Editor’s note: This is the twelfth part of a series related to the history of the “four corners” of Watt and El Camino avenues.

As this 12-part series comes to a close, it is quite fitting to include a brief history of the very place that the locally renowned shopping centers and several businesses of the four corners of Watt and El Camino avenues were named after – Del Paso Country Club.
This well-known private country club, which was established in 1916, is located at 3333 Marconi Ave., just east of Town and Country Village.
When the club was founded, the north area was many years away from becoming a developed area, thus the club was constructed in a very rural location.
In selecting the name of the club, the club’s founders honored the history of the property, which had been part of the old Rancho Del Paso Mexican land grant.
The rancho was most renowned as the one-time site of the breeding and training ground of thoroughbred racehorses, the most famous of which was Ben Ali, who won the 1886 Kentucky Derby.
The idea to create a country club in the north area was that of members of the Sacramento Country Club, which was located off J Street, near Tullar Avenue (today’s 48th Street).
Members of this East Sacramento country club, which featured a nine-hole golf course on rented land, saw that the area was changing.
These changes included developers Wright and Kimbrough’s development of the nearby Tract 24.
In 1915, while standing with a group of people near the present day grounds of Del Paso Country Club, land developer Orlando A. Robertson, in referring to the site, declared, “This is it.”

The group included Harry S. Wanzer, Fred Peck, Lauren Stuart “Stu” Upson and Steve Day.
Unfortunately for the group, a crop of grain made it difficult to see the boundaries of the property, so the group reconvened to observe the land a month later, after the crop was removed.
With the 148.3-acre site meeting the approval of the group, the property was purchased for $22,253.80. The club increased its size with its $20,000 purchase of a 1.4-acre addition 31 years later.
With arrangements made to develop the property, a Bay Area man named John Black was called to the site due to his expertise in laying out golf courses.
The nine men behind the founding of Del Paso Country Club were Wanzer, Peck, Day, Upson, Clinton Harber, James C. Carly, Harold J. Furley, William Murcell and Rudolph A. Herold.
Upson served as the club’s first president, Carly as vice president and Peck as secretary and treasurer.
Additionally, Edward Olden and his wife were the club’s first managers.
On Feb. 5, 1916, The Sacramento Bee ran an article with the headline, “Club to have fine new home.”
The article noted that the construction of the club, which would include an 18-hole golf course, a clubhouse and bowling, tennis and swimming facilities, would begin at the end of the winter weather.
The Bee also reported that these amenities, as well as landscaping and roads, would be completed at a cost of about $75,000.
Articles of incorporation for the country club were signed in January 1916.
To assist in the club’s membership campaign, which was launched on Feb. 7, 1916, a dance and dinner was held at Hotel Sacramento at 10th and K streets just eight days after the campaign began.
After much hard work and deliberation, the club was finally prepared for its Sept. 2, 1916 opening.
The Sacramento Union reported on this grand afternoon and evening gathering, which included an orchestra performance and dancing on the tennis courts.

