| The Palo Alto History Project |
| Edgewood Plaza Embarcadero at West Bayshore Road |
| 2006 |
| Edgewood Plaza: Hanging in the Balance Edgewood Plaza has stood at the Embarcadero gateway to Palo Alto for more than 50 years now, but with a new ownership group taking over, its days appear to be numbered --- at least in its current form. Sand Hill Property Company has all but given notice to the small group of shops now huddled around an abandoned Albertson's on the plaza lot. But now as new blueprints are in the works, a number of potential controversies regarding the design and layout of the plaza linger over any future plans. Sand Hill seems to be dead set against the plaza in its current form. The 1950's era mall is now rundown and rather shabby after having been left off the list of any serious renovations since its opening in 1958. Some have estimated that sales at the center have dropped as much as 60 percent in the last decade. In 2006, the Albertson's, which was already in pretty bad shape, called it quits and since then other stores have also folded. But to some, an architectural jewel lays beneath the dust of the nearly abandoned shopping center. Edgewood is the only mall ever planned by Joseph Eichler, whose name has come to be revered in these parts. The master of '50s track housing, Eichler oversaw the construction of more than 2,700 homes in Palo Alto. His mid-century ultra-California designs are loved as kitschy retro by some, despised as outdated and ugly by others. Eichler designed the center to match the surrounding homes in an experimental scheme much praised by future planners. As architect Mark Marcinik put it, "we see the traditional building techniques (wood, post and beam construction) turned into grand experiments of space, structure, light and views...They always seem to be pointing to the infinite horizon and convey the spirit of westward expansion." Critic Alan Hess called it one of the "most innovative, best-designed" shopping centers in the state and in 2004, he even led architectural history tour of Edgewood Plaza pointing out its "marvelously proportioned corner sign, light architecture of intersecting planes and its sense of sculpture skillfully defining its form in the light and shadow of thin vertical wood boards contrasting with solid gridded concrete block and solid laminated roof beams." But the new owners want to tear down the entire complex (Shell gas station and yoga center included) and put up a mixed-use development possibly including a new natural foods grocery store, coffee shop (Palo Alto's 7th Starbucks perhaps?) as well as housing units on the top floor. However, when Sand Hill developer John Tze unveiled the plans --- which he said were "conceptual" and "a work in progress" --- for an L-shaped building, with less than 21,000 square feet of retail on the bottom floor and 17 residential units above, a meeting with neighborhood residents devolved into frustration and anger. Why the anger? Because of the housing and size of the project. With the local Duveneck Elementary School already bursting at the seems, Duveneck/St. Francis activists are willfully opposed to housing that will bring a whole new group of school-agers to the neighborhood. They are also not thrilled with the size of the building. Given the neighborhood preference for one-story Eichlers and only a mere tolerance for two-story houses, Sand Hill's proposed 4 story building is seen as a potential neighborhood behemoth. And because of the old agreements of the land plot, any of Sand Hill's plans must be approved by voters. Many more meetings are likely on the horizon. Finally, in recent years there has been an ownership struggle of another sort underway at the plaza --- this one with aspects of race and class. While the shopping center is surrounded by the largely white and upper middle-class Duveneck/St. Francis neighborhood, the shops at Edgewood for the past decade have been mostly frequented by East Palo Altans who do not have a grocery store to call their own. Some in the neighborhood feel that the plaza's recent collection of a one dollar store, Mexican restaurant, liquor store, and African artifact boutique does not match a neighborhood that might be happier with a Whole Foods and acappuccino bar. One gathering of Edgewood neighbors in 2006 had a tone which was exclusionist at best. "They weren't generous or sensitive to people (who are) economically challenged," then Mayor Judy Kleinberg said of the meeting. Kleinberg said the situation isn't much different from when Palo Altans didn't want to share city parks with East Palo Alto residents, or opposition arose against East Palo Alto students attending Palo Alto schools. Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Kleinberg commenting on the reaction of Edgewood residents said that "It's a natural human trait to want people to be like you, but that's not something you want." So with all that hovering over the plaza, it stands now as a kind of retro-hip ghost town, slowly devolving toward dilapidation. But if plans are soon finalized and the bulldozers are ready to roll, the question is will the neighborhood decide to fight increased housing, a new and larger design, and outsider shopping all in one fell swoop? -Matt Bowling |
| Edgewood Plaza with its distinctive retro sign |
| An early sketch of the plaza when it opened in 1958 with a Lucky's to anchor |
| Bargains Unlimited has never matched the income bracket of the surrounding neighborhood |
| A wig shop with boarded window |
| An Edgewood alley, very Eichler, but not so inviting |
| Edgewood 2007: A ghost town |
| Plans call for the possible elimination of this Shell at Edgewood. Right now it is always full and its demise would leave much of the eastside of Palo Alto without a gas station within easy access. |
| This yoga center was once the center for Joseph Eichler's real estate operation. |
| circa 1985 |
| 2007 |
| A bad sign for any mall still in operation |
| Adios to Papasitos |
| Africa City Alive! the store run by East Palo Alto City Council member A. Peter Evans is now gone. |
| Moon's Cleaners, all but out |
| The Albertson's is no more, leaving much of East Palo Alto and Green Gables without a supermarket |
| That necessity of any run-down set of shops: the Shoe Repair store |
| Critic Alan Hess lends his wisdom on the virtues of the center |
| Palo Alto: Then & Now |
| Sources: Palo Alto Historical Association, Palo Alto Times, Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Daily News |
| At left is Edgewood Plaza in the mid 1980's when a Lucky anchored the small mall. Note the old telephone booths that are rarely seen in today's cell phone era. All Lucky's stores became Albertsons in the late 1990s, although that sign has been stripped away in the modern picture. The pizza restaurant had become a Mexican eatery, although Papisitos is now closed as well. At center two signs contrast with one another, a red sign advertises that some stores are still open, while a Tow Away sign below it makes parking in much of the mall precarious. |
| "Gypsies, horse drawn wagons with tigers and wagons where the colorful Barnum & Bailey circus, just like the boxes of Circus crackers. Elephants next, very disciplined and trained, lots of very colorful costumes on many, many attendants walking across Embarcadero to where there would eventually be a Lucky Market and Edgewood Plaza." -Larry |
| Memories added by readers: |
| "A vivid memory ... my first job was as a grocery bagger, I was about 12, that was about 1970... lived at 1942 Edgewood, different times then ...." -Tim |
| "This plaza needs to be restored to its original glory. I grew up going the Lucky's there, getting my hair cut, and so much more. I have always admired the architecture and it is such a great compliment to the Eichler homes surrounding it. It would be a massacre to rebuild this center void of its historical grace. -Rocky |