It’s the middle of the 20th century and we find ourselves near a crossroads at the far easterly end of McKim township where a dirt oval track is hosting a pair of horses ambling their way round and round.
On this sunny Saturday afternoon, little do the participants and spectators know that this small tract of land will one day become the centrepiece of an area newly christened as New Sudbury. It will be a place where residents not only will gather for commercial pursuits, but it will also become a communal space that will be remembered for hosting a myriad of different events for all ages.
But, before we tell that story, let’s go back and trace a bit of the history of the southwest corner of Barrydowne Road and Lasalle Boulevard.
In 1926, Clarence and Eliza Spencer, after selling their property along Vermilion Lake Road to the mining company Treadwell Yukon, moved into Sudbury and purchased a 420-acre plot of land that stretched from Garson Road (now Lasalle Boulevard) southward to the future Kingsway. Though much wider at the southern end, the farm property at Garson Road extended westward only to present-day Belfry Avenue.
There already existed a farm house on the property, built in 1906 by a previous owner, which the Spencers moved into as they established a dairy farm in order to sell milk to local Sudbury stores. Eventually, the farm property grew to include a large dairy barn, a piggery, a milk house, a hay barn, a chicken coop and a garage.
Unfortunately, after just over a decade and a half, the dairy farm went bankrupt and was purchased as an investment by the Frawley family. Around 1942, Percy and Agnes Flake and their children moved from Verchères Street in the Flour Mill to manage the property, which was now known as the Sudbury Riding Club.
Ole Langen (Agnes’s father) also moved to the farm along with his wife and helped to manage the affairs of the Riding Club. Ole began boarding and pasturing horses. Some of his clients included veterinarian Dr. Young, Duncan McLeod, whose family owned and operated McLeod Motors, as well as Ray McEwan and William Downe.
In 1946, four years after purchasing the property, the consortium that owned the Riding Club property decided to dispose of it and offered to sell it to Percy and Ole. The family turned down the offer, opting to move back into the main part of the city. Instead, William Downe, who boarded horses at the club, purchased the property and converted the farmhouse to a clubhouse offering food and beverages. There was also a racetrack on the property where races were held on Saturday afternoons.
As an aside before we continue, if the name William Downe looks partially familiar, it's because he gave part of his name to one of the main arteries of New Sudbury, Barry DOWNE Road (the other half comes from another local William … William BARRY).
As the post-war years trundled on, the rapidly increasing population in New Sudbury presented an issue for the city fathers. There were insufficient services to meet the needs of the local residents. People were required to travel into the city for everything from groceries, banking, professional services of doctors, lawyers, dentists, as well as other assorted retail needs.
To meet these needs, in November 1955, William Downe sold the most northerly portion (28 acres) of his property to Principal Investments Ltd. In May 1956, a $1,200,000 building permit was issued for the construction of a shiny new strip-mall shopping plaza southwest of this crossroads in the centre of New Sudbury. The future name of this shopping centre was announced to be (and you’ll never believe this….): the Nickel Range Shopping Centre.
In November 1957, an elongated L-shaped mall (now, thankfully, renamed the New Sudbury Shopping Centre) opened with 30 stores and parking spaces for 2,000 cars. In the centre was a Woolworth's department store, which was (at the time) their largest shopping centre branch in Canada. There was also a Loblaws grocery store, A.L. Green, McKinnon's Men's Wear and even a 16-lane bowling alley along with many other stores.
This shopping centre initiated a tilting of the centre of gravity of Sudbury away from the downtown and into its north end. Because of the success and draw of the shopping centre, other retail and commercial businesses began to populate the nearby landscape including: Canadian Tire, Roma Restaurant, Texaco service station, Red Barn Restaurant and a Shell station.
As part of an effort to improve the local landscape and attract consumers (especially families), in 1961, the centre’s ownership, in co-operation with the merchants, started work on making a small park out of waste land adjacent to the centre. The area was landscaped and 1,000 evergreens were expected to be planted.
Future plans included the addition of shade trees and, later, there will be tables and chairs for those who wish to rest or take a picnic.
According to the president of the New Sudbury Shopping Centre Merchants Association, Jack Milne, work on the area, to be named Lasalle Park, would require three years for completion. Milne added that some thought was even being given to changing the name of the shopping centre from New Sudbury to Lasalle shopping centre (Unlike the naming situation, I cannot find record of this project being completed. Perhaps a reader knows?).
