Eglinton Square

History

The mall was opened to the public in 1953 in an area once settled by farmland in the 1820s and re-developed as industrial land during World War II along Eglinton Avenue and surrounded by residential homes to the north, south and west sides. Built at the cost 1.6 million$, Eglinton Square was expanded two years later. In 1957, the shopping centre was visited by Queen Elizabeth II.

Up until the early 1960s, Eglinton Square had two Dominion supermarkets, one at each end of the plaza. In the spring 1963, the Dominion at the western end of the shopping centre was torn down to make room for an upcoming two story Morgan's department store of 120,000 square feet. Morgan's officially opened on August 22, 1963. It was notable for having a parking garage attached to the shopping centre with room for 573 cars including those parked in the roof of the store. It was the first Morgan's store opened by the Hudson's Bay Company following its acquisition of the chain in 1960. Unlike its two other Morgan's locations at Lawrence Plaza and Cloverdale Mall which were leases, Hudson's Bay Company wholly owned the store at Eglinton Square. Morgan's eventually became a The Bay store.

In 1964, Eglinton Square was enlarged of 25 stores from the 31 existing ones and essentially became an enclosed shopping mall. In addition, a multi-level parking for 500 cars was to be installed on top of the new extension. To this day, the main shopping centre still has two 1960s style ramps that provide two levels of parking on top of the stores.

The mall's perimeter is being redeveloped for mixed and residential use (condo towers and townhouses) including demolition of existing low rise apartments along Engelhart Crescent. Eglinton Square Shopping Centre interior 2023.jpg |Mall inside Eglinton Square Shopping Centre interior1 2023.jpg|Fountain demolished after the renovation around 2018 Eglinton Square Shopping Centre Telephone booth 2023.jpg|Red telephone box purchase by developer in 1987 Eglinton Square Shopping Centre Dental Centre 2023.jpg|Dental Centre

References

References

1. "Eglinton Square".
2. (22 August 1963). "Eglinton Square To Be Enlarged By 25 Stores". [[Globe and Mail]].
3. Patterson, Craig. (August 24, 2023). "Hudson’s Bay Launches Outlet Store Concept".
4. (9 June 2001). "Monarch builds on its reputation: Founded in 1917:". [[National Post]].
5. Wilson, Harold. (June 7, 1962). "120,000-Sq.-Ft. Unit Of Morgan's Set In Toronto Suburb". [[Women's Wear Daily]].
6. (August 23, 1963). "120,000-Sq.-Ft. Unit Of Morgan's Set In Toronto Suburb". [[Women's Wear Daily]].
7. (5 June 1962). "Morgan Store Planned for Eglinton Square". [[Globe and Mail]].
8. (August 21, 1963). "Morgan's push. They'll sell anything". [[Toronto Star]].
9. (September 16, 2018). "Hudson's Bay Closes 2nd-Oldest Suburban Store".
10. "Golden Mile Makeover: Another Mixed-Use Proposal for the Crosstown LRT Route {{!}} UrbanToronto".
11. "Preliminary Report 40 Eglinton Square Official Plan Amendment".
12. (2022-04-27). "Re-Imagining the Golden Mile: From Chain Stores and Parking Lots to a New Massive Mixed-use Community".