Video History of Valley and Laurel Plazas, Part 1: Empty, Forgotten, Abandoned

Originally posted on Aug. 8, 2013.

This is Part One of a five-part video documentary series on the history of Valley Plaza and Laurel Plaza in North Hollywood. Here are links to the other four parts:

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

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Back in November, North Hollywood-Toluca Lake Patch broke the news that a $333-million renovation of Laurel and Valley plazas was on hold. Then, on April 14, developer J.H. Snyder announced it had entirely and sold its Valley Plaza land holdings back to IStar, a New York-based commercial lender.

With the death of yet another redevelopment plan of the area, which has been devastated ever since the 1994 Northridge earthquake, North Hollywood-Toluca Lake Patch decided to investigate the history of the mall in an effort to better understand what the Laurel and Valley plazas were, what they are and what they could be.

Special thanks to Sam Shakerchi, administrator of the Facebook page I Used to Hang Out at at Laurel Plaza Ice Capades Chalet Public Skating Rink for giving permission to use photos from the site.

For more information on the history of the malls, check out Sirnya Tritipeskul’s Web site at http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/valley_plaza.html and at http://stritipeskul.bol.ucla.edu/HOME.html.