Although the club’s grounds had not been completed in their entirety, The Union noted that Sacramento could nonetheless boast a country club that could “hold its own for situation and accommodation with any (country club) in cities of similar sizes.”
The club’s living room was described by The Union as having colorful Oriental rugs, massive oak tables and luxurious couches and chairs.
Also located at the club were a kitchen, a dining room, a billiards room, a men’s lounging room and a ladies’ card room.
The club, which also included a skeet shooting range during its earlier years, hired its first golf professional, Scotland native Jim Smith, in 1916.
Three years later, Bill Selkirk was hired to replace Smith. And Selkirk continued in that role until 1924, when the club hired another golf professional, Bob Clark.
During Selkirk’s time at the club, grass was planted on the fairways and greens.
The club acquired one of its most notable golf professionals, Frank Minch, Sr., in 1925. He remained with the club for the following 40 years, during which time he became one of the state’s leading golf professionals.
Another early highlight of the club was its first golf tournament, which was held on Sept. 17, 1916.
A decade later, Joe Turnesa won the first Sacramento Open Championship, which was held at Del Paso Country Club.
Many local and national championship tournaments have been played at the club throughout its history.
To date, the club has hosted four U.S. Golf Association tournaments – the 1957 and 1976 U.S. Women’s Amateur Golf Championships, the 1960 U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Championship and the 1982 U.S. Women’s Open Championship.
And with about a $10 million redesign and renovation of its world-renowned golf course in 2005 and 2006, the club earned the privilege of hosting the U.S. Senior Open from June 22-28, 2015.
The club also hosted the “Swing at Cancer” Celebrity Pro-Am, a one-day tournament that was founded by Bob Hurst and held from 1972 to 1997.
The tournament, which raised funds for the American Cancer Society and local cancer projects, featured such renowned participants as Bob Hope, Glen Campbell, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, Sam Snead, Hale Irwin and Billy Casper.
Bob Kunz, the club’s general manager/chief operating officer, described “Swing at Cancer” as “certainly the biggest golf charity in Sacramento history and maybe one of the biggest charities in Sacramento history.”
Although those associated with Del Paso Country Club take pride in the various prestigious events that have been held at the club, as well as Del Paso’s position of hosting the 2015 U.S. Senior Open, Kunz emphasized that first and foremost, the club is a social place.
“What (the club) boils down to on a grassroots level is community,” Kunz said. “It’s a reason to get together with your friends. That’s what it’s all about. It’s all around an excuse, if you will, to get together. A club environment; you take the physical plant, a golf course is a golf course. Whether you’re here or at Ancil Hoffman (Golf Course), it’s a golf course. Yeah, it’s a difficult golf course, but it’s a golf course. The restaurant is a restaurant. The difference is the social interaction.”

As this series regarding the four corners of Watt and El Camino avenues was reaching its fourth corner, it was brought to the attention of this publication that one of the north area’s longtime continuously operating businesses was about to celebrate a milestone under its current ownership.
This business, Pardee’s Cameras, was acquired by Manfred Kallweit 35 years ago this Saturday.
In remembering that moment, Manfred said, “We agreed and we signed the paper (for the transferring of the business’s ownership) on Dec. 15, 1977.”
Although not precisely on the northwest corner of Watt and El Camino avenues, this business is only separated from the corner by the small street, Yorktown Avenue.

The story of Pardee’s Cameras, which was originally known as John Pardee Photographic Supplies, began in 1946.
The store, which became the north area’s first photography shop with its opening on Nov. 29, 1946, was originally located in Town and Country Village at 2417 Marconi Ave.
Eventually under John Pardee’s proprietorship and later during the early part of Manfred’s ownership, the shop was recognized as one of The Village’s longest operating business.
John, who resided with his wife, Norma, at 3201 Bonita Drive, near Del Paso Country Club, where he maintained a membership, was originally from Nevada.
He made his way to Sacramento from San Jose in the mid-1920s.
In about 1927, he was residing with his wife at 1441 51st Street and working as a bookkeeper at the Ehmann-Kohler Stationery Co. at 1318 J St.
John and Norma and their daughter, Barbara, moved to 1567 32nd Street in 1929 and by the following year, John was working as a bookkeeper at Lavenson’s shoe store at 1018-1020 K St.
In 1933, John and Norma’s second daughter, Nedra, was born.
While residing at 3400 H Street in 1935, John became Lavenson’s credit manager. But three years later, he was once again the company’s bookkeeper.

John left his job at Lavenson’s in 1938 to become a clerk at Douglas Osborn Photo Supply at 1207 K St.
This Kodak shop operated at that site from 1937 to 1941, at which time it was relocated to 1025 12th St. The business, which moved to 1231 K St. in 1946 and was last known as Osborn’s Camera Center, continued to operate until 1955.
Prior to his time working for Osborn, John co-founded the Sierra Camera Club of Sacramento, which was established with 19 members in the spring of 1936.
On Dec. 8, 1936, while serving as the club’s president, John was presented with a trophy in honor of his accomplishment of earning the most points during the year for the exhibition of prints in the amateur class. The presentation was made by the club at the Consumers’ Ice & Cold Storage Co. clubroom at 300 9th St.
On the evening of Aug. 25, 1938, while John was serving as the club’s director, members of the club met at Osborn’s shop and then adjourned to John’s home for a supper meeting with the main dish of weiners.
During the gathering, Florence Keemer of 5253 22nd Ave. spoke about flower arrangements. Her speech was accompanied by a Kodachrome slide show.
In 1939, John moved to Route 5, Box 8520, along Fair Oaks Boulevard.
John, who became the assistant manager of Osborn’s shop in 1940 and later worked at this business at separate times as the manager and as a salesman, continued to work at the shop until he established his own business.
In 1950, John’s shop had a change of address, as the address became 2617 Marconi Ave.

