Station Mall facts for kids

The Station Mall is a large shopping center in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. It is the second biggest mall in Northern Ontario. Only the New Sudbury Centre in Greater Sudbury is larger. The Station Mall has 97 stores. It also has about 51,564 square meters (555,000 square feet) of space for shops.

This mall opened in 1973. It has been made bigger two times since then. A big Galaxy Cinemas movie theater is inside the mall. It covers about 4,831 square meters (52,000 square feet). The mall is located near the water in downtown Sault Ste. Marie. It is also close to the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge to the United States. The Sault Ste. Marie railway station is in the mall's parking lot.

Mall History: How Station Mall Grew

The Station Mall first opened its doors in October 1973. Back then, it had 70 stores. It covered about 26,385 square meters (284,000 square feet).

Early Expansions and New Stores

The mall grew bigger two times in 16 years. The first expansion was in 1981. The second was in 1989. These additions made the mall over 18,580 square meters (200,000 square feet) larger.

In the year 2000, a big movie theater complex opened. It was called the Galaxy Entertainment Complex. It was built on the side of the mall facing the water. This complex had 12 movie screens. It could seat 2,400 people.

Recent Changes and Renovations

The mall also had a major update. They added bigger stores. The inside of the mall was also made to look new. In 2011, several smaller stores were joined together. This made space for a new Sport Chek store.

A smaller Walmart Supercentre opened in 2012. It took over the space of a former Zellers store. On November 25, 2013, the Galaxy Cinemas changed. It went from 12 screens down to 7 screens. This change made room for a new H&M clothing store.

In October 2017, the Sears Canada store at the mall closed for good. After this, only a few original stores remained. These included Coles, Lakeshore Drug Mart, Laura Secord, and the Vacation Station. In May 2019, Walmart announced its store would close. This left the mall without some of its biggest main stores.

Main Stores at Station Mall

Main stores, also called "anchor tenants," are usually the biggest stores in a mall. They help attract many shoppers.

• Galaxy Cinema (about 2,973 square meters or 32,000 sq ft)
• Sport Chek (about 2,043 square meters or 22,000 sq ft)
• H&M (about 1,672 square meters or 18,000 sq ft)
• Dollarama (about 1,022 square meters or 11,000 sq ft)

Past Stores at Station Mall

Many different stores have been part of the Station Mall over the years. Here are some of the stores that used to be there: