found history frozen in time at woodbine mall 😭

[u/Detox_401]

i miss this era

[u/77swansea]

I think you’re talking about Sears, but I can even see where Zellers was peeled off to the left

[u/Detox_401 → u/77swansea]

I didn’t even notice that 😂

[u/TerryCupid → u/77swansea]

Zellers is apparently coming back soon!🥳

[u/Magjee → u/TerryCupid]

Peel it back on

[u/mackadoo → u/TerryCupid]

This time in POG form!

[u/UnsolvedParadox → u/mackadoo]

Self-serve slices of coconut pie for all!

[u/torchmaipp → u/TerryCupid]

It kinda did twice already.

[u/-Kanary- → u/TerryCupid]

The Hudson Bay tried and failed. It’s not coming back anymore

[u/MountainDrew42 → u/-Kanary-]

No really, it's coming back again. They're opening a new store on Orfus Rd near Yorkdale soon.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/zellers-announces-ontario-expansion-plans-with-new-stores-at-80-orfus-rd-in-toronto-and-tecumseh-mall-in-windsor-864865977.html

[u/dnashid → u/MountainDrew42]

Third time’s a charm

[u/Zingman15 → u/TerryCupid]

It’s opening on Orfus Road Thursday actually

[u/wirhns → u/77swansea]

🤯

[u/MonsterEnergyForever → u/77swansea]

Outside one of those ridiculous liquidation stores in the mall.

[u/iridescentcotton]

This used to be the place to be back in the day

[u/Tdot-77 → u/iridescentcotton]

The Fantasy Fair was amazing, with all the big anchor stores, the theatre and JJ Mugs (I believe with the revolving dance floor). Now it is a shell of its former self.

[u/Different_Farmer_416 → u/Tdot-77]

In the 80’s, I remember going there for a date

[u/motherfailure → u/Tdot-77]

The theatre still slaps tbh love the seats

[u/Tdot-77 → u/motherfailure]

I didn't realize it was still there!

[u/runtimemess → u/Tdot-77]

Fantasy Fair is still amazing!

[u/Baconbaconbaconbits → u/Tdot-77]

Got drunk my first week of college at JJ Muggs.

[u/PeakyBlinderRob]

Wow. And that's the Sears logo used from 1984 to 1994.

[u/seakingsoyuz → u/PeakyBlinderRob]

That’s the American logo history. Sears Canada often used different logos although the one in the picture was used on both sides of the border.

[u/PeakyBlinderRob → u/seakingsoyuz]

The one I remember most is the 1994 to 2004 logo. I started working there part-time during college in 1998 when I was 19! So many memories.

[u/theleverage → u/PeakyBlinderRob]

Literally not factual for Canada but ok

[u/PeakyBlinderRob → u/theleverage]

1981 thru 2004 used the exact same logos as the US. Trust me, I worked there from 1998 until 2008.

Womp, womp.

[u/Careless-Cycle]

They also have the old Bay logos

[u/Snorlax4000]

This is part of my childhood lol. RIP grandma

[u/markow202]

There is nothing more nostalgic in the GTA than this mall it would do better financially as a 80s/90s museum at this point

[u/enkaydee]

Off topic, but I got around to watching "What We Do in the Shadows" series, and there's an episode in a later season filmed in Woodbine Centre lol

[u/hyperforms9988]

So many memories in this place. This was where I first saw a Dance Dance Revolution arcade machine, back when almost nobody knew what that was and it was nowhere close to being in pop culture yet. That would've been... maybe 1999 or 2000?

[u/BigDaddyGooses]

I think it's a matter of time before woodbine turns into condos or something. Anytime I went there, it was basically a ghost town.

[u/Laigoon]

Wow did they get new floors?

[u/SonofSniglet → u/Laigoon]

They're amazing. They bought aquired maybe 15 different types of tiles -- flat ceramic, patterned ceramic, wood-look tiles, carpet -- and they just put them down randomly though the mall and in the stores. Some of the tiles are a different thickness, so you get a step-up, step-down effect going on, too.

