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Seeing Stars: Where the Stars Shop..
10800 W. Pico Boulevard,
West Los Angeles, CA./ (310) 474-6255
Update:
As of late 2017, news is that the Westside Pavilion mall has been put
up for sale. And it seems like it might eventually disappear.
Recently, the mall lost its most prestigious anchor store, Nordstrom,
which relocated to the newly-renovated Century City mall. That could
prove to be the kiss of death to the Westside Pavilion.
Something similar happened recently to the South Bay Galleria, in
Redondo Beach, where their Nordstrom store left and relocated to the
nearby Del Amo mall. As a result, the Galleria has fallen on hard times.
And word is that the Westside Pavilion will also lose its Macy's store
soon, since Macy's is also opening a new location in the same Century
Citymall, and if it does, it's hard to imagine a mall surviving for long
without both of its anchors.
Given the number of upscale competitors on the West L.A. shopping scene,
if the mall is sold, the buyer might opt to simply drop out of the mall
game, and build something else on that valuable piece of property, such
as a high-rise, that would produce more revenue per square foot.
Update 2018: It's now being reported that the mall will be converted
into "creative office space", with a small portion retained for
entertainment including a movie theatre and restaurants.
But the ultimate fate of the mall will probably be up in the air for a year or two.
Update January 2019: It is now being reported that Google
will take over the empty Westside Pavilion in 2022, after a major
renovation that will radically change the former malls look.
The new walls will be mostly glass, there will be a rooftop garden, and
the parking building on the south side will be replaced by a landscaped
park -like environment for Google employees.
The new name will be "One Westside".
So L.A. can say goodbye to The Westside Pavilion as both the name, and as a shopping destination.
I will leave this
page (below) up for a while, for anyone who wants to read about the old
Westside Pavilion mall..But bear in mind that the article below was
written back when the mall was in its prime:
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The
Westside Pavilion is a relative newcomer to the L.A. mall scene, arriving
in 1985. In that year, its eccentric exterior facade was considered a bit
showy by some, with its "Miami Vice" pastels and avant-garde
styling. But no one argues that the mall's interior design is the
real attraction here.
In a world filled
with drab, plain shopping malls, the Westside Pavilion dared to take a
chance, and manages to somehow blend a rich Old World ambiance with a California-trendy
style all its own.
Designed
by the same man who gave us San Diego's famed Horton Plaza and the
new Universal CityWalk, the Westwood
Pavilion offers the look and feel of an old European street. It features
an arching glass skylight roof, old-fashioned globe street lamps, tile
floors, and fanciful bridges & walkways spanning its three levels.
By
the way, if the mall looks familiar to you, it might be because it was
where Alicia Silverstone
and her friends went shopping in the 1995 comedy "Clueless."
Also, rocker Tom Petty
filmed his video "Free Falling" here, while riding
the mall's escalators. 
Given its proximity
to Beverly Hills, it's not surprising that they get their fair share of
celebrity shoppers. Michael Jackson,
for
instance, was spotted here checking out the holograms at a specialty store.
The Westside Pavilion
also boasts the busiest, most profitable food court of any mall in L.A.:
"The Westside Terrace."
Barbra Streisand
and James Brolin
were spotted outside the Samuel Goldwyn
Pavilion Theatres at the mall, arm in arm, without so much as sunglasses
to disguise their identities. The theatres (on the top floor) are notable
because the complex showcases 'art-house' films often unavailable elsewhere
in the city.
Mimi Rogers comes
often to the mall's Nordstrom department store and looks for clothes for
her daughter. Teri Garr was
seen in Nordstrom's personal shopper department, and rapper "Kid"
(from Kid 'N Play) was spotted shopping in the
children's shoes department . It has also been rumored that petite Sally Field
was shopping in the Nordstrom's boy's department.
In May of 1999, Capt.
Kirk himself (William Shatner) showed
up at the Waldenbooks in the mall to sign copies of his new book.
In 2007, the mall's
west wing (reached from the main mall via a bridge over Westwood Blvd)
will become home to the new Landmark Film
Center (which they are calling "the
largest independent film center in the country"). While the ground
floor will contain a number of restaurants, the upper floors will be devoted
to theatres showing independent films (as well as popular favorites) on
12 screens, plus a lounge, reserved seating, wide leather rocker seats,
a wine bar, and (best of all) no commercials. It will compete with other
upscale theatres such as the Arclight
and with new theatres at Century City and
CityWalk. They will also open the Westside Tavern
(on ground level), a new restaurant that will cater to film fans, and even
offer three private dining rooms for parties. Parking on the roof will
be free (except after premieres, when they'll use the space for after-parties.)
Getting
there:
The mall is located in West Los Angeles, about a mile and a half south
of the UCLA campus. The original mall is located at the southeast the corner
of Pico Boulevard and Westwood Boulevard With the addition of a new outdoor
western wing and pedestrian bridge, the mall now spans both sides of Westwood
Boulevard. / From Rodeo Drive, take Santa Monica Boulevard
southwest (about two and a half miles) to Westwood Boulevard. Turn left
(south) on Westwood Boulevard, and go 3/4 of a mile to the mall (at Pico).
[You can
access the mall's official website at: http://www.westsidepavilion.com.]
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