Frank Dunnigan, WNP member and columnist. -
Light the birthday candles for dear old Stonestown! This is the year that the local shopping center turns 65 and it is also the thirtieth anniversary of its 1987 re-birth as a “Galleria.”
First opened in 1952, Stonestown Mall was the brain-child of the Stoneson Brothers, Henry (1895-1958) and Ellis (1893-1952), who were born in Canada, the sons of Icelandic immigrants. Arriving in San Francisco in the 1920s, they began constructing homes at about the same time as other builders such as Henry Doelger, Ray Galli, and Chris McKeon. Stonestown Shopping Center under construction. View From Park Merced towards Mt. Davidson, circa 1952 -