Comments on: Cloverdale Mall; Toronto, Ontario

By: dave

dave — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:20:45 +0000

i remember the concrete slide well.

i never knew it was an elephant!

i liked the soft ice cream that you could get in the

middle of the mall.

they should make the roof retractable!

By: R. Lowe

R. Lowe — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:28:35 +0000

Just an update.

In the fall of 2008, Dominion is no more. The chain was bought by an Quebec company, and all Dominion stores were re-branded Metro.

By: R J MORLEY

R J MORLEY — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:54:19 +0000

Apologies — Cloverdale was the SECOND suburban department store in Toronto. The first was also a Morgan’s, later The Bay, at Lawrence Plaza.

By: R J MORLEY

R J MORLEY — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:50:32 +0000

Top marks for noting the significance of Cloverdale before it was a mall. I cannot remember what it called itself, but it was Cloverdale before it was enclosed. Here is what I remember:

My mum would take us there probably precisely because we could be left in the play area to slide down the concrete elephant. I’ve never been since it was enclosed and suppose that the elephant was not saved from extinction, but would be glad to hear news to the contrary.

As one walked from the elephant, at the south end, towards The Bay, at the north, to one’s left was a side alley with, on it’s north side, a bakery called IIRC McDougall’s, which sold sandwiches as well. Back on the central spine, the W H Smith was on the right and did have the wonderful, large curving stairway. Just before The Bay, on the righthand side, was Maynard’s ice cream parlour. See the things that kids remember?

The Bay was originally a Morgan’s department store and Cloverdale was the first suburband department store in Toronto. Until the 1950’s, department stores ONLY EVER located downtown. An advertisement is reproduced on The Torontoist website here:

http://torontoist.com/2007/03/vintage_toronto_7.php

By: Linda

Linda — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:16:13 +0000

I loved Cloverdale Mall. As a newborn on Harjolyn Drive (just minutes away) my mom used to take me there. First as an outdoor mall…And then I remember the outdoor heaters. I also recall a greek guy who owned a Fries place in the centre of the place. I worked there as a teen at Pet Fair. My mom worked at Playtime and Second Cup. Love that mall miss it!

By: A.R.

A.R. — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:17:42 +0000

What I find alarming is how threatened mall owners seem to be by so-called “dated decor”. I sometimes look at old photos of upscale malls when they opened in the 1960s and 1970s, and some of the decor and interior design. What happened? Someone felt it was “dated” and demolished brilliant design that would have looked good today. The point is that renovations need to be sensitive and if the original design was creative and interesting, it should be enhanced, not demolished.

By: shawn

shawn — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:52:18 +0000

I remember getting lost at the Cloverdale mall back in the early 60’s (65 era). It was an outdoor mall then and had a play area for kids in the centre walkway between the two strips of shops. I was supposed to meet my parents at a small shop across from Simpsons at the time. I missed the directions and ended up in the simpsons store waiting at the customer service counter while the store staff tried to locate my parents. I was wondering if anyone knew of any pictures of the mall from the early 60’s..

By: stacie

stacie — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:26:21 +0000

When it was an outside mall in the early 70’s there was a very large cement elephant for kids to climb and slide down. And the cafetaria in the department store (eatons? the bay?) served excellent jello.

By: Bert Smudge

Bert Smudge — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:07:35 +0000

Cloverdale Mall was built in the mid sixties in the shadow of the many new apartments and townhouses built during that time. I remember visiting it in ‘68 and was impressed then. Cloverdale has always had to try hard to keep busy. Some years after Cloverdale Sherway Gardens was constructed and it was the last word at the time. Considered quite upmarket and a new “regional” mall it spelled death to the large old plaza known as Dixie Mall. Dixie Mall had a Sayvettes department store, a Dominion and an Aikenheads Hardware as its anchors. It rapidly fell downmarket when Sayvettes closed and became a flea market. The “discount mall” concept saved the old place.
Square One was built to be the new city center and a large regional mall. The advent of Mississauga Transit made it a destination for many. Especially those who lived further west. Square one also meant that smaller malls constructed but 5 years earlier, such as Mississauga Sheridan Mall where demoted to neighborhood malls. The newcomers fuelling the rapidly growing population of Mississauga kept these places going with all of them going through many changes in concept, appearance and tenants.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:15:12 +0000

Cloverdale has been successful despite being in the shadow of Sherway Gardens but it is an anomaly and not representative of enclosed malls in Canada – it has an older clientele that is very loyal but they will eventually die off, as will the mall unless it reinvents itself.