Sherman Oaks Galleria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sherman Oaks Galleria is a shopping mall and business center located in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, California at the corner of Ventura and Sepulveda Boulevards in the San Fernando Valley.
Locals colloquially refer to the mall simply as "the Galleria."
[edit] History
The mall opened in the 1970s with two department stores (Robinsons anchored the north, May Company anchored the south) and a Pacific 5 Theatres. The mall was 3 levels and was open and bright. The theatres were located on the upper most level of the mall. In 1992, Robinsons and May Company merged, forming Robinsons-May. Both department stores in the mall were converted to Robinsons-May, the north store becoming a Men's and Home store, and the south store becoming a Women's and Children's store.
The mall became famous in the early 1980s as being the center of the Valley Girl culture and a well-known teenage hangout. In 1994, the Galleria closed for 11 days due to the Northridge Earthquake, and the mall never fully recovered from the economic impact. Towards the late 1990s, many businesses began closing due to lack of consumer interest in the Galleria, until only a single store, a gift shop, was left remaining in 1999. The mall was suffering drastically due to having only one main anchor and was being outgrossed by the smaller, but busier, Westfield Fashion Square (formerly Sherman Oaks Fashion Square), located about two miles away.
The mall finally closed in 1999 for a major renovation and reopened in 2002 as an open-air center that was nothing like what it had been before. The only remnant of the original mall is the court where the Pacific 16 Theatres is. The theatres are on the uppermost of what had once been the southern Robinsons-May. The vast majority of the remaining mall was turned into offices. Warner Brothers set up offices here and can be seen in what was once one of the mall entrances. Additionally, several mortgage companies and financial services providers are headquartered within the mall. Additional tenants include several major restaurant chains.
[edit] In popular culture
Some scenes in the movies Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Commando, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Chopping Mall were filmed at the Galleria, and it is mentioned repeatedly in the song "Valley Girl" from the Frank Zappa album Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch, as well as the eponymous "The Galleria" by Phantom Planet.
The Galleria is also home to a 24-Hour Fitness franchise owned by Magic Johnson. This gym is frequented by Jose Canseco, Jay Mohr, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Alec Baldwin and Mary Carey. These celebrities can be seen on a frequent basis at this gym. The gym is also home to many of the Valley's lesser known porn stars, who can also be found working out on a daily basis.
