General Information
NFT Map: 32
Address: 525 Carson Street
Torrance, CA 90503
Phone: 310-542-8525
Website: www.simon.com/mall/del-amo-fashion-center
Shopping
First, the Del Amo Fashion Center is massive. It is a huge sprawling building that has 3,000,000 sq ft of prime retail shopping space. It was first built in 1971 and for a while in the 1980s was the largest mall in America, before Mall of America was built. Over the years large sections of the mall have been added piece by piece which has led to the mall twisting and turning like a maze. It’s easy to get lost in this mall, and don’t forget where you park your car, otherwise you’ll have to trek all the way back to the other end. What it lacks in design it makes up in spades in sheer volume of stores. There are ten jewelry stores, over a dozen shoe stores and five optometric businesses. This doesn’t even count the chain stores, restaurants and stores that can only be found in Del Amo Mall. A word of warning, a section of the mall stretches over Carson Street and the only way to cross from the Sears side to the newer side of the mall is to go to the second floor of the middle Macy’s (there are two). Once there you’ll have to walk through that second floor to get to the other stores.
The most recent mall addition is an outdoor section. It has all the newest stores, Anthropologie, Forever 21, H&M along with the new restaurants like Ra Sushi, P.F. Changs, and the Lazy Dog Café. Wild Buffalo Wings is a local sports haunt, they get all the games and pay for the fights. If you’re looking to watch a sport they’ll have it on their massive TV screens. AMC Del Amo 18 boasts 18 screens and has all the newest movies in 3D. The self-serve booths are your best bet to miss the line, but watch out Fridays and Saturdays, most of the local high school population likes to hang out there.
Food
The food court is centrally located and features Mexican, Mediterranean, and Pacific Rim cuisines in addition to fast-food offerings like Chick-fil-A and Hot Dog on a Stick. The area is clean, brightly lit, and well attended. To break up a long expedition, consider going outside the mall. Black Angus (3405 W Carson St, 310-370-1523) and Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ (21420 Hawthorne Blvd, 310-370-7427), both adjacent to the mall, offer a chance to protein-load on pretty decent fare in relatively quiet surroundings.
Drawbacks
The upside to the Del Amo Mall (lots of stores) is also its downfall (lots of stores). Besides the fact that you need your own GPS tracker to find where you’re going, you need to hike on a mini expedition trek to get there. Del Amo is best approached with very comfortable shoes, an open mind, and an extra cup of coffee—from Starbucks. Shoppers seeking a smaller venue should consider the Galleria at South Bay as an alternate venue.
How to Get There
From the 405 S, exit Redondo Beach, head south on Prairie Avenue, and take Prairie approximately three miles. Turn right on Carson to enter the parking lot. From the 405 N, exit Artesia Boulevard and head west on Artesia to Prairie Avenue. Make a left at Prairie and continue on Prairie approximately three miles. Turn right on Carson to enter the parking lot. From the 110 in either direction, exit Carson and proceed west three miles on Carson to the Del Amo Fashion Center. All of the Torrance Buses stop at or near Del Amo mall as well as Metro Bus 344 and Beach Cities Transit 104.