And about five years later, John Pardee Photographic Supplies was operating in a different location in The Village at 2922 Fulton Ave.
During its time in The Village, the business expanded its floor area by four times its original space.
Manfred, who was born in East Prussia, Germany and was one of the seven children of Gustav and Hedwig Kallweit, said that he immigrated to the United States with his then-wife, Ulrike, 12 years prior to purchasing John Pardee Photographic Supplies.
In being that Manfred had gained a love for photography through his father who owned and operated a photography studio in his hometown of Tilsit, after arriving in America in 1965, he worked in a camera store in Bishop, Calif.
Two years later, Manfred, who completed his photography apprenticeship in Germany, was operating a European camera store that was built for him by the McCurry Camera Co. in The Crossroads shopping center at 5770 Freeport Blvd.
The store, which was known as Kamera Haus, was in operation from 1967 to 1971, at which time Manfred began managing the McCurry store in Arden Fair Mall.
In recalling his negotiations with John in 1974, Manfred said, “I knew there was this camera store in Town and Country Village and there was an older owner and he was 72 or 73 at the time,” Manfred said. “I said. ‘Why is he still in there when he should be retiring?’ I’m saying that about him and I’m doing it still. I’ll be 72 this month. Anyway, I told him that I was interested in his store and that I could start there as a manager and then he could sell it to me. He was delighted.”

Because he could no longer afford to operate the store in Town and Country Village by 1983, Manfred relocated the business to a 1,000-square-foot space at 3333 Balmoral Drive.
After about 12 years of operating the Balmoral Drive store, Manfred, in desiring to expand his store, moved the shop to its present, 4,000-square-foot location at 3335 El Camino Ave.
The current store site was originally divided into three store spaces in its pre-Pardee’s days, but it was made into its larger space when Country Club Family Billiards, with its 16 tournament tables, opened at that location in 1967.
The store, which is operated by Manfred, Ulrike and several employees, has continued its success at its present location despite challenges created by a changing market.
Pardee’s Cameras, which has a strong reputation for its emphasis on personal service and its offering of quality cameras and accessories, is also recognized as a museum-type camera store.
The store includes a large display of historic still photography and moving picture cameras, which Manfred said he collected to set his store apart from other camera stores.
“I’ve been into photography and cameras all my life and I wanted to have not just an ordinary camera store like you see everywhere, but something special,” Manfred said. “People come in and make remarks in awe of what they see. ‘Is this a camera store or what?’ they say. They can’t believe it what this looks like, what it feels like to be surrounded with cameras that are over 100 years old.”
And in describing some of these cameras, Manfred said, “The history-making wooden, brass cameras up there are super neat and made in England. They’re large 8 (inch) by 10 (inch) format cameras that were made around 1925. That big, black machine in the center is a (35 mm) manually operated, movie film projector that was made in about 1915. We have a lot of Leica cameras, a pioneering company from Germany that invented 35 millimeter photography. We have a collection of over 100 of those. They were made by the Leitz company. There’s also an old Kodak box camera from 1896. I bought (the cameras) at swap meets and people came in donating them at times and were trying to sell them. There are hundreds and hundreds (of cameras) and about 20, 25 movie cameras, and a tremendous variety of movie projectors, as well.”
In speaking about the anniversary of his business, which has 35,000 loyal customers in its database, Manfred said, “I’m proud of the success (of Pardee’s). It’s my profession, its my hobby, it’s my passion.”

Editor’s note: This is the fourth part in a series regarding the history of the “four corners” of Watt and El Camino avenues.