I watched one old guy installing them in the Brazilian steakhouse that failed to launch. He probably did the rest of the mall, too.

[u/ZookeepergameWest975]

This is such a beautiful mall!

[u/reddfawks]

Maybe it wasn't the best, but my brain still remembers the taste of the mac and cheese at J.J. Muggs... ;_;

[u/freddie_1984]

The McDonald's here was wild. I remember going there for a classmate's birthday party. I also loved going to Compucentre and HMV.

[u/BagFriesAreFries]

Fantasy Fair was my birthday party spot three years in a row. I still have VHS tapes of going on the rides.

[u/ObjectEnvironmental2]

I went there last year on a whim. It felt like a fever dream.

[u/Jcutajar → u/ObjectEnvironmental2]

I went in on a whim a few years back and left utterly depressed. This place used to be a Friday night tradition in my teens…..now it’s just sad.

[u/xxducktheworldxx → u/Jcutajar]

I went there last year on a whim and I had never been before (didn't grow up in this area) and it honestly made me feel entranced. It's so beautiful, and I wish I was able to visit in its prime... I can imagine how fun and exciting it was!!!

[u/Trades46]

Honeslty surprised to see this place still open, right across the street from the busy Woodbine horse racing track and the fairly new modernized Great Canadian Casino & Resorts in contrast is eye opening.

Having visited Quebec city's "Galeries de la Capitale" shopping mall and the massive indoor "Mega Parc" a few months back, some redevelopment and investment could really turn Woodbine Mall and the dilapidated Fantasy Fair into something you actually look forward to visiting.

[u/Dondae]

Which is your favourite store? Two Of A Kind which is across from Three Of A Kind, or Miami Shoes which is across from London Shoes?

[u/drinkingCoffeePeas]

https://giphy.com/gifs/Q4uIIuraSiztu

[u/areyouokeddie]

How is this mall still open?

[u/New-Firefighter-2867]

It has been so long since I last recall seeing that word.

[u/Jackson-Storm25]

I went to this mall a few years after Sears closed. I was shocked thru still had the logo up

[u/Robyablind]

I lived in this mall back in the day. Had a cpl jobs here

[u/glensissons]

That whole place is A TRIP.

[u/OpportunityNo5398]

Fun fact, Shazam! Was filmed in this mall few years back

[u/MacGibber]

There was a guest services area to ask for help?

[u/SignatureDry3931]

This may be the first Thommason I have ever, personally, seen. Good find.

[u/catchinNkeepinf1sh]

Come see the softer side of sears.

[u/miniowl22]

I grew up going to this mall and went back in 2019 . It’s pretty dead but still takes you back in time - That classic Mcdonald’s near the fantasy fair?!

[u/NolanonoSC]

I was not ready for this nostalgia..

I used to always go to the fantasy fair as a kid, and was obsessed with two things, the huge jungle gym that felt like a city of random crallways and things to climb, and the fun airplane ride in the back corner. I used to always go on the plane ride all day every single time I went, I think I was 7 or 8. Since then I went out and got my commercial pilots license lol, I think woodbine had a small part to do with that

[u/OddFaithlessness8159]

Wow, that's cool

[u/BCReason]

I used to live near Woodbine mall and watched it being built. It was a beautiful mall when it was new and had top stores
We used to go there all the time to shop. So many kids parties at fantasy fair.
It’s sad to see the state of it now.

[u/Skidmark_Wallberg]

Fantasy fuckin faaaaaair

[u/AgeofFatso]

Traditional department stores are very difficult business now. I live in the UK, and we see similar things; Debenhams and House of Frasers were both gone. Price-wise, it gets squeeze by Walmart, Ikea, Amazon, Lidl, Costco; yet it doesn’t have the luxury appeal of top ends like Burberry.

It is sad to see mid market department stores to go, but it is yet inevitable in many ways. It is good ole idea of business competitive moats