Bella Terra

File:Vacant Mervyns Store Bella Terra.JPG was closed in late 2008. It sat vacant from 2008 to 2010 before it was demolished.]]

The Huntington Center was the first enclosed, all-weather mall in Orange County. It was constructed at a cost of $20,000,000 and opened in 1966 with 55 retailers occupying a total of {{convert|842855|sqft|sqm}} of retail space on a {{convert|58|acre|ha|adj=on}} lot, and parking for 3,700 cars.{{cite news |title=Ward's Store Will Be Largest in H. B. Center |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52311924/montgomery-ward-huntington-center/ |access-date=May 28, 2020 |publisher=Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram |date=August 29, 1965 |page=107}}{{cite news |title=Huntington Center to Have Air-Conditioned, Heated Mall |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52312162/ |access-date=May 28, 2020 |publisher=Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram |date=August 15, 1965 |page=113}}

The mall originally had 4 anchor stores:{{cite news |title=Grand Opening Slated for Huntington Center |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52312973/ |access-date=May 28, 2020 |publisher=Long Beach Independent |date=November 17, 1966 |page=82}}

• The Broadway - 2 stories, {{convert|150000|sqft|sqm}} on a {{convert|12|acre|ha|adj=on}} lot, Charles Luckman and Associates, architects
• JCPenney - 2 stories, {{convert|206090|sqft|sqm}} plus a {{convert|20000|sqft|sqm}} auto service center
• Montgomery Ward - 2 stories, {{convert|168900|sqft|sqm}} plus a {{convert|29000|sqft|sqm}} auto service center on a {{convert|13.6|acre|ha|adj=on}} lot
• Barker Brothers - 2 stories, furniture store (designed in the same style as The Broadway) across the parking lot and an unenclosed strip of several shops adjacent.

Additional tenants at opening included Lerner's, Judy's, Harris & Frank, Leed's, Kinney Shoes, Thom McAn, Security First National Bank, Crocker-Citizens National Bank Food Fair supermarket and Thrifty Drug Stores. An eight-ton statue from Budapest, Hungary was installed in the center of the mall.

In November 1986, a new wing opened, with Mervyn's added as its fourth anchor store and a new food court. In November 1993, JCPenney closed and relocated to the nearby Westminster Mall.

In 1995, Burlington Coat Factory replaced JCPenney. Barnes & Noble opened that October, moving into the long-vacant former Barker Bros. building.{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Greg|title=Bookstores Hit Best-Seller List: Outlets Grow in Number in O.C.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-10-30-fi-62865-story.html|access-date=9 March 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=30 October 1995}} In August 1996, The Broadway closed, after the company was purchased by Macy's and liquidated. The wing between the shuttered The Broadway building and Burlington Coat Factory was closed and sealed off shortly thereafter, as the mall's business begins to decline rapidly.

In 2000, Burlington Coat Factory sued the mall's owners, claiming they were being "forced out" during the mall's redevelopment.{{cite news|last1=Earnest|first1=Leslie|title=Burlington: We're Being Forced Out|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-11-fi-50770-story.html|access-date=9 March 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=11 July 2000}} In March 2001, Montgomery Ward became the last original anchor store to close, when the parent chain was liquidated. The mall itself closed in 2003, except for Mervyn's and Burlington Coat Factory. The mall was demolished soon afterward, except for the four anchor structures - Burlington Coat Factory, Mervyn's, and the empty Montgomery Ward and The Broadway buildings.

Bella Terra opened in 2006, with Kohl's in the old The Broadway building. In 2008, Mervyn's closed due to liquidation and Circuit City closed due to bankruptcy. In 2010, the vacant Montgomery Ward and Mervyn's buildings were demolished.{{cite news| last = Fletcher | first = Jaimee Lynn |title = Surf City's Montgomery Ward is Gone | newspaper = Orange County Register | date = December 16, 2010 | url = http://www.ocregister.com/news/down-280569-ward-montgomery.html?pic=1| access-date= January 31, 2011}} That same year, Whole Foods Market opened in the former Circuit City location. Costco opened in May 2012.{{cite news|last1=Bersebach|first1=Paul|title=Costco opens its doors in Huntington Beach|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/costco-352355-center-city.html|access-date=9 March 2015|publisher=Orange County Register|date=2 May 2012}} In 2013, The Residences at Bella Terra, a 467-unit apartment complex with retail space on the ground level, opened on the site of the former Montgomery Ward anchor building.{{cite news|last1=Venegas|first1=Ana|title=Housing brings Bella Terra vision into focus|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/terra-504387-bella-area.html?page=1|access-date=9 March 2015|publisher=Orange County Register|date=16 April 2013}} In early 2025, Burlington Coat Factory closed permanently to make way for new apartments.

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Bella Terra}}

• {{official website|bellaterra-hb.com}} of Bella Terra
• [http://www.djmcapital.com DJM Capital Partners, Inc.] (mall owners and managers)

{{Shopping malls in California}}

Category:Shopping malls in Orange County, California

Category:Shopping malls established in 2006

Category:Art Deco architecture in California