Country Club Plaza, as presented in the previous article of this series, began with a supermarket anchor in 1958 and three years later had its first department store, Weinstock’s.
Weinstocks, a very impressive structure
Carmichael resident Bill Ellis, who was the first manager of the Weinstock’s store in the plaza, described the Weinstock’s building, which took more than a year to build, as a very impressive structure.
“When Weinstock’s opened (in the plaza), it was a very unique building,” Ellis said. “It had imported marble and it had all kinds of amenities. It was something like Sacramento had never seen.”
And in describing the store’s interior, Ellis, 89, said, “We imported hardwood floors from Kentucky for certain departments and we had the people from Kentucky come and install them. We had wonderful, full-wall carpeting in certain areas and we had a fine dress department and we had a fine coat department. The showcases, which is what we did in those days, were of fine quality and cost $1,000 a foot. We had china, glass, gifts, sterling silver. It was a very high class store.”
Ellis said that he was named the store’s manager while he was working as a buyer at the Weinstock, Lubin & Co. store at 12th and K streets.
“I was told I would be manager three months before (the plaza’s Weinstock’s store) opened, roughly, and I was in on the last part of the construction (of the plaza building),” said Ellis, who altogether spent 40 years working for Weinstock’s. “I was there to learn what the store was about and what the space was allocated for and to supervise the workmen who were putting things together.”
Also associated with the plaza store were Marion Armstrong, president and general manager of Weinstock, Lubin, and the store’s assistant manager, Ray L. Byers.
As mentioned in the previous article of this series, a Penny’s department store opened at the site of the plaza’s Stop-N-Shop store in the summer of 1971.
Kathy Neutz, who grew up in Fair Oaks, said that she remembers shopping at this Penny’s store and other businesses in the plaza during the 1970s and 1980s.

Photo #3 Caption: Palms line Macy’s parking lot along El Camino Avenue. Photo by Lance Armstrong

The plaza was the place to shop
“I remember going to some of the older stores (at the plaza) like Penny’s and Weinstock’s,” Neutz said. “It was busier back then, because there weren’t as many malls. (The plaza) was one of the malls besides Sunrise Mall (in Citrus Heights) that you could go to. I would come here (to the plaza) with my mom or with friends. It wasn’t a hang out mall though, like Sunrise (Mall) and Arden (Fair Mall).”
After many years of operation at its plaza site, Penny’s was replaced by Gottschalks.
During the summer of 2009, Gottschalks closed its plaza store and the building remains vacant.
Weinstock’s closed in 1996 and was replaced by a Macy’s department store.
In 2003, under its then Scottsdale, Ariz.-based owners, Arizona Partners Retail Investment Group, LLC, the aged plaza was remodeled.
Unfortunately for the plaza, despite this remodel, many stores left the plaza and the mall was left with many empty store spaces.
Among the last businesses to exit the plaza were Subway, American Eagle Outfitters and PacSun Clothing.
Future of the plaza
While recently shopping at the plaza, Neutz said, “There definitely used to be more to (the plaza) than there is now. I just think it’s the area. It has kind of declined a bit and there are other areas that are growing and upcoming and that’s where (people) want to go. Hopefully they can rebuild this area and get it more economically stable. It’s all about the competition.”
For those concerned about the present status and future of the plaza, Peter Morgan, vice president of Laeroc Funds, the private real estate investment company for the plaza and multiple properties from San Diego to Portland, said that this shopping center’s future appears promising.
“When we bought the center in (August 2006), we were really excited about the opportunities,” Morgan said. “The mall was basically full and performing very well. It was just our timing on acquisition by 2006, right before the worst recession since the Depression, to the demise and bankruptcy of our anchor tenant, Gottschalks, in combination with the downturn in the retail market in Greater Sacramento.
“We think we’re coming out of this recession, the letter of intents (for possible new tenants) and the capital improvements that we plan to put up, we truly believe that this is the low point of the center’s life. We’re excited about the opportunities going forward to bring the mall back to its prominence.”

