When it opened in 1963 amid a sea of recently demolished city blocks, the downtown Macy’s was seen as the anchor tenant for a rejuvenation of Sacramento’s business district.
In the years that followed, two incarnations of Downtown Plaza were built next door (opening initially in 1971, with a two-story version completed in 1993) and K Street became a pedestrian mall for a time up to the convention center complex. The importance of bringing Macy’s to K Street even influenced the route of Interstate 5 through Sacramento.
The announcement on Thursday that Macy’s would close the store — still known as Downtown Plaza despite the Downtown Commons rebranding that came with the Golden 1 Center basketball arena in 2016 — marks the firm end to a retail vision for K Street.
Shoppers looking for Macy’s will find it at Arden Fair mall and the Westfield Galleria in Roseville. The company also opened a small-format store in Elk Grove last year. Eight other California stores, including the Sunrise Mall location, will close this year.
Macy’s construction and opening in downtown Sacramento
The foundations for the Macy’s building are being set in October 1962 in this view looking south from the corner of Fourth and K streets, likely photographed from the California Fruit Building. Sacramento Bee file
The downtown Sacramento Macy’s rises amid empty lots in early 1963. The $13 million project, which occupied one of the 15 blocks cleared for the Capitol Mall Project redevelopment area, was the product of 10 years of negotiation. “The idea behind the slum clearance program was to apply surgery to central city disease that could not be cured by first aid treatment,” according to a Bee story before the new store’s opening. Robert Handsaker Sacramento Bee file
Horse-drawn carriages bearing dignitaries en route from the state Capitol to the Macy’s grand opening in downtown Sacramento on Nov. 4, 1963, parade past the Weinstock's department store. The vintage transportation was in honor of Macy’s founder, who ran a dry-goods store in Marysville during the Gold Rush. Center for Sacramento History
Macy’s executive Ernest Molloy, left, Miss California Wendy Douglas and Gov. Pat Brown cut the ribbon at the Macy’s grand opening in downtown Sacramento on Nov. 4, 1963. Bee file/Center for Sacramento History
Aerial views of downtown Sacramento in the 1970s
The Macy’s building in downtown Sacramento stands at left in 1975 after the construction of Interstate 5 and the first version of Downtown Plaza. Sacramento Bee file
The Macy’s building in downtown Sacramento stands at top left in 1975 after the construction of Interstate 5 and the first version of Downtown Plaza. Sacramento Bee file
Visiting the first Downtown Plaza
The Macy’s entrance on the K Street mall side features fountains surrounded by concrete in 1981. Dick Schmidt Sacramento Bee file
An aerial image shows Sacramento’s K Street pedestrian mall looking east in August 1985. The downtown Macy’s location stands at right. Sacramento Bee file
The Sacramento Fire Department’s ‘firebird” crane is used to check out loose files – some of which were blown free by winds – on the downtown Macy’s building in 1982. Mitch Toll Sacramento Bee file
A two-story mall … revitalized for a time
Welder Ralph Walker works on the expansion of Downtown Plaza in January 1993. The renovation expanded the mall’s square footage by half, adding a second level and movie theaters. Gary Reyes Sacramento Bee file
Shoppers on the second busiest day of the year, the day after Christmas, line up at 7:30 a.m. in 1997 to get in the Macy’s at Downtown Plaza to return gifts and hunt for bargains on discounted holiday items. CHRIS CREWELL Sacramento Bee file
Thousands of fans visit the Downtown Plaza courtyard in front of Macy’s to see Chris Webber after he signed a new $122 million contract with the Sacramento Kings in July 2001. SARAH ORR Sacramento Bee file
A line forms in the Macy’s women’s department at Downtown Plaza on Dec. 18, 2001, as retail businesses are making their last-minute push to attract holiday shoppers with a variety of promotions to boost sales. Jay Mather Sacramento Bee file
Dan Paterson completes some last minute shopping at the Downtown Plaza Macy’s on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001. Macy’s, one of the largest retailers in the area, is having many special sales including added markdown prices on items already at sale prices. Jay Mather Sacramento Bee file
Traditional Thai dancer Chiraporn Tatum performs on a stage in front of the Downtown Plaza Macy’s during the Pacific Rim Festival in Sacramento in May 2005. Andy Alfaro Sacramento Bee file
For a time, Macy’s operated two full-size department stores in Downtown Plaza, taking over in 1996 the former Weinstock’s building with its distinctive L Street entrance and selling men’s clothes and furniture down the street from the main location. The retailer operated more than 500,000 square feet at Downtown Plaza between the two stores. The building, shown in 2006, was demolished to make way for Golden 1 Center after the city used eminent domain to wrest control of the then-vacant property from a group of mortgage-certificate holders and CalPERS. Nathaniel Levine nlevine@sacbee.com
Shoppers walk through the center courtyard between Macy’s and the movie theater in Downtown Plaza near a canned food donation tree in 2007. Sacramento Bee file
The Downtown Plaza shopping area, with Macy’s at bottom left, in 2013. Randall Benton Sacramento Bee file
Time for a basketball arena
Workers demolish Downtown Plaza at Fifth and L streets in Sacramento in August 2014. Golden 1 Center now stands on the site. Randall Benton Sacramento Bee file
The Kimpton Sawyer hotel rises in 2017 next to Golden 1 Center and the Macy’s building in Downtown Commons in Sacramento. Randy Pench Sacramento Bee file
A year downtown would like to forget
A looter comes through broken glass doors at Macy’s with a handful of goods after a long day of protests turned violent on May 30, 2020, in downtown Sacramento after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Daniel Kim Sacramento Bee file
An end to an era
Pedestrians walk past the Downtown Commons Macy’s in Sacramento in March 2024. The 1990s bridge from the nearby city parking garage, and its associated clock tower, serve as a connection to a previous incarnation of the site. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com
A customer sits outside the Macy’s at Downtown Commons in Sacramento in March. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com
The Macy’s at Downtown Commons in Sacramento last March. Hector Amezcua hamezcua@sacbee.com
This story was originally published January 11, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
Bee visuals editor Nathaniel Levine joined the staff in 2003. His work has received awards from the Society of News Design, the Best of the West journalism competition and the California News Publishers Association, among others. A native Californian, Levine grew up in Grass Valley and attended UC Davis.
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