El Rancho Santa Anita Shopping Center
Retailer / private label
UnclaimedA historic planned shopping center on Huntington Drive in Arcadia, California.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
El Rancho Santa Anita Shopping Center is a historic planned shopping center in Arcadia, California, along Huntington Drive near Michillinda Avenue. It was developed during the early suburban growth of the San Gabriel Valley and is associated with Santa Anita Village, an early residential development in the area. The project was significant because it represented an early attempt to organize neighborhood shopping around a planned suburban community rather than relying solely on a traditional downtown retail district. In April 1940, Santa Anita Village petitioned the Arcadia city council for a zoning change that would permit an 18-acre shopping center. The proposed development was initially identified as the Santa Anita Village Shopping Center. When retail operations began in 1948, the center promoted itself under the El Rancho Santa Anita Shopping Center name. A supermarket was operating from the early opening period, while the center's formal opening took place in 1950. The 1950 opening was also notable locally because it introduced Arcadia's first elevator. The center entered a retail environment that included established local competitors such as Hinshaw's, a department store serving a retail cluster on Baldwin Avenue. Its historical importance predates the much larger Santa Anita Fashion Park, which was developed in 1974 and later became a major regional shopping destination. El Rancho Santa Anita therefore belongs to an earlier generation of Los Angeles-area suburban retail projects, before enclosed regional malls became dominant. The site's most prominent later addition was a large May Company department store, which opened on October 8, 1966. The 240,000-square-foot branch was May Company's fourteenth store in California. Its architecture combined the work of Victor Gruen and Associates with Spanish Colonial interior design by Welton Becket and Associates, giving the shopping center a substantial department-store anchor and a distinctive regional architectural character. The May Company store closed in the late 1980s. Vons Companies, the parent company of the Vons supermarket chain, subsequently acquired the building and converted it into the company's headquarters. After Vons was purchased by Albertsons, the headquarters function was transferred to Albertsons' regional office in Fullerton. The former department-store building later became vacant, while the shopping center continued to retain a supermarket anchor. Publicly available reference material does not identify the current owner, detailed tenant roster, or a dedicated corporate website for the center.
History
El Rancho Santa Anita Shopping Center developed from the suburban expansion of Arcadia and the creation of Santa Anita Village. In April 1940, residents or representatives of Santa Anita Village petitioned the Arcadia city council to change zoning for an 18-acre shopping center along Huntington Drive at Michillinda Avenue. The proposed center was then known as the Santa Anita Village Shopping Center, reflecting its close relationship with the surrounding housing development. Retail activity began in 1948, when the center advertised under the El Rancho Santa Anita Shopping Center name and opened with a supermarket. The formal opening followed in 1950. That event had local civic significance because it included Arcadia's first elevator. The center was among the early planned shopping developments in suburban Los Angeles, preceding the later regional-mall era and offering organized retail access to a growing residential area. During its early years, the center competed with established local retail activity, including Hinshaw's department store in a Baldwin Avenue retail cluster. The competitive landscape changed substantially over time. The much larger Santa Anita Fashion Park did not open until 1974, placing El Rancho Santa Anita in an earlier phase of San Gabriel Valley retail development. A major transformation came on October 8, 1966, when May Company opened a 240,000-square-foot department-store branch at the center. It was May Company's fourteenth California location. The building was designed by Victor Gruen and Associates, while its Spanish Colonial interiors were designed by Welton Becket and Associates. The May Company branch gave the center a major department-store anchor and made the property more prominent within the local retail market. The May Company store closed in the late 1980s. Vons Companies, the parent company of Vons supermarkets, acquired the building and reused it as the company's headquarters. That corporate use connected the property to the broader consolidation of Southern California's supermarket industry. Following Albertsons' purchase of Vons, the headquarters operation moved to Albertsons' regional office in Fullerton. The former May Company structure subsequently became empty, although the shopping center continued operating with a supermarket as an anchor. The available historical record documents the center's planning, opening, major department-store addition, and subsequent corporate reuse of the May Company building, but does not provide a complete account of later renovations, current tenants, ownership, or management. Its enduring significance lies in its role as an early planned suburban retail center and in the architectural and commercial importance of the former May Company building.
- 1974
Santa Anita Fashion Park opens nearby
[1]The later development of Santa Anita Fashion Park changed the competitive retail context around El Rancho Santa Anita.
- 1966
May Company department store opens
[1]May Company opened a 240,000-square-foot branch at the center on October 8. It was the company's fourteenth California store.
- 1950
Formal opening
[1]The shopping center held its official opening, which also introduced Arcadia's first elevator.
- 1948
Retail operations begin
[1]The center began operating with a supermarket and advertised under the El Rancho Santa Anita Shopping Center name.
- 1940
Zoning petition for a planned shopping center
[1]Santa Anita Village petitioned Arcadia's city council for zoning changes to permit an 18-acre shopping center along Huntington Drive at Michillinda Avenue.
May Company building converted to Vons headquarters
[1]After the May Company store closed in the late 1980s, Vons Companies acquired the building and converted it into its headquarters.
Products and positioning
A historic neighborhood-oriented shopping center serving Arcadia and the surrounding San Gabriel Valley, distinguished by its early planned-suburban format and former May Company anchor.
Grocery retail · 1948
Supermarket
A supermarket was part of the center's original retail offering in 1948. The center remains described as having a supermarket anchor, making grocery shopping its principal documented continuing commercial function.
Department store · 1966
May Company department store
The May Company branch opened in 1966 as a 240,000-square-foot department store. Designed by Victor Gruen and Associates with Spanish Colonial interiors by Welton Becket and Associates, it became the center's major historical department-store anchor before closing in the late 1980s.
Brand decisions
1966
Addition of the May Company department-store anchorProduct launchBackground
The center expanded its retail scale by adding a major May Company branch during a period when suburban department stores were important anchors for shopping developments.
Action taken
May Company opened a 240,000-square-foot store at El Rancho Santa Anita on October 8, 1966.
Aftermath
The store became the center's principal department-store anchor until it closed in the late 1980s.
- Conversion of the former department store into Vons headquartersStrategy
Background
After the May Company branch closed, the large building represented an opportunity for adaptive commercial reuse.
Action taken
Vons Companies acquired the former store and converted it into the supermarket company's headquarters.
Aftermath
After Albertsons purchased Vons, the headquarters function moved to Albertsons' regional office in Fullerton, and the former department-store building became empty.
Sources1 sources
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