J. W. Robinson's

Infobox_Company
company_name = J.W. Robinson Co.
company_
company_type = Department store
foundation = 1881
location = Los Angeles, California| industry = Retail
products = Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.
homepage = None

J. W. Robinson Co. was a chain of department stores operating in the Southern California and Arizona, previously with headquarters in Los Angeles, California. Through the middle of the 20th century It was a division of Associated Dry Goods family of stores. The original store was located downtown Los Angeles at 600 West Seventh Street. Mid-century a location was opened in Beverly Hills, followed by a "open in winter only" store in Palm Springs. A store in Pasadena followed. The store in Pasadena was the last free standing store as the concept of the shopping mall began to take off. The first stores connected to shopping malls opened in Panorama City(San Fernando Valley), Anaheim, Santa Barbara and Glendale. By the time J.W. Robinson's was dissolved into Robinson's-May there were almost 30 stores spread all across Southern California from San Diego to Palm Desert to Santa Barbara.

The traditionally carriage-trade J. W. Robinson's had been acquired by May Department Stores in 1986 with its acquisition of Associated Dry Goods. Robinson's had been acquired by Associated Dry Goods (ADG) in 1957 as its West Coast flagship and operated primarily in Southern California. In 1989 when May Company dissolved its Goldwaters division, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Robinson's took over Goldwaters Phoenix metropolitan stores.

Robinson's of Florida

In the 1970s ADG used the Robinson's name to open a new chain of department stores on Florida's Gulf Coast, based in St. Petersburg, Florida. It had been founded in the 1970s as an attempt by ADG to emulate its upscale JW Robinson's stores on the fast-growing Florida Gulf Coast. This newly created division eventually grew to have 10 locations. Rather than invest in the then stagnant Florida market, May sold this division in 1987 to Maison Blanche Co. of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The bulk of the former Robinsons of Florida locations were subsequently sold by Maison Blanche to Dillard Department Stores in 1991.

Former Locations

Arizona

*Phoenix
**Fiesta Mall, Mesa (opened 1979 as Goldwaters, became Robinson's 1989, Robinsons-May 1993, Macy's 2006)
**Metrocenter Mall, Phoenix (opened 1973 as Goldwaters, became Robinson's 1989, Robinsons-May 1993, Macy's 2006)
**Paradise Valley Mall, Phoenix (opened 1980 as Goldwaters, became Robinson's 1989, Robinsons-May 1993, Macy's 2006)
**Park Central Mall, Phoenix (opened 1957 as Goldwaters, became Robinson's 1989, closed 1990)
**Scottsdale Fashion Square, Scottsdale (opened 1961 as Goldwaters, became Robinson's 1989, Robinsons-May 1993, closed 2006)

