Westfield Downtown Plaza

this place isn’t closed, just lightly occupied. still worth it and there is the under freeway tunnel to old sac and k street the other direction

This mall has gone downhill within the past years! The only stores that I still go to is Macy’s and Forever 21. The last time I came here was during lunch hour at work. I work within the vicinity and decided to stop by for a quick lunch in the cafeteria. Blehhh, wrong decision! The food is not great at all!
You need to head down to Arden Fair or Roseville Galleria where the real shops are at!

«This Mall is an Embarrassment»
So said my Teenage Son after wandering in and walking through the Westfield Downtown Plaza several times during our recent trip to Sacramento. The River City Brewing/​Starbucks/​Theater side seems to be a little more active, and the Hyundai Car Dealership shows that Mall Management is trying new things. But further on were lots of empty storefronts, local «youth», fellow travelers, and thankfully a few Security folks to keep up the illusion of urban honesty.
The sad thing is that I really have experienced better, and right here in this Mall. There was even a time many years ago when this Westfield Mall was a key part (along with Old Sacramento and the Capital) of a fun Family train trip up to the River City. Many of our favourite places are gone and what’s left is pretty much a pass through and hope that someone has a better plan for this place.

There are a lot of vacant stores and stores you never heard of but there are two main highlights at this mall. The Forever 21 is bigger than the one at Arden and I never have any trouble finding parking. If you can’t find something to buy, then you can always ask an associate at Macy’s to validate your parking for you.
The plaza is dead most of the time on weekdays. At least you don’t have to maneuver through crowds of people. When I came on a weekend, I saw a lot of families.
A visit to Old Sac is a short walking distance away from the mall as well.

I have a feeling I’m going to get some flak for this, but…
For all the claims that this mall is unsafe — you’re going to get mugged, you’re going to get shot, the security is going to laugh at you as you get assaulted the second you step inside — in my three years of living in midtown, I have yet to hear of these things actually happening (and please tell me if I am wrong). If you check out crime maps for Sacramento, the amount of crime in the «safe» streets of midtown rivals that which happens around the mall, so don’t be fooled just because people you find unsavory may be out and about the same time as you.
I can only speak for myself and my simple shopping tastes (the three mall stores I shop in Arden Fair or Roseville will be the same three mall stores available downtown), but I actually like not having the crowds. I’ve shopped here alone and with others, during day and evening, without incident. I’ve even biked here, parked outside, and left with all my bike parts intact.
Maybe I was just lucky. Or maybe people aren’t giving the safety of this place enough credit.
I’m not denying that this mall is not for everyone and is in serious need of an overhaul if there’s even a sliver of desire to make it marketable again, but for the everyday mall needs, I find it perfectly adequate.

Hit or miss, but mostly miss. I find this mall to be one of those necessary evils that necessitates the occasional visit only because it conveniently houses a bunch of popular shops like Macy’s, AT&T, the Gap and various other clothing stores.
It’s sad — what was once a shopping mecca is now a half-​closed, rundown hangout for misfits. Was that a shirtless man who just shot by me on a skateboard? Yes it was. Is that a fight in the alley leading to the parking garage? Yes it is. Between the public buffoonery and the numerous shuttered stores, Downtown Plaza sometimes feels more like a rundown apartment complex in «A Clockwork Orange» than any place I’d go for casual window shopping on the holidays.
I’m sure the management here realizes that the mall is benefiting greatly from Macy’s, the movie theater and maybe River City Brewing Company, as well as its location across the bridge from Old Sacramento. Without these factors, this place could go the way of the dodo bird without a serious revamp.