Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
D156021-3
Date(s)
- 1969-02-26 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
1969 Aerial view of the Villa Plaza Shopping Center. Prior to the construction of the massive Tacoma Mall, there was the Villa Plaza Shopping Center in Lakewood. The Villa Plaza was built in 1957 on the site of the former 200-acre Visitation Villa. By the mid-50's, Lakewood was growing in leaps and bounds and there was a need for more convenient shopping in the suburbs. The Villa Plaza was not the first "one-stop" shopping center in the area--that honor would go to the Lakewood Center--but it had more room for development and most importantly, plenty of free parking. Ads for the Villa Plaza constantly promoted the availability of its 4000 car parking lot. Major downtown stores J.C. Penney, Woolworth and Rhodes would open branches in the Villa Plaza, therefore lessening the necessity of suburban shoppers to venture downtown. Unlike the Tacoma Mall, which would open in 1965, the Villa Plaza was not contained under one roof although many stores were clustered within short walking distances. Photograph ordered by Puget Sound National Bank.
Aerial views; Villa Plaza Shopping Center (Lakewood); Shopping centers--Lakewood--1960-1970;