The letters of intent are from Office Depot, which would take about 6,000 feet at the plaza, and a national grocery store, which would use the 92,000-square-foot space at the former Gottschalks site.
Bed Bath & Beyond and Ross Dress for Less leaving the plaza?
In regard to recent local news reports that Bed Bath & Beyond and Ross Dress for Less will be relocating to Town and Country Village, Morgan said, “At this point, both of those tenants have leases and Ross just extended their lease with us. If (the addition to) Town and Country is built, Bed Bath & Beyond and Ross are supposed to open stores in that location. But Bed Bath & Beyond and Ross could make a decision to have a store in both locations. They both have an option that they could exercise to extend their terms (at the plaza).”
Although Morgan would not reveal when these leases end, he did state that the leases are signed through at least 2014.
He also noted that the plaza’s Sports Chalet store has renewed its lease.
Morgan added that remodeling and other enhancements, including façade improvements from La Bou to the old Gottschalks building, are planned for the plaza.
“The grocery store is planning a remodel of the façade and the accompanying parking lot,” Morgan said. “We are planning concurrently an extensive improvement of our parking field in front of the mall, including landscaping, parking lot improvement and repair and a brand new entry façade to the mall.
“Once we get that completed, then we tackle the interior of the mall. It could be as quickly as six months. But we really can’t do any construction work in the mall during the holidays.”
And for those who find confusion in having two shopping centers with similar names at Watt and El Camino avenues, Morgan said that help may be on the way.
“We’re looking at renaming (Country Club Plaza) to reflect that (future) look of the center, although we don’t have a new name chosen,” Morgan said. “When we come up with some names, we’re probably going to float them by the market before we actually (change the name) to see how it’s received.”
In summarizing his feelings about the future of the plaza, Morgan said, “I’m very excited about where this center’s going. I think Sacramento is going to be delighted to see the improvement from where it’s been to where it’s going.”

lance@valcomnews.com

On Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June 3, the Sacramento Suburban Kiwanis Club will host more than 1,500 artisans at their 54th annual Art Fiesta at Town & Country Village on Fulton and Marconi Avenues in Sacramento.

According to Beverly Sanchez, co-chair of the Art Fiesta Committee for the Sacramento Suburban Kiwanis Club, the Art Fiesta is a fine arts show featuring jewelry, ceramics, paintings, pottery, watercolors, stained glass and more. “These are highly qualified artists,” she adds.

One of these highly-qualified artists is Jerry Harr and his wife, Fran, who have been hand-making jewelry for 37 years in Palo Cedro, CA. This will be their fifth year at the Art Fiesta, a show Harr says they enjoy coming to. “Most of the people that we’ve met are looking for a painting or something else like that, a nice piece of glass or pottery – they’re looking for something they can’t buy in the local store,” he explains.

Howit all began

Sanchez says the Art Fiesta got its start 54 years ago through the efforts of Harold M. Anderson, one of the original founders of Anderson Bros. Pharmacy in Town & Country, who was also a founding member of the Sacramento Suburban Kiwanis Club.

“Like a typical community service organization we’re always looking for different ways to raise funds to then spend in our community,” Sanchez explains. “Mr. Anderson approached the owners of the shopping center and said would you donate your sidewalk space to us so we can have an art show. They gave us permission to do that and they have been donating their sidewalk space to us every since.”

Sanchez says although over the years management of Town & Country has changed hands, the new owners have consistently continued to support the group’s efforts. “They have worked very well with our group and have been very, very supportive throughout the many, many years we’ve done this and just bend over backwards to make this work for us and be very accommodating,” she adds.

Raising funds

As a major fund raiser for the Kiwanis group, Sanchez says although the event itself is free they raise funds through the booth fees they charge the artists. The proceeds go towards the myriad of community programs the group supports throughout the year, including the Kiwanis Family House, high school Key Clubs, Boy and Girl Scouts, Boy’s and Girl’s State, and Just for Kids.

Sanchez says they also ask each artist participating in the Art Fiesta to donate one piece of their art to the Kiwanis Club, which in turn uses them as silent auction items at a fund raising event in the fall. “So it’s a fund raising event that builds from one right into another that we offer in the fall,” she adds.

Aiding the community

Additionally, Sanchez says the Art Fiesta also provides a benefit to the entire community by making residents aware of the retailers in the Town & Country Shopping Center.

“We want to be able to attract customers to their businesses and that’s been part of the goal – get people into that shopping center, let them see what businesses are back there, and at the same time allow us to raise funds for our different community service events that we do for all our community,” she says. “The last several years all retailers have suffered because of the economy and they need every little bit of help they can get to get people in to their areas, into their businesses.”

Harr agrees, saying those that come to shop at the Art Fiesta also go to and buy from the store owners around the artists, helping everybody out. “I think…the good shows actually help to stabilize the community – I think they help a lot,” he adds.

