Montreal Eaton Centre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Montreal Eaton Centre

Centre Eaton de Montréal
Coordinates	45°30′11″N 73°34′19″W / 45.503°N 73.572°W / 45.503; -73.572
Address	705, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest Montreal, Quebec H3B 4G5
Opening date	1990
Management	Ivanhoé Cambridge
Owner	Ivanhoé Cambridge
No. of stores and services	125+
Total retail floor area	45,000 square metres (480,000 sq ft)
No. of floors	5 (mall arcade) 11 (highest number of levels of office component)
Parking	472
Public transit access	at McGill McGill Terminus STM Buses

The Montreal Eaton Centre is a large shopping mall in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located in the heart of downtown Montreal. You can easily reach it through the city's Underground City. It also connects directly to the Montreal Metro subway system at McGill station.

The Montreal Eaton Centre first opened its doors in 1990. In 2018, it grew even bigger. It joined with a nearby mall called Complexe Les Ailes. Now, both shopping centers are part of one large property. This combined mall is still known as the Montreal Eaton Centre.

The mall has a huge shopping area of about 45,000 square meters (484,376 square feet). Above the shops, there are also many office spaces. These offices are called "1500 University." Inside the mall, you can see a bronze statue of famous hockey player Maurice Richard. There is also a beautiful three-story artwork made by artist Bernard Séguin Poirier.

Exploring the Mall's Past

The Original Les Terrasses Mall

The entrance to the Eaton Centre on Saint Catherine Street in Downtown Montreal

The land where the Montreal Eaton Centre stands today used to have a different mall. It was called "Les Terrasses" and was open from 1976 to 1987. This mall was built on top of an old street named Victoria Street. The street and its buildings were bought by the city to make way for the mall.

Les Terrasses had a unique design. It was shaped like a triangle with floors that slowly spiraled upwards. You could walk from the bottom to the top without many stairs. The floors were even color-coded! The mall was decorated with many trees, plants, and ivy. It had 140 stores, all facing the center of the triangle.

After only ten years, Les Terrasses was taken down. A lot of construction work followed. Then, in 1990, the new Montreal Eaton Centre opened. Just like Les Terrasses, the new mall was connected to the Montreal Metro and the Underground City. It was also linked to the Eaton's department store, which the mall was named after. However, the Eaton's department store closed in 1999.

The Historic Eaton's Building

The Eaton's building in 2013

The building at 677 Saint Catherine Street West has a long history. It started as a three-story building for the Goodwin's department store in the early 1900s. In 1925, Eaton's bought the building. It became known as the Eaton's building.

The building grew bigger over time. More floors were added in 1927 and again in 1930-1931. The very top floor had the famous Eaton's Ninth Floor Restaurant. This restaurant had a cool Art Deco design. It was inspired by a fancy dining room on a ship called the SS Île-de-France.

The Eaton's building was Montreal's biggest department store for many years. In 1967, it even got a direct connection to the Montreal Metro at McGill station.

In 1999, the Eaton's chain closed down. A company called Ivanhoé Cambridge bought the building. From 2000 to 2002, the inside of the building was completely changed. Only the outside walls and parts of the 9th floor were kept. This old department store became a new mall called Complexe Les Ailes. It also included office spaces called 1500 University.

Complexe Les Ailes was named after a department store called Les Ailes de la Mode. This store was a major part of the mall for over ten years. It closed in 2016. In 2019, a large sports store called Decathlon took its place. Decathlon is now one of the biggest stores in the Montreal Eaton Centre.

Bringing Two Malls Together

In 2014, Ivanhoé Cambridge announced a big plan. They decided to combine Complexe Les Ailes with the Montreal Eaton Centre. The goal was to make them one large, updated shopping complex. They wanted both malls to have the same modern "look and feel."

This change brought the Eaton's name back to the building that once held Montreal's main Eaton's department store. It was like history coming full circle!

Main Stores at the Mall

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