West Edmonton Mall facts for kids
 |
|
.jpg)
The Sea Life Caverns wing, circa October 2015
|
|
| Coordinates | 53°31′22″N 113°37′23″W / 53.52278°N 113.62306°W |
|---|---|
| Address | 8882 170 St NW, Edmonton, Alberta T5T 4J2 |
| Opening date | 15 September 1981 |
| Developer | Triple Five Group |
| Management | Danielle Woo alongside The Ghermezian family |
| Owner | Triple Five Group |
| No. of stores and services | more than 800 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 15 |
| Total retail floor area | 350,000 m2 (3,800,000 sq ft) |
| No. of floors | 3 |
| Parking | 20,000+, 10,000 overflow |
| Public transit access |   West Edmonton Mall Transit Centre |
The West Edmonton Mall (often called WEM) is a huge shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is owned and run by the Triple Five Group. This mall is the second most visited in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre. It's also the 23rd largest mall in the world.
WEM is the second largest shopping mall in North America by size, right after the Mall of America. However, WEM has more stores, with over 800 shops and services, compared to the Mall of America's 520. The mall was started by the Ghermezian brothers, who moved from Iran in 1959. Some of its main stores include Hudson's Bay, London Drugs, and Simons.
The mall covers a huge area, about 490,000 m2 (5,300,000 sq ft). Besides its many stores, it has nine fun attractions, two hotels, and over 100 places to eat. There's also parking for more than 20,000 cars. Over 24,000 people work here! About 32 million people visit the mall each year. On busy days, it can see up to 200,000 shoppers.
Locally, people often call it "West Edmonton Mall" (not "the West Edmonton Mall"). You might also hear it called "West Ed" or "the Mall."
Contents
- Exploring West Edmonton Mall's History
- Amazing Attractions at WEM
- Future Plans for West Edmonton Mall
- Images for kids
Exploring West Edmonton Mall's History
West Edmonton Mall first opened its doors on September 15, 1981. It was built in four main stages, finished in 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1999. For many years, until 2004, it was the largest indoor shopping center in the world. This fact was even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The different building stages are now used as a color-coded system to help visitors find their way around.
In the early 1990s, a big department store called Woodward's closed down. Its locations were bought by the Hudson's Bay Company. This meant WEM had two Hudson's Bay stores for a while. Later, one of these stores closed. This led to a big update (Phase IV) in 1999. New additions included a Famous Players movie theater, a two-story HMV music store, and a Chapters bookstore with a Starbucks.
Around the same time, other stores like Canadian Tire and IKEA also left the mall. Their empty spaces were later filled. In 2002, a T & T Supermarket opened. Another area became Ed's Rec Room, which has a billiard hall, bowling alley, and nightclub.
On July 11, 2004, a big storm with hail and rain caused some damage to the mall. Parts of the roof failed, and drains overflowed. The Ice Palace and the World Waterpark were affected the most. Luckily, all the damage was quickly fixed.
In 2012, La Maison Simons opened a huge 115,000 sq ft (10,700 m2) store in the mall. This was their first store outside of Quebec. In 2014, Sportchek opened a massive 80,000-square-foot (7,400 m2) store with 800 display screens.
West Edmonton Mall's World Records
West Edmonton Mall has held several world records over the years:
- World's largest mall (from 1985 to 2004).
- World's largest indoor amusement park.
- World's largest indoor roller coaster.
- World's largest indoor lake.
- North America's largest indoor waterpark.
- World's largest parking lot, with over 20,000 regular spaces and 10,000 extra spaces.
Other Cool Records
- A record for the most bungee jumps in 24 hours while indoors was set by Peter Charney. He did this at the World Waterpark on November 6–7, 2007.
Amazing Attractions at WEM
Galaxyland: An Indoor Amusement Park
Galaxyland was first called "Fantasyland." But after a legal discussion with the Walt Disney Company, the mall changed its name to Galaxyland in 1995. This indoor amusement park is on the north side of the mall. It's the second-largest indoor amusement park in the world, after Ferrari World.
Galaxyland has 24 rides and attractions. These include 8 rides for beginners, 9 for intermediate riders, and 7 thrilling rides. The park is home to the Mindbender roller coaster, which has three loops. It's the world's largest indoor triple-loop roller coaster. A newer ride, the Galaxy Orbiter, opened in 2007. It starts at the Mindbender and weaves through the whole park.
World Waterpark: Splash and Play Indoors
The World Waterpark is the world's second-largest indoor waterpark. It opened in 1985 and is about 20,903 square metres (5.165 acres) in size. The park has the world's largest indoor wave pool. The tallest slides in the park are the Twister and Cyclone, both 25.3 metres (83 ft) high.
The wave pool has six wave-making sections. These sections use powerful machines to create waves up to two meters (about 6.5 feet) high!
Sea Life Caverns and Sea Lions Rock
West Edmonton Mall has an indoor lagoon with a saltwater home for four California sea lions. There's also a cool replica of the Santa María ship. This ship was built for the 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver. The Santa María is used each year for a Christmas event to collect toys for kids in need.
The "Deep Sea Adventure" area is where you can find most of the mall's aquatic animals. Many of them live in the "Sea Life Caverns" below the main floor. The Sea Life Caverns are home to many different animals, including fish, reptiles, amphibians, and penguins. There's a huge 525,000-liter tropical saltwater aquarium. It's the biggest of its kind in Western Canada and holds many fish, sharks, and sea turtles.
