On October 11, 1951, a new shopping center opened southeast of Main Street and Mt. Diablo Boulevard, and one of the Marx Brothers was there to entertain the crowd. Walnut Creek had about 2,400 residents just before it was built. Within twenty years the city had roughly 40,000.
The center turns 75 this month. The physical site has stayed largely the same ever since. Broadway Plaza changes the way a well-run household changes a house, by moving things from room to room. The 2026 store changes show this clearly. Nearly every arrival this year is a brand moving into a storefront another tenant just left.
A J.C. Penney That Grew Into a Center
The project began because J.C. Penney wanted a store in Walnut Creek. Edith Apgar, a representative of local developer Graeme McDonald, said that single store turned into the idea for a full shopping center. The site was 30 acres spread across three parcels. Building on it meant covering over Walnut and San Ramon creeks. Apgar served as superintendent, making her one of the few women in the country overseeing a construction project of that size. McDonald put $3.5 million into it.
Here is what the 38-store center offered when it opened:
- Anchors: J.C. Penney, Sears, and Joseph Magnin, a San Francisco clothing store
- Everyday stops: a Lucky supermarket and a Woolworth variety store
- Parking: 1,500 free spaces, many arranged in a horseshoe-shaped lot under a trademark Broadway sign
The Walnut Creek Historical Society calls it one of the country's first open-air, auto-oriented malls. It sat where Main Street, then Highway 21, met Mt. Diablo Boulevard, then Highway 24. Former city public information officer Brad Rovanpera wrote in Walnut Creek: An Illustrated History that it would be recognized "as one of the earliest examples of a postwar automobile-oriented retail mall."
The money arrived right away. In fiscal year 1951–52, Walnut Creek collected $202,186 in sales tax, nearly all of it from Broadway Plaza stores. In Rovanpera's words, "In one broad stroke, the opening of the center changed the financial fortunes of a sleepy downtown that would one day be recognized as one of the top shopping districts in the nation." A 2016 planning-history paper made a related point. Because the center sat so close to downtown, city planners began to put retail first, and that choice drove the city's later retail dominance.
How One Grocery Store Became Nordstrom
The history of a single storefront explains how the center has changed over time. Capwell's joined as a department store in 1954. In 1975, Bullock's moved into the building the Lucky supermarket had used. A year later, President Gerald Ford spoke to crowds there while campaigning for re-election and dedicated the bell in Liberty Plaza, across Mt. Diablo Boulevard. That Bullock's building is the Nordstrom shoppers know today.
In other words, one of the center's best-known department stores occupies the building the original grocery store used. Macerich has owned Broadway Plaza since 1985. Its biggest project kept the same approach on a larger scale.
The 2016 Rebuild Happened While the Stores Stayed Open
Macerich started a major redevelopment in 2013, after Neiman Marcus opened. The project replaced about 80,000 square feet of retail and two older parking structures. Work was done in phases so the department stores could stay open throughout. Macy's grew by 57,000 square feet into a redesigned 247,000-square-foot store. The men's department, which had been in a separate building in the center, moved into the main store.
When it was finished in 2016, Macerich said the project had added more than 50 shops, with Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Macy's as anchors. Macerich development executive Garrett Newland said the work had been about a decade in the making. Business press covering the project at the time described it as the same footprint, improved. That pattern has held for 75 years. The center grows by rebuilding what it already has.
2026 Is a Year of Moves Into Existing Spaces
This year's changes follow the same pattern. Here is each 2026 change, the space it took over, and its status as of early October:
| Store | Space it is taking over | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Mango | Former Old Navy, next to Hollister | Open since mid-January |
| New Balance | Allbirds' former spot, which closed in January | Open, with a "Just Landed" offer October 3–10 |
| Sur La Table | Former P.F. Chang's, 1205 Broadway Plaza | "Opening Late Fall," no date posted |
| The North Face | Former White House Black Market | Coming soon, no move date posted |
| Rowan | Former Aveda, 146 Broadway Lane, Suite 1120 | Coming soon, no opening date posted |
| gorjana | Moved within the center to a spot near the fountain | Open since early June |
Two of these moves are linked. White House Black Market closed its Broadway Plaza store in May after more than ten years there. By September, The North Face had announced it would move into that space this fall.
Sur La Table is a return. The kitchenware retailer left Broadway Plaza several years ago and is now coming back, right next door, in the former P.F. Chang's space. The company opened its first shop in Seattle in 1972. It took 23 more years to open a second, which was in Berkeley in 1995. Its store locator still lists the Walnut Creek location as closed every day, with "Opening Late Fall" as the only timing. SKIMS is in a similar position. Its signage went up in April, and the center's directory still shows it as coming soon.
Two openings this summer brought new brands. Läderach Chocolatier, the Swiss chocolate maker, opened in the food court beside Macy's with a city ribbon-cutting on August 14. The modular-furniture showroom 7th Avenue was open by August 20.
The Birthday Party on October 17
The anniversary celebration, called "Once Upon A Street," takes place Saturday, October 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Broadway Plaza Street. The center's event page lists:
- A Royal Parade at 12:30 p.m., open to all guests
- A princess meet-and-greet with Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble, and a chance to meet a ballerina from The Ballet School Performing Arts
- Performances by Beloved Little Circus and live music from DJ Rich Era
- Pet adoptions with Joybound People & Pets
- Flower crowns, face painting, balloon twisting and a 360° photo booth
- A free mini tote for anyone who signs the center's Royal Proclamation, while supplies last
The event page calls the day a chance to "honor our rich history" and "look ahead to the next chapter of Broadway Plaza." The rest of downtown's fall calendar falls close to the anniversary. The 27th annual A Taste of Walnut Creek restaurant walk is October 13. The Lesher Center's free Diwali street fair runs October 24 from noon to 5 p.m. The center's directory pages may change before October 17, so check the event page for any last-minute schedule updates.
Walnut Creek grew up around a center that changes by refilling its own spaces, and that applies to homes here too. In this market, a property's history and how it has been updated over the years affect its value as much as its square footage. If you are thinking about what your Walnut Creek home is worth this fall, Jill Fusari can walk you through it with local context. Request a confidential home valuation.
