See the demolition of the old Gottschalks/Forever 21 at Fresno’s Fashion Fair

There is major demolition happening at Fashion Fair Mall, as the 50-plus-year-old shopping center readies space for a new tenant, Dicks’ House of Sport.

The store is an experience-driven retail+recreation concept with climbing walls, batting cages and golf simulators. It has been teased for months.

It will be a first in California for the chain and should open sometime in 2027.

But first, a nostalgic piece of the old mall must come down.

Crews have been working for the past week to raze the structure, which sits on the far east side of Fashion Fair nearest to First Street. From there, passers-by can have seen the demolition as it’s happened.

Large, dark expanses show through where the exterior of building has been removed. At least one of the building’s three stories has been completely removed.

Gone is the once iconic signage, which until recently had advertised its most recent tenant, Forever 21.

The demolition comes as a hit for those with a fondness for Fashion Fair and the idea of the suburban shopping mall as a piece of Fresno’s history.

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For decades, the stark white building stood as symbol of the mall’s place in Fresno’s retail landscape. It housed two of the city’s most prominent department stores during their heydays — Weinstock’s in the 1970s and then Gottschalks until its closure in 2009.

Full of history, not historic

So, the building contained no shortage of history.

In fact, prior to starting the demolition, crews found and removed a time capsule that had been installed during the building’s construction in 1970. The center’s management company has the capsule, which is requested to be opened in 2070, per reporting by ABC30.

But the building itself wasn’t historic, at least not enough to be saved.

A historic resource evaluation, commissioned by the city and presented to the Historic Preservation Committee in March, found that, age aside, the building didn’t meet any criteria for inclusion on the city, state or national historic registries. Those designations could have staved off demolition and forced adaptive reuse of the building.

More changes at Fashion Fair mall

The demolition comes as the shopping center works through a series of other improvements to both its indoor and outdoor spaces and as it welcomes several new tenants. That includes Seoul Meat Co., a sit-down Korean barbecue spot with all-you-can-eat options; Mong Q, a Mongolian barbecue chain, and a Filipino french fry franchise called Potato Corner.

Escape-room franchise Escapology is also slated to open at Fashion, though it is unclear when that will happen.

This story was originally published July 26, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline “See the demolition of the old Gottschalks/Forever 21 at Fresno’s Fashion Fair.”

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