San Bernardino holds demolition ceremony at Carousel Mall

Local dignitaries, San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran, city council members and city staff were on hand Monday as the city celebrated the start of a “systematic demolition” of the Carousel Mall.

After donning construction helmets and safety vests officials grabbed sledgehammers and took one swing each at an empty concrete planter that bore the mall’s familiar carousel logo.

The demolition of the mall marks a milestone in the redevelopment of the site, which the city hopes to transform into several thousand new housing units, and commercial and office buildings.

The four-phase demolition is expected to start in late May and be completed by November according to the city.

The Carousel Mall was a two story, indoor mall that opened in 1972. Originally called the Central City Mall, it was renamed the Carousel Mall in 1991, which coincided with the installation of a large carousel inside the mall. Now owned by the City of San Bernardino, it closed in August of 2017.