Topanga Plaza Mall, Canoga Park, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, USA
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Topanga Plaza: An Overview
The Topanga Westfield Shopping Town--better known as Topanga Plaza--is a medium sized mall located in the western part of the San Fernando Valley, where Topanga Cyn and Victory Blvd intersect. On this very street corner an onlooker will notice a modest marquee that tells of upcoming sales and mall-related events. Extending beyond this sign spans a large parking lot which wraps around the mall like a very large moat (Topanga doesn't have a parking structure). The building itself is about what anyone would expect: squarish, concrete, not too tall--in other words, respectably commercial-looking. The facades of the large department stores jut out from the main block like points on a compass: Sears, Nordstroms, Montgomery Wards, etc. The smaller stores cannot be seen from the outside.
Someone once said that the shopping mall has replaced the town square as the social center of the community. Working at the Topanga Mall has convinced me that that person was correct.
Common Mall-Types
There are a few kinds of people you will typically run into on any given day at Topanga.
YUPPIES: Since Topanga Plaza is a relatively upscale mall, there are always plenty of garden variety, cell-phone using, SUV driving yuppies. For the most part they're polite and fairly harmless, although many of them talk on their cell phones while they shop, narrating as they go along: "I'm walking into the bookstore. I'm about to buy the latest Beatles retrospective...." and so on. It's very strange, but if you stay out of their way, they'll stay out of yours.
MOMS: Usually equipped with a stroller or some other infant-carrier, moms always dot the social landscape. They are usually very tired. If you make eye-contact with the baby, you are allowed to make whatever faces you want at it. The mother will only smile at you knowingly.
RANDOM SMALL CHILDREN: Every once in a while a small child will go stomping by, laughing or screaming its lungs out. This is normal.
CONFUSED HUSBANDS: A confused middle-aged man who is all alone in a fasion boutique is an example of a "confused husband". He is trying to find a gift for his wife, and he needs it by tonight.
UNWIELDY YOUTHS: Small clusters of rowdy kids can be seen around the mall from time to time. They are usually loud, and that can be annoying sometimes. They tend to intimidate some of the other mall-goers sometimes.
VALLEY GIRLS: These are the shoppers-in-training who help keep the businesses in business. They are always very trendy and travel in packs of three or four. For some reason, they always have lots of money. They like to spend it in clothing stores such as the Gap. It's interesting to watch them, but only from a distance.
ELDERLY MALL REGULARS: These are old people who come to the mall every day when it opens and spend the better part of the day there. Presumably, they do this because they don't live with anyone at home and they feel lonely. At first this sounds sad, but it's actually a good thing, because they get to hang around and talk with other elderly mall regulars.
WALKERS AND JOGGERS: Some people like to do their excercising in the mall, especially when the weather's bad.
ANGRY GUYS: In any given mall crowd, there is always a small but significant number of visibly angry guys. They walk fast and frown a lot, and just look irritated in general. It's best to refrain from communicating to them in any way.
TOURISTS: Surprisingly, there are quite a few tourists who stop by Topanga Plaza. Some are from as near as San Diego or as far as Paris or Hong Kong.
CRAZY LADIES: Beware crazy ladies. They are usually small and old, and if you get into a conversation with one, you'll be in it for quite a while. And it will be about something you don't want to talk about, like how much shopping she still has to do.
Food Court and Facilities
The food court, as far as food courts go, is actually ok. By no means is it spectacular--if you can, you shouldn't eat at the mall--but if you have to, then it's ok. There are all sorts of different foods: Greek, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Southern, and plain old American (burgers and fries). The tables are generally clean and there's usually plenty of room to sit.
Tip: it's sometimes better to get food from Trader Joe's rather than from the food court. They sell some ready-to-eat stuff, and it's usually not too expensive, but it is very far away from the food court and you usually have to wait in line a long time.
The restrooms throughout the mall are always in very good shape.
If pressed, I would suggest the Greek place as a good place to eat. Good gyros. Just watch out--sometimes you will see a familiar chain restaurant like Tommy's or La Salsa and figure that the food will be up to the usual standards--but for some reason, mall food is always a little bit worse than food from a free-standing restaurant.
If you're really low on money, than the best food for your buck in the food court is pizza. A pizza and soda is around three bucks.
