The Macy’s in North Hollywood, the last store in Laurel Plaza, has finally closed, ending a 61-year shopping tradition.

The 475,000-square-foot store at 6150 Laurel Canyon Blvd. closed this week after a two-month fire sale, the New York-based department store announced on its website.

On Friday afternoon, the once-thriving retail hub’s parking lot was empty, except for a handful of cars and a woman hauling away a mannequin. A couple of would-be shoppers approached the entrance to find a sign posted to the doors saying, “This Macy’s location is now closed.”

The closure follows dozens of Macy’s to have shut their doors across the nation this year as a result of diminishing department store sales. The North Hollywood store’s 193 employees were either rehired at other stores or given severance packages, company officials said.

The closest Macy’s are at Burbank Town Center and Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks.

The North Hollywood closure marks the end of a mall tradition that began in 1955 at the height of the San Fernando Valley postwar building boom. And it marks a next step for the massive housing and retail development to replace it.

• RELATED STORY: North Hollywood Macy’s to close, marking ‘sad’ end to Laurel Plaza after 61 years

It was at Laurel Plaza that the May Co. opened its regional headquarters surrounded by an ice skating rink and other stores.

But after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, all but the 80-foot-tall former May Co./Macy’s building was razed. Macy’s took over what was a Robinsons-May store in 2006.

Tommy Gelinas, founder of the Valley Relics Museum in Chatsworth, lived in North Hills (then known as Sepulveda) as a kid and spent many days at Laurel Plaza. The memories washed over him Friday as he reflected on those times and the businesses in the mall.

“The first place I would stop was Orange Julius and then the candy kiosk,” he said. “It was really pop culture-driven. My sister would go to Contempo Casuals and us guys would go to Chess King (clothing store). It was a very special place, and it’s still in the hearts of all the grown-up Valley kids. It was an awesome time to grow up in the Valley.

The 25-acre Laurel Canyon Plaza property at Oxnard Street and the 170 Freeway has been sold to an investment firm that plans to build a $200 million mixed-use retail, office and residential complex.

• RELATED STORY: As Macy’s closure looms, NoHo West project approved by LA Planning Commission

The so-called NoHo West, a joint venture by Goldstein Planting Investments and Merlone Geier Partners, was approved by the Los Angeles Planning Commission last month.

If approved by the Los Angeles City Council, it would bring 642 rental housing units, 256,000 square feet of office and retail use, and 316,000 square feet of new commercial development, including a cinema. It would be bounded by Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Erwin Street, Radford Avenue and Oxnard Street.

But not everyone is thrilled with the plan.

Diann Corral, president of the Laurel Grove Neighborhood Association, which represents residents in the area, said she was disappointed to see the Macy’s go. She and others would like to see more retail in the planned project, which they believe the area sorely needs.

“It’s this side of the Valley’s last opportunity to have something really special here,” she said.

For Gelinas, the Macy’s closure is another painful reminder of changing times.

“It’s just sad,” he said. “We keep trying to hang on to the things that mean so much, and it’s all just slipping through our fingers.”

Staff writers Greg Wilcox and Ryan Carter contributed to this report.