Department Stores then and now

[airplane-dude]

I remember it being a Kmart as well

Yeah.. For a mall it's size, Stone Road sure has undergone some big changes..

They're doing some big changes again by grouping several stores into an H&M and moving one of their entrances too.

 

[Tewder]

I'm not sure if it was unique to the Hamilton area but there was also a department store called Robinsons at Burlington Mall which I believe is a Zellers now, and soon to be a Target.

If we're talking about Hamilton proper I also remember the old Kresge's on King Street. It's a bingo hall now:

Also, there's a one-off still extant in London known as King's Mills, if anyone's interested.

 

[ShonTron]

Besides Robinson's, Hamilton also had The Right House (the building has been repurposed). The Right House had other locations, I believe Kitchener had one.

 

[donoreo]

As far as Scarborough Town Centre goes:

Simpsons -> The Bay
The Bay -> Wal-Mart (Wikipedia claims Sears was located in between - was this true?)
Eatons -> Sears

Simpsons - > the Bay (there was no Bay here before this)
Sears - > took over Eatons location
Walmart took Sears old location.

 

[FAC33]

As I learned awhile ago on an Urban Toronto thread, Ajax had a Sayvette in the Harwood Plaza at Bayly and Harwood. It has now been subdivided into individual stores on the lower level and offices on the upper level (including a call centre).

 

[jbcurio]

Simpsons - > the Bay (there was no Bay here before this)
Sears - > took over Eatons location
Walmart took Sears old location.

Looks like it was The Bay -> Sears -> Wal-Mart. Just double-checked a few sources, and here's an ad from The Bay's opening day at STC in 1979 as part of a 240,000 sq ft expansion. Simpsons also had an ad that day touting "Kenmore Days" at all of its GTA locations, including STC (in what was the dying days of its association with Sears).

Source: the Toronto Star, Aug 7/79

 

[Urban Shocker]

Thanks for this. I'm actually interested in finding out more about even the discount department stores like Kmart and Woolco, Zellers etc.

Here's a site about Towers, and others:

http://www.towersdepartmentstores.info/pages/stores.htm

 

[samsonyuen]

Markville Shopping Centre

Markville: Woolco (on both floors) --> Wal-Mart (on both floors) --> bigger Wal-Mart (on bottom floor) + Winners & More (later Winners/HomeSense) + Pickle Barrel (on top floor)

Eaton's (on both floors) --> Toys "R" Us + Old Navy (bottom floor) + Gap + Atmosphere (fka Coast Mountain Sports) + Shoppers Drug Mart + La Vie en Rose & Company --> Old Navy in the La Vie space)

Famous Players --> Goodlife Fitness

Miracle Food Mart --> Best Buy

Pacific Linen --> SportChek

 

[samsonyuen]

Woodside Square (now Food Basics).
Pascal --> Regal Chinese Restaurant + Dollarama (formerly BiWay) + Winners (now Le Château Outlet and other inline stores)
Dominion --> Shoppers Drug Mart + LCBO

Misceallenous
Bayview Village: Kmart --> Chapters and the entire row of stores to the LCBO)
Bridlewood Mall: Kmart --> Zellers. Former Zellers on other side of building (Towers before it) was reverted to common mall space
Kennedy & Denison (SuperCentre Plaza) in Markham. SuperCentre --> Fortino's + Zellers --> Oriental Supermarket + Vacant. Toys "R" Us in outlot now a design "mall"

 

[DaninToronto]

Any more information on Kmart? Seems only 3 are remembered.

 

[samsonyuen]

Hillcrest Mall had a Kmart, I believe

 

[adma]

The first Kmart I ever knew was at the E end of Albion Mall (is Canadian Tire there now?)

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Agincourt Mall had a Kmart. I remember a Sayvette at Eglinton & Danforth Road.

 

[DaninToronto]

Hillcrest Mall had a Kmart, I believe

I'm guessing where the Zellers is now? I'm also wondering since there are two Bay stores that maybe one of them was a Simpsons before?

 

[Ahsun]

Besides Robinson's, Hamilton also had The Right House (the building has been repurposed). The Right House had other locations, I believe Kitchener had one.

Super-bump! 2.5 years later...

There were numerous Robinson's. One was located at Pen Centre in St. Catharines. It is now The Bay. I don't think it's there anymore / open to the public, but this Bay used to have a lower floor irc.

There was also a Right House in St. Catharines at Fairview Mall. It closed up, later became Zehrs and was rebuilt. I think.. and I'm really stretching my memory here... that Dominion used to be where the current Chapters & Future Shop are. A&P was where Food Basics is now.
Dominion closed, became Zehrs. Right House closed at the other end of the mall, Zehrs rebuilt that area and moved down the hall. Old Zehrs / Dominion rebuilt for Chapters, Future Shop. There was also a Woolworth in the mall. I think that space is now occupied by Mark's Work Warehouse. Zeller changed to Walmart recently during the Zellers chain closing.



Also in St. Catharines, K-Mart on Ontario Street (which also had a small separate Bi-way next door) became Zeller's which closed down probably over 10 years ago and has remained vacant since.