1957 Hillsdale Mall video, San Mateo, CA - Beyond Tiki

A aquarj Tiki Socialite SF bay area, CA Joined: Apr 02, 2002 Posts: 1125	A aquarj Posted posted on Tue, Aug 31, 2010 1:25 PM Shopping Can Be Fun, 1957 Youtube film from the folks (folk?) at Malls of America, this is an amazing 17+ min overview of the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo, CA. Includes a year's worth of special mall events, from a hula girl appearance for a camera store photography contest to an archery contest. I wasn't sure about posting this because it's largely local interest, for locals like me. Hillsdale Mall is literally blocks from the Villa Plaza with the brand new Villa Hotel and the once great Lanai restaurant which was built 7 years earlier in 1950. Also the Bel-Mateo Bowl, with its beautiful googie sign facing El Camino on one side and its giant steel totem pole on the other (totem not tiki, mind you). Although the Lanai and the bowling alley don't show up in this film, you can just feel how they all went together in this slice of midcentury mid-peninsula life! -Randy [ Edited by: aquarj 2010-08-31 13:28 ]
M mrsmiley Tiki Socialite Las Vegas, NV Joined: Apr 03, 2002 Posts: 3197	M mrsmiley Posted posted on Tue, Aug 31, 2010 8:51 PM wOW- great stuff! I think I remember some of the big toys. What I do remember (and not shown in the movie) were the big diorama kiosks that Hillsdale put out for Christmas ( and maybe easter). They disappeared about the time Hillsdale remodeled and put the roof and second story on. I always wondered what happened to them. Some cool things about Hillsdale- the Cost Plus store was undergroungd and only accessible by a twisting round staircase. There was a subterranean pond next to the lower level of the mall and next to the parking lot near the old Macy's location. A guy I knew in High School (Aragon), planned a big caper-one night he went into the pond and scooped up about 300 bucks in change! He was so pleased with his haul, he told us about it and suggested we join him the next time he went "fishing". We never took him up on it, he went alone about a week later and was caught and arrested! Fun times!

Shopping Can Be Fun, 1957

Youtube film from the folks (folk?) at Malls of America, this is an amazing 17+ min overview of the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo, CA. Includes a year's worth of special mall events, from a hula girl appearance for a camera store photography contest to an archery contest.

I wasn't sure about posting this because it's largely local interest, for locals like me. Hillsdale Mall is literally blocks from the Villa Plaza with the brand new Villa Hotel and the once great Lanai restaurant which was built 7 years earlier in 1950. Also the Bel-Mateo Bowl, with its beautiful googie sign facing El Camino on one side and its giant steel totem pole on the other (totem not tiki, mind you). Although the Lanai and the bowling alley don't show up in this film, you can just feel how they all went together in this slice of midcentury mid-peninsula life!

-Randy

[ Edited by: aquarj 2010-08-31 13:28 ]

wOW- great stuff! I think I remember some of the big toys. What I do remember (and not shown in the movie) were the big diorama kiosks that Hillsdale put out for Christmas ( and maybe easter). They disappeared about the time Hillsdale remodeled and put the roof and second story on. I always wondered what happened to them.
Some cool things about Hillsdale- the Cost Plus store was undergroungd and only accessible by a twisting round staircase. There was a subterranean pond next to the lower level of the mall and next to the parking lot near the old Macy's location. A guy I knew in High School (Aragon), planned a big caper-one night he went into the pond and scooped up about 300 bucks in change! He was so pleased with his haul, he told us about it and suggested we join him the next time he went "fishing". We never took him up on it, he went alone about a week later and was caught and arrested!
Fun times!