Montclair Place (California)

The mall opened on November 5, 1968, at a cost of $50 million, with 69 stores on a single level, representing over 600,000 square feet (56,000 m²) of retail space, on a lot of 120 acres (49 ha) with parking space for 6,000 cars. Montclair Plaza was developed by contractor Ernest W. Hahn; the architect of the overall mall and shops was Burke, Kober, Nicolais & Archuleta. Three department stores anchored Montclair Plaza at, or shortly after its opening:[2]

• JCPenney, 189,000 square feet (17,600 m²); Burke, Kober, Nicolais & Archuleta, architects
• The Broadway at the east end, 142,000 square feet (13,200 m²); Charles Luckman and Associates, architects[3]
• May Company at the west end, 150,000 square feet (14,000 m²); Welton Becket and Associates, architects[3]

Other stores open at the Plaza's launch included branches of the junior department stores:

• Silverwoods (Burke, Kober, Nicolais & Archuleta, architects), as part of an expansion at the time that also included stores Las Vegas, La Habra Fashion Square, and Palm Springs.[2]
• Mullen & Bluett[4]

There was a General Cinemas theater complex.

A United California Bank, Crocker Bank, Van de Kamp's Holland Dutch Bakery, drugstore, and supermarket were located across from the mall in a 77,400-square-foot (7,190 m²) strip mall on the northeast of the property.[3]

The mall was renovated and expanded with a second level that opened on October 30, 1985. Sears was added to the mall the same year, which relocated from the Indian Hill Mall. The first Nordstrom store in San Bernardino County opened at the Montclair Plaza on May 2, 1986. May Company was converted to Robinsons-May in 1993. The Broadway became a Macy's in 1996. Macy's relocated to the Robinsons-May space in 2006 after the chains merged.

In February 2014, CIM Group acquired the mall.[5]

In November 2015, the mall was renamed "Montclair Place" and renovations were announced. On March 1, 2018, AMC Theatres announced that it will replace the Broadway building with a new 55,000-square-foot dine-in movie theatre, the city's first indoor theatre in nearly twenty years. Multiple new stores were added, including Forever 21 and Spectrum. The Canyon, a 17,500-square-foot music and entertainment venue, and Kids Empire, an 11,000-square-foot indoor playground were added. A Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar opened in December 2019 in the former Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. A WinWings restaurant opened next to the Panda Express restaurant. On July 3, 2019, bowling & arcade amusement chain Round One Entertainment announced it will open a location.

The original Broadway outpost was razed for an AMC Theatres which opened during 2021.[6]

The dawn of the early 2020s saw several storied traditional department store retailers update its brick-and-mortar formats after being encroached upon to a degree by several digital retailers in recent years in addition to the COVID pandemic.

Both the previous Sears and Nordstrom outposts are being considered for a future enhanced development expected to take place soon.[7]

On November 7, 2019, it was announced Sears would shutter as part of an ongoing decision to eliminate its traditional brick-and-mortar format.[8]

On May 7, 2020, Nordstrom, which also maintains several additional outposts nearby, announced plans to shutter along with several additional locations as a direct result of pulling back because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]

• On May 17, 2022; a group of suspects involved in a hit-and-run were arrested outside of the mall. Police later discovered illegal firearms and narcotics in their truck, connecting the group's involvement with a local drug ring.[10]
• On May 19, 2022, a 16-year-old girl was non-fatally stabbed by an 18-year old assailant as she was walking through the parking lot.[11]
• On August 19, 2022; a trio of burglars robbed a jewelery store in the mall, stealing an estimated $200,000 of merchandise.[12]
• On February 2, 2023, a 17-year old teenager was stabbed during an altercation in the mall's parking lot. A 15-year-old boy was also shot and killed by the trio of teenagers.[13]