Calgary Eaton Centre

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Calgary Eaton Centre
Inside the skylit galleria
Mall facts and statistics
Location	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Opening date	1990
Developer	T. Eaton Co.
Management	20 Vic
Owner
No. of stores and services	80
No. of anchor tenants	1
Total retail floor area	151,212 ft.²
No. of floors	4

Calgary Eaton Centre is an urban shopping centre located along Stephen Avenue in the downtown core of Calgary, Alberta. It is connected to the flagship downtown Sears department store (East) and neighboring TD Square shopping centre (West). It is one component in a series of two urban shopping centres, (see TD Square) which share common ownership, management and branding (“The Core”). Together they form the busiest artery of the +15 skywalk system, which links most major office complexes, hotels, attractions and public buildings with climate controlled bridges. Although the Eaton's department store chain disappeared in the late 1990s (Sears Canada took over most of the chain’s urban stores), Calgary Eaton Centre has retained the name.

Contents 1 History 2 Architecture 3 Retailers 4 External links

[edit] History

The T. Eaton Co. opened its original 4-storey department store on the site in 1929. In the mid-eighties, the company's aggressive nationwide expansion prompted the redevelopment of the site to include a larger Eaton's store and a 4-level shopping centre.

Eaton's store was relocated one block west into a new 4-storey, post-modern 280,000 square foot building, complete with 2 levels of underground parking. Prior to demolition of the original store, the entire front facade was carefully removed and preserved. The shopping centre portion of the complex was constructed on the site of this original building, and the historic facade was carefully re-installed.

High-end department store Holt Renfrew was quick to secure the main floor to take advantage of the large historic display windows and porte-cochere. While originally occupying only one-and-a-half floors inside, Holt's appeared to dominate the entire building when viewed from the street. Today Holt Renfrew has expanded twice to occupy 42,386 square feet on 3 levels.

[edit] Architecture

The design of the 4-storey Calgary Eaton Centre is unique in that it crosses over both 4th Street and the 3rd Street (Barclay Parade) with massive, 3-storey skywalks. The wider of the two is 150 feet wide, and both include glass floors allowing visual interaction with the street below.

A continuous glazed barrel vault runs the length of the interior, creating a seamless corridor from one extreme end to the other. The fourth floor includes a food court with seating arranged around the centre's balconies.

The property also includes the 40-storey TD Canada Trust Tower, which sits above the retail podium.

[edit] Retailers

Anchored by Holt Renfrew and Sears, there are approximately 80 other retailers spread over the four floors of the Calgary Eaton Centre. Notable retailers include: