Eaton Centre, Toronto

If you’ve ever visited Toronto, then chances are you’ve been to the Eaton Centre. It represents the heart of downtown TO. Here’s its history, copied directly off the Toronto Eaton Centre website:

Stretching two full city blocks, Toronto Eaton Centre is a historical landmark, and today one of Canada’s best-known retail shopping destinations, attracting millions of visitors annually.

In the 1960s, Eaton’s partnered with Fairview and TD Bank, to create what would become known as Toronto Eaton Centre. Eaton’s department store moved to the corner of Yonge Street and Dundas Street, right next to their competitor, Simpsons, which was located at the corner of Yonge Street and Queen Street. Today, these stores have both been replaced by Sears (Eaton’s) and The Bay (Simpsons). Although the completed centre did not turn out to be a perfect rectangle, as planned, it has undoubtedly become a unique and interesting downtown landscape. Zigzagging around historical sites, such as Old City Hall, and Holy Trinity Church, Toronto Eaton Centre has indeed woven itself into the urban fabric.

Toronto Eaton Centre opened in two stages. On February 10, 1977 the northern section was built and on August 8, 1979, the southern section was completed. Two more phases would be added and opened in June 1990 and Summer/Fall 1999.

Modeled after Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the centre’s architect, Ed Zeidler, created the retail portion of the complex to feature a four-level shopping centre with a glass-domed galleria running the length of the centre. Suspended from the galleria, one finds a mobile of a flock of Canadian geese, Flight Stop, designed by artist Michael Snow.

It’s 3 gleaming, award winning office towers are spectacular business locations, offering state-of-the-art building systems, superb atmosphere and unsurpassed amenities.

Toronto Eaton Centre remains the focal point of downtown Toronto. It is a city landmark unlike any other, where people from all walks of life can gather under one roof with no prejudices. Rudolph Adlaf, Cadillac Fairview’s Senior Vice President of Architecture and Design, once said “Toronto Eaton Centre is classic in its simplicity.” And a classic it will remain