Old Quebec Street Shoppes & Office Suites is a

commercial mixed use building Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

located on Wyndham Street North in

downtown Guelph Downtown Guelph is the central business district of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Wellington St. E. to the south, Woolwich St. to the East, Dublin St. to the west and Norwich St. to the North. Downtown Guelph is known for its distinct ...

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 main entrance faces the intersection of Quebec Street and Wyndham Street at St. Georges Square. Old Quebec Street Shoppes stands where Quebec Street originally extended east of Wyndham Street. The back entrance of the building leads out onto Woolwich Street next to the Sleeman Centre.

Description

Old Quebec Street Shoppes & Office Suites has two floors, with retail shopping on the lower level and office/medical space on the upper level. The West Parkade attached to the building provides visitor parking.

History

Guelph was established by

John Galt John Galt () is a character in Ayn Rand's novel ''Atlas Shrugged'' (1957). Although he is not identified by name until the last third of the novel, he is the object of its often-repeated question "Who is John Galt?" and of the quest to discover ...

and the Canada Company in the 1820s. Quebec Street was one of the original streets named in Guelph. Quebec Street extended east and west of Wyndham Street North having several store fronts and services until about 1980. From 1980 to 1984, Quebec Street east of Wyndham Street North was closed off to build a mall, which officially opened in 1984 as an

Eaton Centre Eaton Centre is a name associated with shopping centres 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 demise of the

Eaton's The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew ...

company in 1999 resulted in the sale of the mall to the city, which renamed it the Guelph Centre. The back wall of the Eaton's store was torn down, and the space was rebuilt as the Sleeman Centre. The remaining portion of the Eaton Centre became The Old Quebec Street Shoppes & Office Suites, which opened in 2003.

Architecture

Old Quebec Street Shoppes & Office Suites displays a unique

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, making visitors feel like they stepped in a historic town's main street as an indoor version of the traditional

marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

. The building is full of antique architectural style. The distinctive interior design has a high skylight roof, exposed bricks, and decorations of wrought iron window boxes and banners surrounding it to create an historic atmosphere influenced by the old limestone and brick buildings commonly found in downtown Guelph. It is meant to resemble the ''old Quebec Street'' with outdoor store fronts before the original Eaton Centre was built.

Stores and services

Old Quebec Street Shoppes and Office Suites has numerous cafes, stores and services.

Access

Old Quebec Street is located at the center of downtown Guelph. The building's West Parkade is a fee-based visitor parking, and visitors may also access the mall by

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

, including the many bus stops on Wyndham Street facing the mall's main entrance, and the nearby

Guelph Bus Terminal The Guelph Bus Terminal was the main intercity bus station in Guelph, Ontario until May 13, 2012, when it was replaced by Guelph Central Station. Operators using the terminal included Aboutown, GO Transit and Greyhound. Coach Canada also served t ...

The Guelph Storm Box Office

The hockey arena is located inside the Sleeman Centre with the box Guelph Storm box office located on the main floor within the Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Guelph Mercury Articles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Old Quebec Street Mall, The Shopping malls in Ontario Shopping malls established in 2003 Buildings and structures in Guelph Tourist attractions in Guelph