Southern California

*Los Angeles County Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
**Santa Anita Fashion Park "(now Westfield Santa Anita)", Arcadia (opened 1976, became Robinsons-May 1993, closed 2006)
**Montclair Plaza, Montclair (opened 1968, became Robinsons-May 1993, became Macy's 2006.)
**Wilshire Boulevard (freestanding), Beverly Hills (opened 1952, became Robinsons-May 1993, closed 2006)
**Los Cerritos Center, Cerritos (opened 1971, became Robinsons-May 1993, closed 2006)
**Puente Hills Mall, City of Industry (opened 1974, became Robinsons-May 1993, becoming Macy's 9/9/2006)
**Glendale Fashion Center, Glendale (opened 1965, closed 1993)
**Downtown Los Angeles (flagship), Los Angeles (Downtown) (closed 1993)
**Northridge Fashion Center, Los Angeles (Northridge) (opened 1988, became Robinsons-May Women's 1993, rebuilt 1995 after Northridge earthquake, temporarily closed 2006, converting to second Macy's 9/9/2006)
**Panorama City (freestanding), L.A. (Panorama City) (opened 1955, closed 1987)
**Sherman Oaks Galleria, L.A. (Sherman Oaks) (became Robinsons-May Men's/Home 1993, closed 1999)
**The Promenade at Woodlands Hills (now Westfield Promenade), L.A. (Woodland Hills) (closed 1993, sold to Bullock's)
**Colorado Boulevard (freestanding), Pasadena (closed 1993, sold to Target)
**Santa Monica Place, Santa Monica (opened 1981, became Robinsons-May 1993, closed 2006)
**Del Amo Mall (now part of Del Amo Fashion Center), Torrance (opened 1981, became Robinsons-May 1993, converting to Macy's 9/9/2006, closing at future date)
*Orange County MSA
**Anaheim (freestanding), Anaheim (opened 1963, closed 1988)
**Brea Mall, Brea (opened 1991, closed 1993, sold to JCPenney)
**South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa (opened 1986, became Robinsons-May Men's/Home 1993, closed 2005, now Bloomingdale's as of Spring 2007)
**Mission Viejo Mall "(now The Shops at Mission Viejo)", Mission Viejo (opened 1979, became Robinsons-May Men's/Home 1993, closed 1997 in mall redevelopment)
**Fashion Island, Newport Beach (opened 1967, became Robinsons-May 1993, became Macy's 7/2006)
**MainPlace Santa Ana "(now Westfield MainPlace)", Santa Ana (opened 1987, became Robinsons-May Mens/Furniture 1993, Converted to Macy's Men's/Furniture 2006)
**Westminster Mall, Westminster (opened 1974, became Robinsons-May Men's/Home 1993, closed 1999, sold to Macy's)
*San Bernardino/Riverside MSA
**Palm Desert Town Center "(now Westfield Palm Desert)", Palm Desert (opened 1987, became Robinsons-May Women's 1993, expanded 2001, became Macy's 2006)
**Palm Springs (freestanding), Palm Springs (opened 1958, closed 1987)
*San Diego MSA
**North County Fair "(now Westfield North County)", Escondido (opened 1986, became Robinsons-May Men's/Home 1993, closed 2006)
**University Towne Centre "(now Westfield UTC)", San Diego (La Jolla) (opened 1978. became Robinson-May 1993, closed 2006)
**Fashion Valley Mall, San Diego (opened 1969, became Robinsons-May 1993, closed 2006, reopened as Bloomingdale's 11/18/2006)
**Horton Plaza "(now Westfield Horton Plaza)", San Diego (opened 1985 , became Robinsons-May 1993, closed 1994)
*Santa Barbara-Santa Maria MSA
**La Cumbre Plaza, Santa Barbara (opened 1967, became Robinsons-May 1993, converting to Macy's 9/9/2006)
*Ventura County MSA
**The Oaks Shopping Center (2 locations), Thousand Oaks (opened 1978, became Robinsons-May Women's 1993, expanded/became Macy's Women's 2006)

Florida

*Naples MSA
**Coastland Center, convert|80000|sqft|m2|abbr=on.
*Tampa MSA
**University Square "(since renamed University Mall)", became Maison Blanche 1987, became Dillards 1991. convert|157680|sqft|m2|abbr=on.
**WestShore Plaza, opened 1974, became Maison Blanche 1987, became Dillards 1991, became Sears 2003
*St. Petersburg Clearwater MSA
**Tyrone Square, became Maison Blanche 1987, became Dillards 1991. convert|183693|sqft|m2|abbr=on.
**Westfield Countryside, opened 1976, became Maison Blanche 1987, became Dillards 1991. convert|225000|sqft|m2|abbr=on.
* Sarasota MSA
**Westfield Southgate, became Maison Blanche 1987, became Dillards 1991. convert|94000|sqft|m2|abbr=on.
*Lakeland MSA
**Lakeland Square, became Maison Blanche 1987, became Dillards 1991. convert|76327|sqft|m2|abbr=on.
*Fort Myers MSA
**Edison Mall, convert|177500|sqft|m2|abbr=on.
*Orlando MSA
**The Florida Mall, convert|141000|sqft|m2|abbr=on.