Unfortunately, a short 12 years after opening, disaster struck. On Monday, April 28 1969, the largest fire in Sudbury’s history up to that date destroyed a part of the New Sudbury Centre. At 4:45 p.m., while everything appeared normal in the stores, a huge blaze began in the back room of one of the stores. Within minutes, the fire had spread to numerous stores.
The blaze completely obliterated Yolles Men's Wear, Woolco Warehouse, A.L. Green, Kerns Jewellery, Lougheed Flowers, Bata Shoe Store and Enchin Bros. Clothing, while the remaining stores suffered from smoke and water damage. The total calculated loss was estimated at approximately $1,775,215.
Although the cause of the fire was not known at the time, the source of the fire had been pinpointed to the Woolco back room warehouse situated behind the Yolles store. Every volunteer firefighter in the city along with eight pumper trucks and two ladder trucks were required on scene. Close to 600,000 gallons of water flowed onto the fire in just the first two hours alone. The fire was finally under control by 8 p.m.
A month later, it was being reported that no decision had yet been made on when (if ever) the damaged section of the shopping centre would be rebuilt. A representative of Montreal Trust, representing the mall ownership, said he had not heard from the centre owners on plans for rebuilding. “There are rumours they would like to get the shell back up before the cold weather sets in, but as far as I know no definite plans have been made,” he said.
In response, and in order to quell concerns from the city that this major tax base and attraction would disappear, another representative of the shopping centre explained that the stores would definitely be going up again. “Whether they'll be the same as before or bigger, or when they'll be re-built hasn't been decided yet," the spokesman said. There were 12 insurance companies still settling claims as a result of the fire and part of the delay in making decisions was being caused by uncertainty as to the amount of insurance payments which will be received.
By December 1969, the driving of construction piles had begun with erection of the first store following shortly thereafter. “We hope to have the (new) AL Green store ready for occupancy by March 1," said Gordon Martin, advertising and promotion manager for the shopping centre. In the end, all of the burned-out stores eagerly returned to the Shopping Centre site, with the exception of Yolles, which moved to a new store on Barrydowne Road.
In 1973, beginning what would seem to become a recurring (though unofficial) theme every 10 years going forward, the New Sudbury Centre looked to freshen up its image with a major renovation. At a ground-breaking ceremony in June, spokesmen for the Campeau Corporation, the new owners of the centre by that time, said that additional land had been acquired and the site would be increased from 28 to 41 acres. This would permit the store facilities to grow from 311,000 square feet to 500,000 square feet. While the parking area would be increased to handle 2,800 vehicles.
Drawing on the success of an initial experiment known as Rue La Ronde, which opened in early November 1971, it was also announced that the New Sudbury Shopping Centre would undergo a complete enclosure and expansion. Included in this renovation would be the addition of a two story Simpsons-Sears department store and approximately 20 new retail shops. J.C. Barrow, Chairman of the Board at Simpsons-Sears, stated that "the company had been looking for a suitable site for a department store for a long time and are most pleased to participate in the existing expansion of the New Sudbury Shopping Centre, and to continue association with Campeau Corporation." The construction program was planned to be completed in May 1974, and would provide shoppers with a modern, climate-controlled interior shopping mall.
Adjacent to the new Simpsons-Sears location was a large specially created centre court space illuminated with the help of large skylights to bring an outdoor atmosphere to an interior mall. It was expected by management that this court would provide space for the display of community projects and activities as well as for special sales and displays which could be brought to the Shopping Centre. Of course, Santa Claus would also make his yearly visit for fun, frolic and photographs in this same space.
Former Sudburian Robert Campeau, chairman of the Board of Campeau Corporation, said at the time, "the Sudbury area has displayed a sustained growth pattern over the years and we believe this will continue as industry expands in the area. Our belief in the strength of Sudbury's economy is displayed in the fact that we are investing more than $5,500,000 in this project." When completed in the late spring of 1974, the Centre would boast a total of 75 shops and services, a two-fold increase from its opening 17 years before, at a total cost of $25,000,000 (for land and infrastructure).
As a way to attract folks to the new plaza, a grand opening contest was held. A three-bedroom “Campeau chalet” (value: $7,000) would be awarded to the lucky winner who collected a coupon book available on opening day, signed and returned it to the chalet displayed in the mall across from Green’s and Sears department stores.
