North Hill Centre

North Hill Centre is a shopping mall in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It opened in 1958, and was Calgary's first shopping mall.^[1] The original anchor tenant was Simpsons-Sears, which still operates in its original location today as Sears Canada.^[2]

History

Location of North Hill Centre in Calgary

Opening

The mall opened in June 1958. It was billed as the largest shopping centre in Western Canada, with about 30 stores and services. As described by mall spokeswoman Paula Newhold: "It was revolutionary to have a mall and to have late-night shopping and all of that kind of stuff that is just quite normal for us now. The real experience was that it was all in one place - that was the interesting thing."^[3]

1973 expansion

North Hill Centre was originally built as a strip mall accompanied by a freestanding Simpson-Sears department store. In 1973 the mall underwent a major renovation, which added 20 more stores and enclosed the shopping area. The design featured a central corridor with irregularly sized columns and ceiling heights, presenting an inconsistent look to the storefronts in the mall.^[4]

By the 1990s, anchor tenants for the mall were Sears and Canada Safeway (on the east end), along with Super Valu (on the west end), giving the mall two major grocery stores.

The North Hill Theatre and Fairview Bowling Alley, erected in the parking lot in 1967, remained in operation until 1999.^[5]

2000 renovations

One of the entrances to North Hill Centre (2007)

In 2000, the mall was renovated. The interior columns were removed, the mall ceiling was raised to a consistent height, and additional shops and services were added.

References