Westminster Mall completely abandoned in Orange County California

Westminster Mall was an enclosed, two-level shopping mall in Westminster, California, United States. Opened in August 1974, and closed in October 2025, the mall featured anchor stores JCPenney and Target, with two vacant anchor spaces previously occupied by Macy's and Sears. JCPenney was closed in November 2025,[1] leaving Target as the remaining anchor.

Westminster Mall was situated on the corner of Goldenwest Street and Bolsa Avenue in Westminster, California. It was owned and managed by Washington Prime Group.

History
In the 1920s, the world's largest goldfish farm was relocated to the area where the mall stands today.[2] Homart Development Company announced plans to build the mall in 1972. The structure was designed by Architectonics, Inc. of Dallas and Chicago with each department store hiring its own architect. C. H. Leavell & Co. of El Paso was the general contractor. Construction of the mall began in 1972.[3][4]


Westminster Mall logo from 1974.
Westminster Mall opened for business on August 7, 1974,[5] with May Company, Sears and Buffum's. The Sears store designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was 200,000 square feet on two levels.[3] Ladd & Kelsey were the architects for the May Company store which was 150,000 square feet on two levels and boasted a restaurant and cocktail lounge. The 90,000 square foot, two level Buffum's was designed by Killingsworth, Bradley & Associates.[6] J. W. Robinson's was added in 1975 as the mall's fourth anchor store.[7]

Three of the mall's anchors changed names in the 1990s. Buffum's closed in May 1991[8] due to the chain being liquidated. By January 1993, Robinson's and May Company merged to form Robinsons-May, with each store carrying the name by February.[9] As a result, the May Company store was rebranded Robinsons-May, and the J. W. Robinson's was closed as one of the 12 Robinson's and May Company stores closing as part of the merger. The closed Buffum's store became a Robinson's-May Home Store in March 1993 and in November of that same year, the closed Robinson's store became a JCPenney, which had relocated from Huntington Center Mall (now Bella Terra).[10] In 2002, the Robinsons-May Home Store building was torn down for a new Macy's. When Federated Department Stores (now Macy's, Inc.) purchased Robinsons-May and other May Co. names in September 2006, Macy's moved to the Robinsons-May building, and the former Macy's location soon became a Target. Old Navy was added as well.

In 2008, the mall underwent a renovation, relocating the carousel to nearby Sears and constructing a play area in its place near JCPenney. The grand re-opening was on November 15, 2008.

On May 28, 2014, Washington Prime Group, which owned interest in the Westminster Mall along with 97 other properties, was spun-off by Simon Property Group, with management being transferred as well by March 2016.

In 2015, the Todai Seafood and Sushi buffet closed, being replaced by Luxe Buffet. That same year, Sears Holdings spun off 235 of its properties, including the Sears at Westminster Mall, into Seritage Growth Properties.[11]

Decline and closure

Back entrance to the mall in 2009
Gymboree and Crazy 8 closed on August 12, 2017, as part of a plan to close 300 stores nationwide.

On January 4, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 103 stores nationwide. The store closed in April 2018, making it the last original anchor store to close.[12] The carousel located near Sears would also move to nearby Macy's.[citation needed] As of January 2021, the space is still vacant.

Target store located at Westminster Mall, California, pictured in late November 2025.
Target, pictured in November 2025, is the only store at the mall which will remain.[13][14]
As of 2023, Spencer Gifts was the last long-term tenant remaining from the opening era of the mall in their original location on the upper level. They were temporarily moved downstairs during the COVID-19 pandemic;[15][16] as of July 2024, Spencer's is now listed as permanently closed and the store location is no longer listed on the company website.

John's Incredible Pizza shuttered its doors in 2022 because of mall management, saying they are planning to repurpose the space, leaving the Buena Park and Carson locations as the only two nearest to the mall.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Westminster Mall saw a dramatic decline in sales, due to many of its businesses laying off employees, and their closures. In addition to the financial struggles at the Mall, the rise in online shopping also took a toll on the Mall's revenue. Because of this, in April 2023, the City of Westminster approved a redevelopment plan to utilize the mall's main building, for mixed-use housing, lodging and retail. This will result in the destruction of parts of the mall's side wings. The plans will start sometime around 2026.
beat produced by Maer Musik