The Early Years of Coddingtown Mall in California
Coddingtown Mall opened in 1962 as an open-air shopping center beside US 101 in Santa Rosa. Walkways connected the stores across the site, and a rotating roadside sign stood at the entrance for passing drivers.
On April 9, 1965, Coddingtown Cinemas opened with a single screen, adding movie showings to the property. The theater expanded to three screens in 1974 and operated alongside the growing mix of retail around the concourse.
Emporium finished its department store in July 1966, followed by JCPenney opening in November 1967.
These additions expanded the anchor lineup at Coddingtown Mall during its first years as an open-air shopping center.
The property address was 733 Coddingtown Center in Santa Rosa, with ownership listed under Codding Enterprises.
Through the 1960s, it remained an open-air center.
By late 1967, it had two department store anchors and a working cinema, a lineup in place during the early period.
A googie-style roadside sign marked the site by the highway.
A roof, Liberty House, and indoor retail
Coddingtown Mall changed form in 1979 when builders enclosed the open-air walkways.
A redwood ceiling was set across the concourse, and shops turned inward toward shared entries.
The site moved from an outdoor shopping center to a controlled indoor mall.
On October 1, 1980, Liberty House opened as a new anchor, standing with Emporium and JCPenney.
The addition gave the enclosed mall three department store draws within a short span of time.
The roofed corridors drew shoppers along enclosed aisles rather than exterior lanes.
In 1984, Liberty House became Macy's.
The conversion changed the anchor store mix without altering the footprint of the building itself.
Inside, smaller shops operated off the new concourse and relied on the traffic from department store entrances.
By the middle of the decade, the enclosed mall offered Emporium, JCPenney, and Macy's at separate ends of the interior layout.
Walkers moved under the redwood ceiling between the anchors, and the property continued in its new form as an enclosed mall, different from the open-air site it had been.
Moves, rebrands, and a 50 percent sale
In 1996, Macy's left the Liberty House building and moved into the former Emporium box.
The previous Macy's space was then filled by Gottschalks, keeping the anchor lineup intact even as brands shifted positions.
In 1997, the San Francisco band Primus included a track called Coddingtown on their Brown Album.
The two-minute song mentions going "down to Coddingtown" and jokes that "you can get it all down there from tennis balls to glue." The title refers to Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa, linking the property to Bay Area music culture at a time when Primus was widely known for its offbeat style.
The mall measured about 827,000 square feet by the mid-2000s.
JCPenney continued to operate, while the other two department stores rotated through changes.
The enclosed shopping center held its anchor map but adjusted to new store names.
In November 2005, Simon Property Group purchased a 50 percent stake in Coddingtown Mall.
The transaction was reported at around 37 million dollars.
After the deal, Simon shared ownership with Codding Enterprises, forming a joint arrangement.
Closures, Whole Foods, demolition, Target
Gottschalks closed in 2009 when the chain went out of business.
Its building at Coddingtown went vacant, leaving one of the main anchor spaces empty for several years.
The closure marked a transition period for the property.
Ralphs supermarket also left the center. In its place, Whole Foods Market opened on September 22, 2010.
The new tenant brought grocery service back onto the grounds and filled a role that had been missing at the site since Ralphs left.
In February 2012, Target filed plans to replace the former Gottschalks box.
Demolition began on November 15, 2012, clearing the building and setting up construction for the incoming retailer.
Target opened in October 2014 as the second Target store in Santa Rosa.
The new anchor expanded the mall's draw with general merchandise, joining Macy's, JCPenney, and Whole Foods.
The lineup set the stage for the modern mix that would follow.
Off-price arrives and ownership returns local
Nordstrom Rack announced plans for Coddingtown Mall on August 19, 2015.
The store joined a property that had already shifted with Target's arrival in 2014.
The announcement set up another anchor for the evolving lineup.
Nordstrom Rack opened on September 30, 2016.
Its off-price model added discounted apparel and shoes to the mall, pulling in customers for shorter trips and complementing the full-line Macy's and JCPenney.
The new anchor helped diversify the types of traffic entering the concourse.
In December 2017, Codding Enterprises repurchased Simon Property Group's 50 percent stake.
The deal ended the joint venture structure formed in 2005 and restored full local ownership of the Santa Rosa property.
Codding returned to controlling the asset outright.
By the close of 2017, Coddingtown's anchor set included Macy's, JCPenney, Whole Foods Market, Target, and Nordstrom Rack.
Smaller shops lined the concourse, while restaurants and services filled exterior pads.
The mix reflected years of turnover and redevelopment that reshaped the mall's daily use.
Street rules and a safer crossing planned
Santa Rosa placed a Holiday Construction Moratorium from November 25, 2024, to January 3, 2025.
The order included the Coddingtown shopping area, limiting road and sidewalk projects during the busiest weeks of the retail calendar.
At the same time, progress continued on the Highway 101 Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing.
The span was planned near Elliott Avenue to link the Santa Rosa Junior College area with Coddingtown Mall and the nearby SMART station, reducing conflicts with freeway traffic.
The design was approved that August, moving the project into later phases of preparation.
Funding was tied to state programs.
By August 2025, the city confirmed construction documents were ready, and 12 million dollars in state funds were unlocked.
Officials stated that bidding for contractors was scheduled for fall 2025, setting up work on the long-discussed overcrossing.
2024-2025 programs that pull people inside
Between June 9 and August 8, 2025, the Children's Museum of Sonoma County ran a free pop-up exhibit inside Coddingtown Mall called "Potter the Otter: A Healthy Adventure."
The exhibit operated weekdays and offered activities tied to health and learning.
During the same summer period, free weekday youth lunches were provided at "Northwest Santa Rosa (Coddingtown Mall)" by the county and partners.
The meals were served in the exhibit space, turning part of the mall into a community site for families.
Events also extended outside.
"Cars & Coffee" meet is held on the second Sunday from 8 to 10 am in the Coddingtown parking lot.
The gathering drew a wide range of vehicles in front of the library.
The programming showed how the center was used beyond retail.
Exhibits, food service, and car meets placed the mall in recurring schedules, drawing people to the property for reasons that went beyond shopping alone.
Actually, Macy's was already here by August 1983 because I moved to Santa Rosa at that time. I had never shopped at Macy's and it was exciting to me.
Thanks for adding this. Local memories like yours often fix the dates the official records miss.