For more information, call the Art Fiesta hotline at (916) 972-7337 or visit www.townandcountryartfiesta.org.

Residents of the Sacramento area have likely known about Tim’s Band Instrument Service for many years. Parents with children in band programs have probably been in his store countless times, whether it is to rent an instrument or sit in the waiting room during a private lesson.

But one of the problems with the shop was that you pretty much had to know where it was in order to find it. Tucked away in the far corner of a small shopping center on Arden Way, it wasn’t a place that many people were going to spot from the street and wander inside.

As of December 1, that has all changed.

Tim’s has a new home in the area, just 1.8 miles from its old one on Arden Way. The new location is 2812 Marconi Ave. (across from Town & Country Village) and in less than three weeks since it opened, the owners are seeing something quite different in terms of clientele.

“We’ve been keeping a tally of how many people have come in that we have never seen before in the shop and it’s at about 200 right now,” said co-owner Scott Mandeville. “The new location is great. The old store was good to us, but the fact that it was tucked away made it difficult.”

Mandeville and his wife Melissa purchased the store from the original owner on May 1, 2005.

“I think Tim was going to turn out the lights and just walk away,” Scott said. “In November of 2004 we got serious about purchasing the store from him.”

But after 30 years, surely it would be difficult for Tim to part with his shop, right?

“It took about 20 minutes,” Scott chuckled.

Scott is certainly qualified to run the shop, seeing as how he worked at Northridge Music Center for 24 years prior to the purchase of Tim’s. Melissa fits in perfectly as well, having a background as a private piano teacher for many years.

 

Reason behind the move

When they took over the original location, they had a 5-year business plan according to Scott, but before long it became necessary to make a change.

“We outgrew the business plan in 20 months,” he said. “An opportunity arose with the fact that lease rates were down and we took it.”

The couple looked at several different possible sites, but the one on Marconi really jumped out at them.

“It’s great. There’s a better demographic and the visibility is huge,” he said.

Melissa added that the success is largely due to the Taylor Center in which the shop resides.

“The center doesn’t have any big box stores, they’re all locally owned and family friendly,” she said. Both added that Gary Taylor, the owner of the shopping center, helped to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Scott and Melissa have been residents of the Sacramento area since 1980 and 1977 respectively, and they are well versed in the local music community. Melissa said that one of the best things Tim’s has to offer is the high level of private instructors they have.

“We have some of the finest teachers in the area,” she said. “Our instructors are some of the most in demand musicians in Sacramento.”

 

More space, more music

Something else that the new shop has over the old one is some 1,900 more square footage. The old Tim’s was 3,100 square feet while the new one is 5,000 according to Melissa.

“There was stuff just kind of crammed in every nook and cranny at the old store,” she said. “Here once we get everything all put away it will be much more organized.”

Inside, the feeling is much different from the former place. Everything is new and shiny with high ceilings, an expansive instrument repair area, a soundproof room for trying out instruments and accessories, and seven private instruction rooms.

Instruments adorn the walls, drawing the eye with their sparkle. “As you can see we have violins,” Melissa said. “People didn’t know we sold violins at the old store because we didn’t have enough room to display them.”

Tim’s also boasts something that no other music store in northern California can: an ultrasonic cleaner.

Musicians young and old will learn that calcium deposits from their saliva will start to damage the instrument from the inside out. What the ultrasonic cleaner does is create microscopic explosions that destroy the calcium build-up in the instrument.

The device looks kind of like a big deep fryer. It has a window set up in front of it so people can watch the process as it happens.

“There are always a lot of amazed faces when we clean an instrument in there,” Melissa said. “The parents sometimes look at their kid and ask ‘is that supposed to be in there?’ as stuff comes pouring out of the instrument.”

 

Insight and instruction

For people interested in getting their child into music or for ones who wish to begin private instruction, Melissa explained some of the things that make Tim’s a good choice.

“We have an excellent rental program, expert repairs, knowledgeable staff and great teachers.”

The store has instructors that teach saxophone, clarinet, woodwinds, trumpet, French horn, guitar and trombone. The store’s business hours are 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Thursday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Friday, and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday. The store is closed Sunday and Monday.

For more information about everything Tim’s has to offer, call 916-925-9160 or go to the store’s Web site at www.timsbis.com

 

E-mail Benn Hodapp at benn@valcomnews.com.