Throughout the mall are red benches which are always located in between large potted plants. These benches are good to sit on, and you can even lie down on them if you're tired. No one bothers you when you do this.
Things to do and see at Topanga
Topanga Plaza is essentially a large, air-conditioned place with lots of people in it. Because of this, it is ideal for people-watching. There is usually a surprisingly high concentration of attractive people who frequent the mall, so things usually stay interesting. And then there's you're usual batch of weirdos to look at, too.
Here's a fun mall game my friends made up: sit near the restrooms, and watch the people as they come out. Pretend that they just got out of an orgy.
Sometimes it is fun to try to make a movie with a video camera or to take pictures in the mall. However, you must always watch out for mall security, because they don't take to no people shootin' movies in the mall. Sometimes, though, if a store is cool (and business is slow), the manager will let you do a scene inside and tell you if security's coming. Most of the time you will be able to get away with using a camcorder or camera, but you can definitely rule out any sort of tripod or other equipment. If you do use equipment, be ready to hide it when security comes.
A note about mall security: according to mall lore, many of the security guards used to be goths who worked at Cinnebon (they were called Cinnegoths at the time).
Sometimes they will have special events at the mall, because the mall wants to make it seem as if it is involved with the community. I can't say that these events are ever very interesting at all. Especially during the holidays, there will be little music and dance perfomances. One time, an obscure boy band was featured right in front of the Sears. If you ever find yourself in front of the Sears in Topanga Plaza listining to some boy band you never heard of, you should reevaluate your life.
Halloween: it's pretty pathetic to spend Halloween in the mall. All the stores give out candy, and its usually pretty cheap candy. However, for little kids its pretty good because they don't care what kind of candy they get and their parents don't have to go running around outside all night (and it's safe). But if you're over the age of eight, don't go to Topanga on Halloween.
At Nordstom they have a pianist play sometimes. Some stores have massage chairs that you can use for free. Others have video games you can play for free. Some stores smell good from all the candles and girly stuff around.
And then you can shop.
On weekdays the mall closes at nine o'clock, on Saturdays it closes at eight and on Sundays at seven. I mention this because it's kind of fun to go into the empty mall after all the stores have closed and frolic. That is, of course, if you're bored out of your mind.
The Topanga Westfield Shopping Town--better known as Topanga Plaza--is a medium sized mall located in the western part of the San Fernando Valley, where Topanga Cyn and Victory Blvd intersect. On this very street corner an onlooker will notice a modest marquee that tells of upcoming sales and mall-related events. Extending beyond this sign spans a large parking lot which wraps around the mall like a very large moat (Topanga doesn't have a parking structure). The building itself is about what anyone would expect: squarish, concrete, not too tall--in other words, respectably commercial-looking. The facades of the large department stores jut out from the main block like points on a compass: Sears, Nordstroms, Montgomery Wards, etc. The smaller stores cannot be seen from the outside.
Someone once said that the shopping mall has replaced the town square as the social center of the community. Working at the Topanga Mall has convinced me that that person was correct.
Common Mall-Types
There are a few kinds of people you will typically run into on any given day at Topanga.
YUPPIES: Since Topanga Plaza is a relatively upscale mall, there are always plenty of garden variety, cell-phone using, SUV driving yuppies. For the most part they're polite and fairly harmless, although many of them talk on their cell phones while they shop, narrating as they go along: "I'm walking into the bookstore. I'm about to buy the latest Beatles retrospective...." and so on. It's very strange, but if you stay out of their way, they'll stay out of yours.
MOMS: Usually equipped with a stroller or some other infant-carrier, moms always dot the social landscape. They are usually very tired. If you make eye-contact with the baby, you are allowed to make whatever faces you want at it. The mother will only smile at you knowingly.
RANDOM SMALL CHILDREN: Every once in a while a small child will go stomping by, laughing or screaming its lungs out. This is normal.
CONFUSED HUSBANDS: A confused middle-aged man who is all alone in a fasion boutique is an example of a "confused husband". He is trying to find a gift for his wife, and he needs it by tonight.
UNWIELDY YOUTHS: Small clusters of rowdy kids can be seen around the mall from time to time. They are usually loud, and that can be annoying sometimes. They tend to intimidate some of the other mall-goers sometimes.
