Bay Centre
Encyclopedia
The Bay Centre, formerly the Victoria Eaton Centre, is a shopping mall in Victoria, British Columbia
, Canada
.
Opening in 1990, the mall was the first large shopping mall in Victoria's city centre, occupying what were formerly two city blocks of the Old Town area. The development of the shopping centre was initially the subject of controversy, as construction involved demolishing several historic buildings (or reducing them to facades over new construction) and closing one block of Broad Street.
When Eaton's
went bankrupt, the former Eaton's store in this mall was occupied for a short time by Sears Canada
's "Eaton's" experiment, and an even shorter time by a Sears store. When Sears vacated the mall, the "Victoria Eaton Centre" was renamed to reflect the mall's new department store tenant, The Bay
. The Bay Centre has 39,114.8 square metres (410,264 square feet) of retail space and is one of the largest shopping centres in the Greater Victoria Area.
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Opening in 1990, the mall was the first large shopping mall in Victoria's city centre, occupying what were formerly two city blocks of the Old Town area. The development of the shopping centre was initially the subject of controversy, as construction involved demolishing several historic buildings (or reducing them to facades over new construction) and closing one block of Broad Street.
When Eaton's
Eaton's
The T. Eaton Co. Limited was once Canada's largest department store retailer. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices across the globe, and a catalogue...
went bankrupt, the former Eaton's store in this mall was occupied for a short time by Sears Canada
Sears Canada
Sears Canada Inc. is a retailer, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, that operates in all provinces and territories across Canada with a network of 196 corporate stores, 195 dealer stores, 38 home improvement showrooms, 108 Sears Travel offices and a nationwide home maintenance, repair, and...
's "Eaton's" experiment, and an even shorter time by a Sears store. When Sears vacated the mall, the "Victoria Eaton Centre" was renamed to reflect the mall's new department store tenant, The Bay
The Bay
The Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...
. The Bay Centre has 39,114.8 square metres (410,264 square feet) of retail space and is one of the largest shopping centres in the Greater Victoria Area.
Anchors & Majors
- The BayThe BayThe Bay is a chain of 91 department stores that operate across parts of Canada. It is the main brand of Hudson's Bay Company , North America's oldest company. It has its headquarters in the Simpson Tower in Toronto. In French, the chain is known as la Baie, short for "Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson"...
(19,300.6 m² / 207,750 sq. ft.) - Passport CanadaPassport CanadaPassport Canada is an independent operating agency of the Government of Canada with bureaucratic oversight provided through Foreign Affairs Canada. It operates under the auspices of the Canadian Passport Order which defines the agency...
(995 m² / 10,710 sq. ft.) - SportChek (1,799.7 m² / 19,372 sq. ft. )
See also
- A list of current and former Eaton Centre malls in CanadaEaton CentreEaton Centre is a name associated with shopping malls in Canada, originating with Eaton's, one of Canada's largest department store chains at the time that these malls were developed. Eaton's partnered with development companies throughout the 1970s and 1980s to develop downtown shopping malls in...
- List of shopping malls in Canada