In 1957 – 11 years after the opening of the area’s first shopping center, Town and Country Village – Arden Fair Mall on Arden Way emerged within a still considerably rural area where farm animals and a wide variety of wildlife roamed on open land.

But that was then and this is now, as Arden Arcade, which was determined by the Census Bureau to be among the nation’s 10 largest unincorporated communities as early as 1961, and the mall have grown with the times.

 

To the mall

Local residents received early word regarding the future construction of the mall, which was then referred to as the Swanston Estates Shopping Center, in the Dec. 25, 1954 edition of The Sacramento Bee.

Complete with an artist’s rendition of how the mall was intended to appear, the report summarized the project, which would be constructed near the North Sacramento Freeway (today’s Business 80/Capital City Freeway).

It was also reported in the article that the project’s developers Philip F. Heraty and William Gannon had revealed that the estimated $20 million to $30 million mall would include a $2.5 million Sears Roebuck and Co. department store.

Besides Sears, which had a designated 30-acre site within the project, the precise location of the mall’s other future businesses had not been determined.

The mall, which was initially a single-story, open-air complex located on 74.24 acres, experienced much early success, which led to various expansions, including the addition of a 200,000-square-foot Hale’s department store in 1960.

By 1962, the mall consisted of Sears, Hale’s, Kress, Woolworth’s, the Carousel restaurant and bar, Leed’s Shoe Store, Thom McAn Shoes, Sacramento Savings and Loan, Gallenkamp Shoes, Rogers Jewelry, Smiths Clothiers, Beverly, Heeseman clothier and Lane Bryant, which still operates in its original location.

 

Expanding, evolving

About a year later, construction was underway on a $1.5 million, 110,000-square-foot addition to the mall.

The project, which was developed by the Kassis Investment Co., included space for such businesses as a Stop-N-Shop supermarket, Thrifty Drug Store, Cork ‘n’ Bottle liquor store, one of the state’s first General Electric service centers and a Sperry and Hutchinson Green Stamps redemption center.

The addition also featured a center for restaurants, called the Arden Fair Food Circus.

Long before the arrival of the mall’s present-day food court, Arden Fair drew many visitors to its 27,000-square-foot Food Circus, which was developed as a result of the success of Country Club Plaza’s popular Gourmet Lane.

Serving as a sort of food mall within the mall, the Food Circus was a one-stop destination spot for food and snack offerings from such businesses as Pagluica’s, Frank Fat’s, The Steak Pit, Jumbo’s Burger Basket, Hof Brau, Hot Dog on a Stick, Frank’s Fisherman’s Wharf, Carnation Ice Cream and Pastry, Country Candies, The Nut Shop and Tastee Do-Nut Parlor. Overall, the Food Circus included about 15 businesses.

Like Sears, Weinstock’s department store, which later replaced Hale’s, also served as a longtime anchor of the mall.

In front of Weinstock’s, which has been the site of Macy’s since 1996, was a Super Slide that was used by many people, who slid down its slopes on burlap, gunny sack bags.

 

Mall memories

Arden Fair employees Stan Bray and Steve Reed have fond memories of visiting the mall during the 1960s.

Bray, Arden Fair’s assistant manager of operations, said that his connection to the mall continuously dates back to his teenage years.

“I used to work for a magician at the Food Circus when I was about 13 or 14 years old,” said Bray, a 1975 graduate of the now-closed La Sierra High School. “Every Saturday and Sunday we’d put on magic shows and I was (the magician) Mr. Whammy’s assistant. He used to work for Ringling Bros., so he had all the tricks and all kinds of animals like show goats and show monkeys and show dogs. I’d load up all the stuff in the secret compartments or bring in the dog or whatever. He would give me $5 per show and my money would go to feed my own animals (at home) on an old chicken ranch off of Madison Avenue by Hemlock (Street).”

Bray said that other members of his family were also connected to the mall, as his mother, Janet, managed the Tastee Do-Nut Parlor and his brother, Derrick, managed Wallpapers To Go.

After leaving his magician’s assistant position, Bray, who is in his 36th consecutive year working at Arden Fair, was hired by Frank Kassis as a Food Circus busboy, which led to other jobs at the mall, including his former job as a maintenance worker.