VALLEY GIRLS: These are the shoppers-in-training who help keep the businesses in business. They are always very trendy and travel in packs of three or four. For some reason, they always have lots of money. They like to spend it in clothing stores such as the Gap. It's interesting to watch them, but only from a distance.
ELDERLY MALL REGULARS: These are old people who come to the mall every day when it opens and spend the better part of the day there. Presumably, they do this because they don't live with anyone at home and they feel lonely. At first this sounds sad, but it's actually a good thing, because they get to hang around and talk with other elderly mall regulars.
WALKERS AND JOGGERS: Some people like to do their excercising in the mall, especially when the weather's bad.
ANGRY GUYS: In any given mall crowd, there is always a small but significant number of visibly angry guys. They walk fast and frown a lot, and just look irritated in general. It's best to refrain from communicating to them in any way.
TOURISTS: Surprisingly, there are quite a few tourists who stop by Topanga Plaza. Some are from as near as San Diego or as far as Paris or Hong Kong.
CRAZY LADIES: Beware crazy ladies. They are usually small and old, and if you get into a conversation with one, you'll be in it for quite a while. And it will be about something you don't want to talk about, like how much shopping she still has to do.
Food Court and Facilities
The food court, as far as food courts go, is actually ok. By no means is it spectacular--if you can, you shouldn't eat at the mall--but if you have to, then it's ok. There are all sorts of different foods: Greek, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Southern, and plain old American (burgers and fries). The tables are generally clean and there's usually plenty of room to sit.
Tip: it's sometimes better to get food from Trader Joe's rather than from the food court. They sell some ready-to-eat stuff, and it's usually not too expensive, but it is very far away from the food court and you usually have to wait in line a long time.
The restrooms throughout the mall are always in very good shape.
If pressed, I would suggest the Greek place as a good place to eat. Good gyros. Just watch out--sometimes you will see a familiar chain restaurant like Tommy's or La Salsa and figure that the food will be up to the usual standards--but for some reason, mall food is always a little bit worse than food from a free-standing restaurant.
If you're really low on money, than the best food for your buck in the food court is pizza. A pizza and soda is around three bucks.
Throughout the mall are red benches which are always located in between large potted plants. These benches are good to sit on, and you can even lie down on them if you're tired. No one bothers you when you do this.
Things to do and see at Topanga
Topanga Plaza is essentially a large, air-conditioned place with lots of people in it. Because of this, it is ideal for people-watching. There is usually a surprisingly high concentration of attractive people who frequent the mall, so things usually stay interesting. And then there's you're usual batch of weirdos to look at, too.
Here's a fun mall game my friends made up: sit near the restrooms, and watch the people as they come out. Pretend that they just got out of an orgy.
Sometimes it is fun to try to make a movie with a video camera or to take pictures in the mall. However, you must always watch out for mall security, because they don't take to no people shootin' movies in the mall. Sometimes, though, if a store is cool (and business is slow), the manager will let you do a scene inside and tell you if security's coming. Most of the time you will be able to get away with using a camcorder or camera, but you can definitely rule out any sort of tripod or other equipment. If you do use equipment, be ready to hide it when security comes.
A note about mall security: according to mall lore, many of the security guards used to be goths who worked at Cinnebon (they were called Cinnegoths at the time).
Sometimes they will have special events at the mall, because the mall wants to make it seem as if it is involved with the community. I can't say that these events are ever very interesting at all. Especially during the holidays, there will be little music and dance perfomances. One time, an obscure boy band was featured right in front of the Sears. If you ever find yourself in front of the Sears in Topanga Plaza listining to some boy band you never heard of, you should reevaluate your life.
Halloween: it's pretty pathetic to spend Halloween in the mall. All the stores give out candy, and its usually pretty cheap candy. However, for little kids its pretty good because they don't care what kind of candy they get and their parents don't have to go running around outside all night (and it's safe). But if you're over the age of eight, don't go to Topanga on Halloween.
At Nordstom they have a pianist play sometimes. Some stores have massage chairs that you can use for free. Others have video games you can play for free. Some stores smell good from all the candles and girly stuff around.
And then you can shop.
On weekdays the mall closes at nine o'clock, on Saturdays it closes at eight and on Sundays at seven. I mention this because it's kind of fun to go into the empty mall after all the stores have closed and frolic. That is, of course, if you're bored out of your mind.
