Glossary · Places
Westfield Valley Fair
The enclosed mall across Stevens Creek Boulevard from Santana Row, grown from the 1956 Valley Fair and the 1957 Stevens Creek Plaza; the largest mall in Northern California by area.
Valley Fair began in 1956 as an open-air center around a Macy’s. Across the street, Stevens Creek Plaza opened in 1957 with an Emporium. In 1986 The Hahn Company bought both and joined them into one two-level enclosed mall, which everyone kept calling Valley Fair. Westfield bought it in 1998.
A $1.1 billion expansion opened in March 2020 with Bloomingdale’s, and the mall now covers about 2.2 million square feet with about 214 stores and 58 places to eat. Because the city line runs through it, it is officially in Santa Clara although its whole eastern half is in San Jose.
Sources
Questions people ask
Is Valley Fair in San Jose or Santa Clara?
Both. Its address is in Santa Clara, but all of its eastern half and some of its western half are in San Jose, and it pays sales tax to both cities.
How old is Valley Fair?
The first Valley Fair opened in 1956; the enclosed mall dates from 1986.
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