Carousel Mall Dreams, Concrete Realities
Carousel Mall in San Bernardino, California, wasn’t built to be ordinary. When it opened in 1972 as Central City Mall, it was the city’s shot at reversing downtown decline.
Two floors, 52 stores, three anchors. But that was only the shell. The real pitch sold a future: new jobs, busy sidewalks, even a monorail.
It never got that far. What was supposed to spark revival stalled early. And San Bernardino was left holding the plan…