The Centre on Barton is an outdoor

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

in the Lower City of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The centre is located on Barton Street East bounded by Ottawa Street North in the western-end and Kenilworth Avenue North on the eastern-end. It was formerly known as the Centre Mall and before that, the Greater Hamilton Shopping Centre. It was a "plaza" for many years before being closed in as a "mall" and access to the stores was available through a front and back door of the plaza. In 2008, the mall was rebuilt back to an outdoor shopping centre.

History

The Centre Mall was built in 1955 and was one of the first shopping malls in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. The mall had 1 floor (two of the anchor tenants had 2 floors). The Centre Mall used to be the site of the Hamilton Jockey Club Racetrack but in the years after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the push for Hamilton's eastward expansion had completely engulfed the Jockey Club property. On September 26, 1952, the racetrack was sold. The site then became the Greater Hamilton Shopping Centre.

2008 Reconstruction project

The Centre Mall owners announced the plans for a 23-building power centre, named The Centre on Barton, on the property of Barton Street East. The cost had originally been estimated to be around the $100-million mark and the project eventually took up of retail space. This was the largest redevelopment project in the history of Hamilton's east-end. The buildings on the property are grouped around the edge of the property and create a pedestrian-oriented design rather than a commercial island in a sea of parking. The overhaul roughly took about two-and-a-half years to complete but the bulk of the work had been done by the end of the summer of 2008. Some new buildings were completed before the enclosed mall was torn down. The redevelopment of Centre Mall transformed the entire neighbourhood from Ottawa Street to Kenilworth Avenue. The $100-million investment in the mall boosted Ottawa Street North – already the city's No.1 tourist destination. The garment district became a holistic home decor destination area, with lighting, antique, design & glass stores. The Ottawa Street Business Improvement Area had the most applications and grants under the commercial property improvement program in 2007 with 33, and it had an effect on the property values and real estate activity in the district.

References

External links

Official website

Hamilton Centre Mall
(Feb. 2, 2008)
Construction details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Centre on Barton Shopping malls in Hamilton, Ontario Shopping malls established in 1955 1955 establishments in Ontario Power centres (retail) in Canada