R. H. May & Co. Inc. claimed that Helms' asking price was too high. So they began to look at other options.

The firm purchased several acres of land along San Jose's unincorporated Stevens Creek Road. At the time, there wasn't much there except for a few orchards and a new Emporium department store. Macy's Valley Fair opened their doors in the summer of 1956. Shortly after, vacancies filled the 39 store retail center.

Helms was later informed that negotiations for his downtown location may have merely been a bargaining tool to acquire a better deal at the Stevens Creek Road site.

Convenience!
Valley Fair Center offered a unique experience for Santa Clara Valley consumers. Unlike the shortage of parking in the downtown area, a large parking lot provided shoppers convenience, with an array of stores that ranged from grocery, five and dime to restaurants. And for those who still chose to shop downtown, the Peerless Stages Bus Line shuttled shoppers to and from the downtown district.

As shopping centers like this began to emerge in suburban neighborhoods, major department stores soon moved away from downtown. It wasn't long before a once bustling Downtown San Jose became somewhat of a ghost town because of Valley Fair's new success.

Sister center opens in the East Bay
The following year, Bayfair Shopping Center opened in San Leandro. A joint venture from Capital Co. and Macy's California, the 60 acre center was designed to serve a quarter million shoppers in the east bay. Bayfair had the same basic look as Valley Fair.

The first 22 stores included Amerio's Bayfair Drugs, Hellwigs Bayfair Toys, Marlene's Feminine Fashions, Nancy's Casual Apparel, along with a barber and beauty shop, and a grocery store.

Macy's Valley Fair built in two stages
When the doors opened, there was a basement, first floor and roof deck that was accessible to shoppers by elevator.

A 1956 San Jose Mercury News article indicated that Macy's would eventually add a second floor to their Valley Fair store, filling in the roof-deck. In the meantime, however, the store contemplated different ways to use the roof space. One idea was to set up a garden, according to the Mercury article.

Valley Fair and Bay Fair's Kiddieland
Neighborhood shopping centers were a new concept during this period of a large Baby Boomer population. Soon after Valley Fair opened their doors, seven carnival type rides, included a merry-go-round, small train and a 40 foot Ferris Wheel soon began to appear on the roof of Macy's. Becoming a familiar icon, the giant Ferris Wheel could be seen several blocks away as it peered over the walls of the department store. Bayfair center set up a similar attraction but at a larger scale on the terrace level. Bayfair Kiddieland's fourteen rides included a Ferris Wheel, merry-go-round, tilt-a-wirl, octopus, as well as the popular sports car ride featured at Disney's Tommorowland. The Valley Fair and Bayfair rides were both managed by Gene Cardoza. Valley Fair's Sky Terrace Cafe, located along the edge of the Macy's roof deck, allowed shoppers to eat lunch while their children enjoyed the rides. Tables with colorful umbrellas lined the outside of the eatery. Newspaper ads even encouraged shoppers to leave their children under the supervision of the ride personnel, often including well known circus clowns.

Other Shopping Center Rides
Other Bay Area Shopping centers had erected rooftop carnivals, such as the seven story Emporium Department Store in Downtown San Francisco. They set up carnivals on their roof every Christmas until the chain closed several year ago. Town & Country in Palo Alto set up a small attraction along Embarcadero Road, across from the Stanford Stadium (Super Bowl XIX). They also featured the Tommorowland sports car ride, with a miniature Standard gas station in the entrance. Other centers would set temporary carnivals up in their parking lots, like the San Antonio Center (Sears), in Mountain View.

Interview with center manager
One day in 1984, I walked downstairs under the glass housing to talk with the center's manager. "You happened to catch us on a good day", he said. "The new owners (The Hahn Co.) just signed the papers for the mall expansion. He recollected that shortly before he came on board in 1958, the rides were removed because they weren't making enough money.

The San Jose Mercury News ran their last ad for the fair during the Christmas season of 1957. Kiddieland Bayfair was renamed Playland, later adding a roller coaster. Daily Review ads for Playland lasted into the early sixties..

After the rides were removed at Valley Fair, the cafe and roof deck were blocked off from the general public and used as a break area for Macy's employees, according to a sales clerk my parents spoke to in 1963. Around 1964, a second floor was added to the store as originally planned.

The colorful tower
The tower, located at the foot of Macy's, served as an exhaust system for the center's underground shipping and receiving area. Colored with bright mosaic tiles, this structure was an excellent example of 1950's pop art and added to the fair atmosphere. The tower was removed in 1986 when the shopping center expanded into one of Santa Clara County's largest shopping malls. If you ever visit this store, the second floor escalator is where the Ferris Wheel once sat.