From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:
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Remember This? . . . Station Mall
Built in 1973 the Station Mall has been a staple of the Sault Ste. Marie waterfront for over 40 years.
What some residents might not know is that the mall is built on approximately 90 percent reclaimed land.
Much of the site that the mall currently stands on was under the St. Mary’s River. Prior to its construction this area consisted of the ACR Railway Station and railway tracks that were used by the Algoma Central Railway for transportation of steel and other material. The entire waterfront area was a collection of unattractive industrial land and Bay Street was a simply a route to get people from the west end of the city to the east end of the city.
The mall was built as a part of Algoma Central Railway’s Waterfront Redevelopment Plan. This waterfront redevelopment plan recognized the potential of our waterfront property and called for the construction of an office tower building, a senior’s apartment building, a hotel complex and a new train station.
Construction began on the new mall and it opened for its first day of shopping on October 31, 1973. The Sault Star described it as a Christmas shopping rush, with every store crowded. At the time of its opening, the mall housed 45 stores, including Lighting Unlimited, Bed ‘n Bath Shoppe, The Leather Touch, Dolomity Shoes, Fairweather and Big Steel with Sears as the anchor store. Having so many stores in one location provided a novel shopping experience for excited Saultites.
The Mall has expanded or upgraded over the years, the first expansion occurring in 1981 and then another expansion occurring in 1988. The third phase in 1988-1989 cost $18 million, and increased the size of the mall by 100,000 square feet, making it the largest mall in Northern Ontario at the time. At one point the Station Mall housed 130 stores and generated more than $100 million in sales yearly, with 7 million people shopping there each year. In 1994 the Station Mall was recognized in Ingenue magazine as one of the top 10 fashion malls in Canada.
On December 14, 1995 the Station Mall experienced its own roof collapse. The area between phases two and three, formerly known as the Fountain Court entrance of the Station Mall, collapsed. Fortunately there were no injuries although one woman was treated for shock. When the area was repaired, the original fountain was not replaced. A report stated that snow accumulation triggered the collapse but did not cause it. The cause of the collapse was faulty welding. The report that was released in January of 1996 indicated that no charges would be laid. The engineer, Kadlec, was no longer an engineer at the time of the incident. His engineering license had been revoked in September of 1994 and his company, Beta Engineering Consultants Limited’s, certificate of authorization had been revoked as well.
As with any mall or retail space, the economic climate can have a significant effect on the shopping experience. Some major retail outlets, such as Zellers have not survived but they have been replaced by new businesses. In more recent years, the retail space has been redesigned to accommodate the needs of new and existing retailers such as H & M, Sport Chek, Walmart and Galaxy Cinema.
As of 2016 the Station Mall houses between 80 and 90 stores and restaurants and is still the main shopping centre for Sault Ste. Marie. It not only services the community’s shopping needs but is also a gathering place for various community groups living up to its tag line “The Centre of it All”.
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Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provides SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.
Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here