babysitting money to buy a long sleeve brown knit sweater from JM's. Still have it stored in the closet. ;-) Good memories!
ReplyDeleteThe Sherman Oaks store and the Glendale store were two different locations. I worked in the Glendale store in the gift-wrapping department. (Those famous Christmas boxes, though charming, had SHARP edges and were a misery to assemble.)
ReplyDeleteJoseph was my great-grandfather, Cyril was my grandfather and Donald was my dad. I have memories of going to C.O.B (Central Operations Building) on Harrison Street (when NOTHING was there) and helping Rosemary, who was the jewelry buyer, distribute inventory. Each store had a cardboard box with a number on it. Downtown SF was store #1. It was a blast
ReplyDeleteFrom 1941 to 1943 my stepfather, Lee Cunningham, was the credit manager for Joseph Magnin's in San Francisco. He worked for Cyril Magnin, and I remember meeting him in the store. In 1943 we moved away. Early in 1945 I remember Cyril did us a favor. Because of the war, hotel rooms in San Francisco were scarce, but he found one for us--a very nice man.
ReplyDeleteI don't recommend the 1968 film Petulia (Julie Christie, George C. Scott, and Richard Chamberlain) but for a Joseph Magnin's moment. Julie (Petulia) is shown in a San Francisco street scene sporting white go-go boots, mini skirt, a triangle head scarf (I'd forgotten about those....we wore them in the SF Bay Area) and carrying the distinctive graphic bags from Joseph Magnin's. Oh, what a moment and how I wish Joseph Magnin's still existed. It had the most fashionable clothing for young women. It was my go-to store as a young working woman in Oakland. There was nothing comparable. Their buyers had great taste.
ReplyDeleteThe downtown San Francisco location would eventually go on to become an FAO Schwarz toy store, followed by a Barney's clothing store. The building is currently vacant as of early 2021.
ReplyDelete