Valley Malls: The San Fernando Valley is...

Valley Malls: The San Fernando Valley is home to nine major malls, offering more than 7 million square feet of shopping bliss. Topanga Plaza, built in 1964, was the first covered mall west of the Mississippi and was quickly embraced as a fun and cheap way to beat the heat. Among those present at the ribbon-cutting were Cyril Magnin, the late department store magnate, and Jannette Taitt, Miss Canoga Park.

Mall Miles: The Promenade in Woodland Hills kicked off its summer walking program this month. Senior exercise buffs show up daily as early as 7 a.m. to strut around the mall’s perimeter and log in their miles at the customer service desk. Four laps around the lower level or 2 1/2 laps around the upper level makes a mile, says marketing director Ken Stephens.

Mall Mania: The Valley has more malls per capita than any other part of L.A. County, says Michael Schiff, a senior associate at Grubb & Ellis, a commercial real estate service. The reason: “A very high population density with a very high income,” he said.

Designer Malls: The trend in mall design is toward entertainment venues, such as multiplex cinemas, theme restaurants, bookstores and record stores. “The bigger the better,” said David Brotman, the director of RTKL & Associates’ Los Angeles office, which renovated the Northridge Fashion Center to include a 10-screen movie theater after it was severely damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.