Puente Hills Mall was opened in phases over a year from February 1974 through Spring 1975, after the completion of the Pomona Freeway a few years earlier.[citation needed]
The first anchor to open, on February 18, 1974, was The Broadway, with three levels and 160,000 square feet. J.W. Robinson's followed, opening in March. Sears followed, and by March 1975 the mall had about 150 shops open. JCPenney opened on April 16, 1975.[3][4] By September 1975 the mall reported 152 shops open and announced plans for construction of an adjacent 41-acre auto mall and home improvement and home furnishings retail district.[5]
In September 2006, Borders was officially closed while Robinsons-May rebranded as Macy's, after Federated purchased The May Department Stores Company in 2005. Linens 'n Things, Circuit City, and CompUSA all closed their locations at the mall in 2008 and 2009. Circuit City and CompUSA had both gone bankrupt while Linens 'n Things was closed as part of a strategy to focus on online shopping. On August 28, 2010, the Japanese sports entertainment chain Round1 opened the first U.S. location of Round1 Bowling & Amusement, a video game arcade and bowling alley, as a new anchor. It was the company's first overseas store, replacing Linens 'n Things.[citation needed]
The southern side of Puente Hills Mall as seen from Colima Road in 2019
The center of the mall previously featured a large cubed water fountain, then a merry-go-round attraction built in 1990, but it was later removed by the mall's owners, Krausz Companies, as they were losing money in its operation. An East Asian-style koi pond replaced the carousel, but was removed as of 2006. The koi were moved to Sycamore Lake at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier. The mall underwent a full interior makeover in 2007 after the removal of the koi pond.[citation needed]
Due to the large and influential Asian immigrant populations residing and/or operating businesses in nearby areas (notably in Industry, Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, Walnut, and Diamond Bar), some redesigns of the mall incorporated feng shui principles.[7]
Decline
Numerous empty store fronts at the Mall c. 2023
Toys "R" Us opened in June 2011, taking the spot previously occupied by Circuit City. Toys "R" Us had formerly been located at the Plaza at Puente Hills on Gale Avenue in Industry. It closed along with all USA Toys 'R' Us stores in early 2018, shutting down on April 15, 2018.[8] In 2021, Round1 expanded into the former Toys 'R' Us retail space to open the first U.S. location of their Japanese "Spo-Cha" indoor sports and interactive activity centers.[citation needed]
The former Sears store at the mall in 2023
On May 31, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 72 stores nationwide. The store closed in September 2018.[9]
On December 1, 2019, Forever 21 announced it would close the Puente Hills Mall store along with 21 other locations in California, and 90 stores nationwide. The store closed in January 2020.[10]
On January 5, 2022, Macy's announced that their Puente Hills Mall anchor would be closed in the first financial quarter of 2022.[11] The store closed on March, with Burlington slated to close on March 22, 2024; leaving Round 1 and AMC as the final two remaining anchors in the mall.[citation needed]
On August 30, 2024, RCB Equites in the Mid-Wilshire district and Real Estate Development Associates, LLC of Newport Beach recently procured a $115 million acquisition loan to purchase the mall, planning as a redevelopment.
[12]
Crime
Numerous crimes have been reported around the mall property going back into the late 1980s. Recent decline in foot traffic around the mall has been a catalyst for recent crimes.
On July 25, 2016; a 45 year old Claremont man identified as Richard Camarena was arrested for indecent assault of a child in the mall's restroom.[13]
On June 17, 2018; a woman was tased by a gang of three unidentified men in a botched robbery attempt.[14]
On June 11, 2022; four suspects were involved in a smash-and-grab robbery at one of the jewelry stores in the mall before they fled into the parking lot.[15][16]
5; Jose Avina 22, Shirley Denogean 56, Elizabeth Nisbet 49, Willie Sams 40, Augustine Ramirez 53
Injured
3; Eugene Valdez 55, Juan Rios 28, Sonia Aguirre 26
Victims
8
Perpetrator
John Irving Lewis; accomplices – Eileen Huber, Robbin Machuca, Vincent Hubbard[17]
Motive
Robbery
In September 1991, a gang of four suspects from West Covina later identified as John Irving Lewis, Lewis' girlfriend Eileen Huber, Lewis' step-sister Robbin Machuca, and Machuca's boyfriend Vincent Hubbard was arrested in connection with a murder spree around the mall property. The gang was found to have been involved in five murders and three robberies spanning between July and August of 1991.[18][19][20] The four were arrested at their apartment on August 30, 1991, pleading not guilty to the charges. Hubbard, Machuca, and Huber were all given life sentences on December 18, 1992. On March 4, 1993, the California Supreme Court granted Lewis the death penalty for his role of orchestrating the murders. Lewis is currently incarcerated in Death Row at San Quentin State Prison awaiting execution.[21][22][23]
Back to the Future
Back to the Future fans view replicas, Oct. 2015
Puente Hills Mall served as a filming location for the fictional Twin Pines Mall (later Lone Pine Mall) in the 1985 film Back to the Future. In the film, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) uses the mall's south parking lot (visible in the above photograph) to stage his time travel experiments with the DeLorean time machine. The JCPenney and Robinson's stores feature prominently in the background. A Ross Dress for Less store can be seen in a strip mall across the street. The scenes were filmed in January 1985.[citation needed] According to the DVDaudio commentary, screenplay writer Bob Gale says that several fans gathered at the Puente Hills Mall in the early hours of October 26, 1985, the date given in the film as the present day, to see if anything would happen.
Puente Hills Mall featured replicas of the Twin Pines Mall sign, the time machine, and Dr. E. Brown Enterprises truck in its parking lot in October 2015.[24]
