WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA – Broadway Plaza is turning 75, and its birthday plans involve princesses, circus performers, and a parade down one of downtown Walnut Creek’s most familiar streets.
The shopping center will host “Once Upon A Street: Broadway Plaza Turns 75” on Saturday, October 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Broadway Plaza Street. The anniversary celebration has a storybook theme, with activities aimed at families. Broadway Plaza’s event announcement lays out the plans.
A Birthday Party With a Royal Parade
Kids can meet princesses from Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble and pose for a photo with a ballerina from The Ballet School Performing Arts. Beloved Little Circus will perform, and DJ Rich Era will provide live entertainment.
The lineup also includes flower-crown making, face painting, balloon twisting, and a 360-degree photo booth. Joybound People & Pets will be there with pet adoptions.
The Royal Parade starts at 12:30 p.m., and all guests are invited to participate.
Visitors who sign the center’s Royal Proclamation can receive a free mini tote. Both the totes and flower-crown supplies are available while supplies last.
A Shopping Center That Helped Change Walnut Creek
Seventy-five years is a long run for a shopping center. In Broadway Plaza’s case, that history is tied closely to Walnut Creek’s growth into a regional shopping hotspot.
According to the Walnut Creek Historical Society, the property opened in 1951 as Broadway Shopping Center, the first major retail center in Contra Costa County.
The society describes a retail boom following its arrival: Walnut Creek’s taxable sales climbed from $9 million in 1950 to $20 million in 1955. Especially in those days, that’s a huge bump.
Plenty Has Changed Since 1951
Today, Broadway Plaza says it has more than 80 retailers and specialty shops, including Nordstrom, Macy’s, Apple, and lululemon.
Its dining lineup includes Original Joe’s, Cholita Linda, Boudin, and True Food Kitchen. There is also a Life Time fitness destination and an Industrious coworking space. Many of those words wouldn’t even had made sense to a person in the 1950s when it first opened!
The birthday party offers a reason to revisit the center with the family — and a chance to pause and appreciate just how long it has been part of downtown.
Broadway Plaza is at 1275 Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek. Walnut Creek Downtown’s listing also confirms the October 17 celebration and its 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. schedule.
