LOOKING BACK

Young Chang

From lima beans to Louis Vuitton, from an agricultural dream to

Abercrombie and Fitch, the tale of how South Coast Plaza came into being

is also the story of the the Segerstrom family.

The Segerstroms arrived in California from Sweden in 1898 and leased

about 40 acres of land in Costa Mesa, where the family grew apricots. The

family, then headed by Harold T. Segerstrom, Sr., bought the property in

1915 and began planting lima beans -- the key to their success.

Forty acres eventually became more than 2,000, and the family’s lima

bean harvest became accepted as the best in the nation.

By about the 1950s, the family expanded into real estate development.

Ten years later, the Segerstrom’s dream -- to erect a commercial center

-- began to be realized. The idea was supported by the Costa Mesa City

Council, who agreed to rezone the area from agricultural to commercial

use.

The May Co. and Sears, then two of the most powerful retailers in the

area, agreed to occupy part of the space. May Co. went up in 1966 as

South Coast Plaza’s first building, and 86 other stores sprouted the next

year.

The complex held its grand opening in 1967. The interior was

air-conditioned -- which back then was a big deal -- and had indoor palm

trees.

The plaza has grown since then. The two original tenants are still

there in some form, but other anchor stores have come in -- Saks Fifth

Avenue, Macy’s, Nordstrom. There are nearly 300 boutiques and stores now,

with others joining all the time. In the next two months, the shopping

center will welcome Donna Karan New York, Yves Saint Laurent, La Perla,

Polo Sport, Air de Paris and Z Gallerie to its fold.

South Coast Plaza has also spawned two bridges and a host of stores in

the Macy’s Home Store wing across the street. Altogether, officials

estimate South Coast Plaza generates more than $900 million in sales a

year.

“It changed the face of Orange County,” said Peg Peterman, a Costa

Mesa resident for 49 years. “That’s where [the city] gets its

sophistication, starting with that.”

Peterman, who is also a member of the Costa Mesa Historical Society,

added that people enjoy going there so much that the shopping center is

considered a recreation area in the county.

Mary Ellen Goddard, a society board member, said that the hype

surrounding the shopping center has anything but died down since it was

built.

“It’s certainly become the shopping center in Orange County,” she

said.

And the Segerstrom family is still ambitious with their development

plans. More than 20 years ago, they donated land and $6 million for the

Orange County Performing Arts Center and South Coast Repertory, located

across the street from plaza.

A bridge connects the arts center and the shopping center, allowing

people to dine in one area, and watch a performance in the other -- after

a brisk walk.

The Segerstroms, now led by Henry Segerstrom, continue to own South

Coast Plaza. They have been instrumental in the development of the area

around the shopping mecca -- donating more than $40 million to the Orange

County Performing Arts Center last August to help it expand. They’ve also

given smaller, but still weighty donations to SCR for its physical

growth.

* Do you know of a person, place or event that deserves a historical

LOOK BACK? Let us know. Contact Young Chang by fax at (949) 646-4170;

e-mail at young.chang@latimes.com; or mail her at c/o Daily Pilot, 330 W.

Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627.