The Development of the Montrose Shopping Park

The Montrose Shopping Park is really something special. Its mature trees make shopping pleasant all year round and its many seating areas make enjoyable spots for eating an ice cream cone or enjoying a coffee. It’s a pedestrian’s paradise, a great place to take a stroll. The dominance of the mom-and-pop retail stores makes shopping an adventure. The vast selection of small restaurants makes for memorable meals. And the weekly Harvest Market is a great place to greet your neighbors while stocking up on fresh locally grown foods. It is truly a gem of our valley and it attracts visitors from all over Greater Los Angeles.

But it wasn’t always so. In the late 1950s, the Montrose businesses were starting to show their age. Many had been built in the ’20s. There were no trees along Honolulu Avenue, so the unshaded sidewalk was hot and unpleasant in the summer. The “shopping mall” concept was just beginning to challenge aging shopping districts like Montrose. Business was starting to drop off.

In 1958 a La Cañada architect named Steve Sander submitted a proposal to the local paper. His sketches showed a radical change for the Montrose shopping district including blocking off traffic and making Honolulu a pedestrian-only zone, similar to the Golden Mall in Burbank. While this concept didn’t take off, it planted a fruitful seed in the minds of Montrose merchants. What grew from that seed was the idea that Montrose needed a radical change in order to survive and thrive in the future.

A Montrose Beautification Committee was formed. Its first act was to introduce at least a little vegetation to Honolulu in the form of some small crepe myrtle trees along the sidewalk. It was a start, but more was needed.

By 1960, a core group of visionary Montrose merchants got serious about reimagining the shopping district. With their own funds they traveled to several other shopping districts to see how others had handled the situation Montrose was up against. They found the spark of inspiration in a shopping district in Grand Junction, Colorado. Grand Junction had created a winding street allowing cars to drive through. Wide pedestrian walkways accented with lush landscaping made the area attractive and friendly to shoppers. Some parking was available on the street but the majority of the parking was behind the stores.

Based on what they found in Grand Junction the group gave to the Chamber of Commerce their recommendations for something similar for Montrose, and the wheels began to turn. La Cañada architect Jack Simison produced a series of concept drawings of what the shopping park would look like. Not surprisingly they looked very much like the final product.

In June 1966 the Glendale City Council voted to move forward with planning the shopping park. There was still some resistance though, mostly centered around parking. The shopping park plan eliminated much of the street parking on Honolulu. The parking problem was solved when the City purchased several homes behind the 2200 block of Honolulu, demolished them and created that huge parking lot we now enjoy. The storeowners were tasked with creating back entrances to their businesses and with paying some of the cost of the shopping park.

Construction began in March 1967, and was completed by fall. Even though this seems quick, the project was delayed by spring rains creating some muddy situations. The total cost of the project was $300,000, about half of that financed by the merchants themselves. On a warm Friday evening, Sept. 1, 1967, the shopping park was dedicated. Amazingly, 10,000 people showed up for the opening, a good sign for the future of the Montrose Shopping Park.

The next year the Montrose Shopping Park Association was formed to create a “business improvement district.” Through assessments from its members the shopping park put on special events, like the Harvest Market and the car show. It also insured the Montrose Shopping Park remains the charming shopping experience we’ve come to love.

We’re truly fortunate to have such a beautiful gem in our valley.