A geometrical complex from Goat Hill to Costa Mesa

Deepa Bharath

The landmark Costa Mesa building that houses Niketown, the Gap,

bistros and theaters once hosted a store where local farmers bought

grain to feed their goats, cows, pigs and chickens.

Costa Mesa was, after all, only Goat Hill, a simple farming

community south of Santa Ana.

“All I remember about the place where Triangle Square is now is

Carr’s Feed Store,” said Bob Wilson, longtime resident and local

historian. “They also had some hardware items, but it was mostly

feed.”

The piece of land got its name from its perfect triangular shape

-- one it has retained for several years now. Most of the land off

Newport Boulevard was then owned by the Irvine Co. It wasn’t until

the late ‘60s that the feed store sold the property.

“There was a bank there and some offices,” said Wilson, author of

“From Goat Hill to the City of the Arts: The History of Costa Mesa.”

“That was the beginning of a new era for Triangle Square.”

It became a hot topic again in 1989, right after former mayor

Sandy Genis got elected to the Costa Mesa city council.

“It had been a redevelopment project for a long time,” she said.

“It really got going only after 1990.”

The biggest controversy was the businesses that had to be expelled

from the center, Genis said.

“Some didn’t want to go, so there were lawsuits,” she recalled.

“There was a group of dentists who occupied a building and they

didn’t want to leave. It was quite emotional.”

But even after all those issues were resolved, the new Triangle

Square continued to have problems. Tenants came and went.

“That has been the big challenge,” Genis said. “Getting and

keeping tenants.”

The “inconvenient” design of the building may be a reason, she

said.

“It’s hard to get to where you want to go there,” Genis said.

“First of all, you don’t know where to park and when you do park, you

end up walking quite a bit to go where you want to go.”

The dome that sits on top of Niketown was purely a “design

feature,” she said.

“And when you look from the freeway, all you can see is the

“iketo” in “Niketown,” Genis says. “I always thought that was funny.”

* LOOKING BACK runs Sundays. Do you know of a person, place or

event that deserves a historical look back? Let us know. Contact

James Meier by fax at (949) 646-4170; e-mail at

james.meier@latimes.com; or mail at c/o Daily Pilot, 330 W. Bay St.,

Costa Mesa, CA 92627.