After the ribbon was cut on this remodelled shopping mecca of Sudbury, mall management stated their belief that the indoor shopping mall was the future of retail consumerism. Phil Richardson, manager of the plaza, said that, in his view, the open mall concept was obsolete since an enclosed mall provides climate-controlled shopping. “It is more convenient and more comfortable,” he added.
Ten years later (right on schedule), in 1984, the Campeau Corporation decided that it was again time to freshen up the crown jewel of the New Sudbury landscape. With a new look transformation pegged at $6 million the mall took on a new look, eschewing the older dark look and bringing in a brighter 1980s aesthetic. "As fashion changes so does the shopping centre industry,” contended David Coon, Campeau Corporation's Director of Retail Operations as he highlighted the renovations to the public.
“The dull-looking shopping centre has certainly been enhanced by our skylights," added Coon. As well, trees were imported from Florida (yes, all of that foliage we remember spread out across the mall was not local) to be incorporated into the mall’s decor. Forest green mesh benches were also installed throughout to give shoppers a somewhat comfortable place to rest.
Even the shopping centre’s logo and colour scheme was given a refresh for this new decade. The brown and orange stylized ‘S’ and its accompanying shades darkening the surfaces of the mall were retired. They were replaced by a logo made up of a trio of pine trees along with forest green and white interior colours. (Fun fact: the movie Back to the Future, released the following year, features the “Twin Pines Mall”)
When the renovations were complete, the New Sudbury Centre now offered more than 110 stores, services and food outlets (a near four-fold increase from its beginnings in 1957). “The investment has made the community better by providing jobs and creating potential tourism,” Mayor Peter Wong said at the time.
Now, those food outlets were a part of the biggest change to the mall since its opening enclosure (and a major future source of loitering). According to mall officials: “The Tastebuds foodcourt which will have seating for over 300 people, will allow shoppers to dine in a climate controlled, garden court atmosphere, featuring natural light, surrounded by tropical trees. Office space has been designed to overlook the food court. Here, professionals such as doctors and lawyers will be able to open practice.”
Ever since Loblaws had exited from the mall, there had been no supermarket attached to the plaza. But, the corporation actively negotiated to situate one in the former location of Rue La Ronde, as all of those businesses had moved within the mall. Unfortunately, this was one part of that round of mall renovations which never came to pass.
As for that centre court space created in 1974, by the mid-’80s, management was really pushing the community building aspect of the use of the space. The open mall area was made available to commercial interests on a flat fee basis, and for free to community and non-profit organizations.
"We have a serious commitment to the community," George Schott, senior director of retail operations for Campeau Corporation stated, "and the common area of the mall is available free to community groups for display and special events on a first come, first take basis. We have a booking arrangement for charitable and non-profit groups."
And boy did the community (and business interests) take the shopping centre up on their offer. Over the years, centre court played host to a variety of events including: the North American Car Show, the Sudbury Home Show, Police Week Displays (which included police officers “going to jail” for charity, petting zoos (which brought farm animals back to the property for the first time since it was a farm) and the annual fishing pond (which gave the area a fishy smell for at least a few days after it ended).
Unfortunately, by 1991, changes (at least in the background) were in the offing for the mall. Campeau Corporation, languishing under a crushing debt, was taken out of the hands of its founder Robert Campeau. His retail empire, which included the centre, was then sold off.
In 1994, after three decades, the end of the line for the ubiquitous $1.44 sale came as Woolco (which opened in September 1962 and was a mainstay at the north end of the shopping complex) sold its lease to Walmart, which opened shop in November. As for the rest of the mall, the new management decided to undertake $1 million in upgrades to the centre (there’s that ten year span again).
By the turn of the millennium, shoppers continued to flock to the mall, as declared at the time in promotional material, “the New Sudbury Centre remains one of the biggest draws for shoppers from across northeastern Ontario.”
Well, dear readers, like the photo developing machine at Black’s cranking out people’s photographical memories, it’s time for you to crank out your memories (from your photographic minds) of visiting the New Sudbury Centre. What were your favourite stores and displays? Did you catch a fish at Centre Court? Or, throw a penny in the fountain at Rue La Ronde?
Share your memories and/or photos by emailing them to Jason Marcon at [email protected] or the editor at [email protected].