By Sara Beth Williams
Remember when that familiar building looked completely different? Or when a favorite local business was still around? Our new series, “Remember When?” takes a look back at businesses, places, people and moments in time that longtime Citrus Heights residents may remember — and younger residents may be surprised to learn about.
With plans for the Sunrise Tomorrow concept calling for a walkable “21 Century Main Street” with mixed use retail, living, office, and entertainment, The Sentinel took a look back at the first walkable shopping center in the area, which opened in the 1970s across the street from Sunrise Mall.
The Marketplace at Birdcage, located on Sunrise Boulevard between Birdcage Street and Greenback Lane, was once referred to as Birdcage Center, or Birdcage Walk, before it was completely remodeled in the late 1990s. The name references its design that encouraged walkability, as well as the birds in cages that entertained visitors.
Long-time residents of Citrus Heights and surrounding areas remember when trees lined Birdcage Walk, and a pond that once occupied what is now a parking lot near the new Designer Show Warehouse. With several buildings demolished, and vehicles parked where actual bird cages once stood, it’s hard to imagine that Birdcage’s yesterdays looked similar to what is potentially planned for the future of Sunrise Mall.
Just after Sunrise Mall opened across the street, Birdcage Walk opened on Sunrise Boulevard in 1976 with two outdoor aviaries and 65 stores. The Birdcage center catered to many small specialty shops, according to the Citrus Heights Historical Society.
Residents who lived and worked at Birdcage Walk in the 1980s recalled in a Reddit forum the dollar movie nights, an arcade and bowling alley, a comic book store, a Tower Records and Tower Books stores, cafes, and a pizza shop, an ice rink, and many other stores catering to families and a younger crowd.
One former employee who worked at a kiosk at Birdcage Walk called the center “a great teenage playground.”
In a 2019 post on the Historical Society’s social media page, other residents recalled shopping and buying shoes at a local shoe store, and buying gifts at a little gift shop called Touch of Glass.
Another resident recalled that she could see St. Marks Lutheran Church from the shopping center, “way up high on a hill.” She notes that the church is now completely surrounded by businesses and residential housing.
Some residents said the “outdoor mall” concept was a novel idea at the time in the 1980s, as most of the country had already constructed grand indoor malls.
At the Birdcage shopping center, the pond became a wishing well, where kids would throw coins into the water to make a wish, residents recalled. The bottom of the pond lined with coins would often sparkle in the sunlight.
“While the display of exotic birds drew many visitors, and the birds were under constant care, many problems caused the shopping center to eventually remove them,” the historical society says.
While the aviary didn’t last long, the pond, gazebo, and clock tower remained until redevelopment began in the late 1990s.
Satellite imagery dated from 1993 obtained through Google Earth’s history show a complex of more than 10 separate buildings clustered around a pedestrian friendly, tree-lined walkway.
Fritz said Macy’s anchored the south end of the center with Montgomery Ward’s occupying what is now Lowe’s at the north end. The building currently occupied by Walmart Neighborhood Market was once a Corti Brothers market, before becoming a Longs Drugs store in the 1990s.
Macy’s eventually moved its store across the street in the mid 1980’s. After filing for bankruptcy in late 2024, the national retail chain closed hundreds of locations in 2025, including the iconic Macy’s in Downtown Sacramento, as well as both the Men’s and Women’s Macy’s locations at Sunrise Mall.
Another satellite image dated 1998 shows the walkway demolished to make room for a street running through the interior with a roundabout for vehicle traffic. Target had also been constructed by then. By the early 2000s, the old movie theater was removed to make room for more parking to serve the Best Buy building.
Another chunk of the former outdoor space was demolished in about 2010 to make room for the former Sports Authority building and its parking lots. The building currently occupied by Old Navy was built sometime around 2012, historical Google images indicate.
Today, Barnes and Noble occupies the largest original structure, while Walmart Neighborhood Market takes up most of the northern building. Those two anchors, together with a small building near Target, are all that remains of the original Birdcage Walk shopping center.
No traces of the gazebo or pond remain, but the cupola of the iconic clock tower was saved during the site’s major remodel. It’s current resting place is in the front yard of Citrus Heights resident Steve Bowers, according to a previous report by The Sentinel. Bowers’ father, Stan, owned the construction company hired to demolish some of the buildings. The company had salvage rights, Bowers said, and saved the clock by installing it on a brick root cellar at Bowers home.
What’s coming next
The Marketplace at Birdcage continues to thrive today, with several new businesses opening in the last few years, including HomeGoods, Designer Shoe Warehouse, and a handful of small restaurants. Amid the success, significant changes are in the air regarding the neglected and dilapidated mall which sits directly across the street, including the future possibility of a new Sunrise Sports Center complex. Currently, an Arcade Monsters and an indoor slide adventure park are also under construction across the street.
Mike Hazlip contributed to this story
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