What was once called 'Dolphin's Lagoon' is now 'Sea Lions' Rock'. Here, you can see four California sea lions: Pablo, Kelpie, Clara, and Quinty. They have educational shows twice a day from Sunday to Thursday (at 2 pm and 4 pm). On Fridays and Saturdays, they have three shows (at 12 pm, 2 pm, and 4 pm). These shows teach visitors about conservation.
Mayfield Toyota Ice Palace: Skate and Watch Hockey
The Ice Palace is a smaller version of a professional National Hockey League (NHL) ice rink. It's located right in the middle of the mall. The Edmonton Oilers hockey team used to practice here sometimes. This brought huge crowds, especially during the years when Wayne Gretzky played for them in the 1980s.
Today, the rink is used for different hockey games and other sports events. In 2015, it was renamed Mayfield Toyota Ice Palace after a local car dealership bought the naming rights. For special events, like Remembrance Day, the ice rink is covered, and ceremonies are held there.
Professor WEM's Adventure Golf
Professor WEM's Adventure Golf is an 18-hole miniature golf course. It used to be called Pebble Beach Mini Golf. The course was updated and given the Professor WEM theme in the mid-1990s.
Movie Theatres: Catch a Film
The mall originally had four movie theatre complexes. As of 2017, only the Scotiabank Theatre (which includes IMAX) is still in the mall. This theatre used to be called Famous Players SilverCity. It once had a cool animatronic fire-breathing dragon, but it was removed in 2014 because it was too expensive to maintain.
Ed's Recreation Centre: Fun and Games
Ed's Recreation Centre (formerly called Red's) is a fun place with a bowling alley and an arcade. It used to have a pool hall, a music stage, and a restaurant. The stage was a popular spot for concerts in Edmonton. Many bands, both Canadian and international, played there.
In 2006, the owners of Red's closed it down. The mall then split the space into different areas. The stage and restaurant became a separate concert venue called the Edmonton Event Centre. The lounge, arcade, and bowling alley became Ed's Rec Room. The Edmonton Event Centre closed in 2013 and was later taken over by Sport Chek.
Other Fun Attractions
- Fantasyland Hotel: This hotel is located right inside the mall. There's also another hotel, the West Edmonton Mall Inn, just across the street.
- Wild West Shooting Centre: An indoor shooting range for those who enjoy target practice.
- Santa María Replica: A large copy of the Santa María ship. You can even book the ship's deck for private parties!
- Jubilations Dinner Theatre: Enjoy a four-course dinner while watching original Canadian musical comedies.
- Nightclubs: The mall has nightclubs like Empire Ballroom and Envy Nightclub for dancing and music.
- West 49 Skate Shop: This store has an indoor skatepark in the basement, built in a former cinema.
- Internet Café: A place to connect to the internet.
- Chapel: A quiet place for prayer or reflection for people of all faiths.
- Radio Stations: Three radio stations (K-97, 840 CFCW, and 96.3 Capital FM) have their studios and offices inside the mall. You can even see the broadcast studios from the mall!
Themed Streets: Explore Different Worlds
The mall also has special "theme areas" that make you feel like you're in a different place:
- Bourbon Street: This area looks like New Orleans, with clubs and restaurants. The lighting is kept darker to feel like nighttime. This area can be closed off for special events, and its businesses can stay open even after the rest of the mall closes.
- Europa Boulevard: Here, you'll find unique shops in an area designed to look like a European street. It's home to various stores and even some conference rooms that look down on the boulevard. This is also where the first La Maison Simons store outside Quebec opened.
- Chinatown: This area used to be Asian-themed and was anchored by a T & T Supermarket. While the "Chinatown" sign was removed in 2012, the area still has an Asian style, though it's no longer just for Asian businesses.
.jpg)
Future Plans for West Edmonton Mall
There are plans to update all the shopping areas in the mall. This big "face lift" started in 2011 and was mostly finished by 2014.
In 2002, the city approved plans for the mall to grow even more. This includes adding more retail space, a facility for sports and conventions, an office building, and apartment buildings. While some malls in China have become larger than West Edmonton Mall, it remains the largest in North America as of 2017.
New attractions planned for the future include The Rec Room, a modern entertainment center by Cineplex Entertainment, which will take over the old Target space. Also, Sunrise Records is expected to open in the former HMV location.
Images for kids
-
In 2007, Peter Charney broke the world record for the most bungee jumps in 24 hours.
-
Mindbender rollercoaster at Galaxyland, circa August 2010
-
Main wavepool, circa August 2014.
-
Professor WEM's Adventure Golf viewed from top floor, circa October 2015
-
The "Open Sea" Bronze Whale by Robin Bell in its original location before it moved to outside of the now-defunct Sears Canada, circa November 2005. This sculpture is a statue of a North Atlantic right whale.
-
"Running In" oil workers statue by Robin Bell, circa January 2016
-
Europa Boulevard in June 2003, ten years before La Maison Simons opened
-
Phase 3 after the renovation, featuring the musical dancing water fountains, June 2015
-
BRBN ST. at West Edmonton Mall, September 2016
-
Europa Boulevard, February 2017
-
Chinatown, June 2017
-
RAAS, short for "retail as a service" (operating 2017–2018) in Phase IV of West Edmonton Mall, November 2017.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
