The Bayshore Mall is an indoor shopping mall located in Eureka

Eureka, California

Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It is named for its close proximity to Humboldt Bay

Humboldt Bay

Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, United States entirely within Humboldt County. The regional center and county seat of Eureka and the college town of Arcata adjoin the bay, which is the second largest enclosed...

. The large shopping facility is the only major mall located on the coast north of the San Francisco Bay Area, securing Eureka as the trading center for the entire far North Coast

North Coast, California

The North Coast of California is a region which commonly includes Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte counties...

.

History

The mall was built in 1988 as demand for shopping grew in the North Coast Region of California. The original anchors were Mervyn's on the south end, Gottschalks

Gottschalks

Gottschalks was a middle-tier American department store that operated 58 department stores and three specialty apparel stores in six western states ; some locations ran as Harris-Gottschalks stores...

 on the west end, JCPenney on the east end, and Sears on the north end. Currently, Sears is the only original anchor still at the mall. In the early 2000s, JCPenney downsized into an outlet store, then left the mall altogether. Bed, Bath, and Beyond, along with Borders Books, came in soon after and split the anchor space. Then, in late 2008, Mervyn's filed for Chapter 11 Bankrupty, and in turn, closed their Eureka store in December of that year. In July 2009, Gottschalks, which had also filed for Chapter 11 Bankrupty in April, closed, leaving just one anchor space filled. Kohl's

Kohl's

Kohl's Corporation is an American department store chain headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, operating , 1,089 stores in 49 states. In 1998, it entered the S&P 500 list, and is also listed in the Fortune 500...

officially opened up their new store at the old Mervyn's location on September 27, 2009. The Gottschalks space is still vacant.

The Mall Today

Currently, the Bayshore mall has over 70 stores, making it the largest shopping complex for over 200 miles. Anchor stores are Sears and Kohl's. Other major stores include Ross, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Borders Books, Petco, and Pier 1 Imports. The Movies, a branch of a local cinema entertainment company with other sites scattered over the region, closed January 2010.

January 9, 2010 Earthquake

On January 9, 2010, a 6.5 earthquake struck off the coast of Eureka, about 27 miles out at sea, at 4:27 PM. The mall suffered some of the most damage of all buildings in Eureka. An eyewitness reported that as the shaking was going, people were screaming and running down the main corridor of the mall as pieces of the ceiling and light fixtures were falling from above. The mall also suffered much damage to windows of the indoor boutiques. Also, tiles from the flooring were popping out of place as the quake continued. The mall manager stated that the mall would remain closed until deemed safe for business. The entire mall reopened January 12 after inspections determined it to be safe and minor repairs were completed. Kohl's (recently remodeled from Mervyn's) was the only store not subject to closure.