LOS ANGELES — A piece of Los Angeles history is coming down in North Hollywood.
Demolition is underway at the former Valley Plaza shopping center, once the largest open-air shopping plaza on the West Coast and a symbol of post-war growth in the San Fernando Valley.
What You Need To Know
- Valley Plaza opened in 1951 and was once the largest open-air shopping center on the West Coast
- The plaza helped define LA’s auto-centric design, featuring thousands of parking spaces
- Competition from newer malls, fractured ownership, and damage from the 1994 Northridge earthquake caused its downfall
- City leaders said the site could be redeveloped, potentially including affordable housing
The 17-acre site opened in 1951 and was built around a then-radical idea: the car…