“I started working here in 1973 and I’ve had every job (at the mall) that you can think of,” Bray said. “I tell people that when I look at a wall (at Arden Fair), it’s like X-ray, because I know what’s in that wall, I know what’s on the other side of that wall; I can just keep on going.”

Reed, the mall’s security and guest services manager, said that as a teenager, Arden Fair was one of his favorite places to visit with his close friends, Butch Godfrey and Jim O’Neil.

“The first time I came to the mall was in about 1961,” said Reed, a 1965 graduate of Bella Vista High School in Fair Oaks. “I was a freshman at Bella Vista and the biggest thing was going to the Food Circus and I would also go to (Thrifty) with my buddies (Godfrey and O’Neil) and get ice cream cones for just a nickel (each). The Food Circus had all these various restaurants with food from different countries, so you could go in and eat different cuisines from different cultures. Back then, Arden Fair and Country Club were the places to go. We’d go over to Country Club and cruise the parking lot and then with whatever money we had, we’d go to Arden Fair.”

Reed’s association with Arden Fair continued after his high school years, as he worked as a trash bailer and stock boy for Weinstock’s.

After serving about two years in the Vietnam War, Reed, whose sister-in-law Diane Grissom once worked in Weinstock’s cosmetics department, continued his work at Weinstock’s while earning a pair of teaching credentials and a bachelor’s degree in communications at Sacramento State College (now Sacramento State University).

Reed taught classes at local schools, including Arden and Jonas Salk, before becoming a Sacramento Police officer, patrolling the mall’s grounds as an off-duty officer and being hired as the mall’s security manager 10 years ago.

 

Remaking Arden Fair

Arden Fair underwent a major renovation in about 1969, when it was converted into an indoor mall.

For those who recall Arden Fair during the 1970s, a listing of some of the stores shown on a 1974 blueprint map on file with the mall’s management should bring back plenty of memories.

Included on the map is the Food Circus and aforementioned businesses that continued to operate at the mall such as Weinstock’s, the Thrifty Drug Store and Roger’s Jewelry, as well as a variety of other stores.

These stores include: House of Fabrics, Olin Mills Photography, Arden 4 Cinemas, Kay-Ross Fashions, Pic-A-Dilly women’s clothing store, See’s Candy, Karmelkorn Shop, Beadazzled retail jewelry store, the Plum Tree gift shop and Imperial Barbers.

A pair of other Arden Fair stores during this era were Mervyn’s department store and Corti Bros. grocery store.

Bray said that the area just west of the mall remained fairly rural in the 1970s.

“In the early 1970s, I would go across the street from Arden Fair, because I used to be a falconer. Across the way was all barbed wire and there was not one building there. It was all sheep over there. I would climb trees looking for owls. I never found an owl, but there were a lot of red ants.”

Bray added that in Arden Fair’s early years, a road led through the middle of the mall to a neighborhood, which was located alongside a cow pasture.

He also said that the area to the east of the mall, where the architecturally unique Best Products – now Best Buy – was located was an open field where local youth often road motorcycles.

 

Getting to the mall of today

Although Arden Fair has experienced a variety of changes throughout the years, no project affected the image and prosperity of the mall more than its 1989 expansion, which doubled the size of the mall.

The project increased Arden Fair from a single-level, 196,000-square-foot mall to a two-level mall totaling more than a million square feet and including connecting bridges and escalators.

The mall also includes a pair of parking garages, one built in 1989 and the other in 1993.

Bray said that despite the addition of these garages, the demand for on-site parking during the holidays has continuously exceeded the mall’s estimated 5,400 parking spaces.

“After the (1989) expansion, there were more people who wanted to come to Arden Fair (during the holidays) than (on-site) parking (could accommodate), so we had to create a way to help that, so we started the off-site (free) shuttle (to and from the nearby Cal Expo) and we have been doing that for 20 years,” Bray said.

As Arden Fair looks to the future, the mall, Bray explained, intends to maintain its efforts to evolve with the times.

“We have to keep up with the times and that’s why we’re constantly changing things and improving things and making it better and making it fresher,” Bray said.

And if history continues to repeat itself at Arden Fair, the mall should have a very bright future.

 

E-mail Lance Armstrong at lance@valcomnews.com.