St.Albert Malls Then and Now

THOUGH ‘DEPARTMENT STORES’ had been around in North America for a hundred years, beginning in the 1950s indoor ‘shopping malls’—where separate businesses set up shop under one roof—began sweeping the nation. These were public places that were warm in the winter and cool in the summer; places where you could meet friends, shop for hours, or just hang out. In short, they were a modern urban oasis. But shopping habits have changed, and the concept of the mall doesn’t have as wide of an appeal as it

DID YOU KNOW? St. Albert Centre almost never came to be. The developer went out of business halfway through construction, and for a while it seemed like the project would simply fail. But the Hudson’s Bay Company, not wanting to lose their investment, worked with the city to complete the project.