On this day in 1959, Edmonton's first shopping mall was advertising its "pre-Easter" sales.
The ad promotes suits, egg creme shampoo, side bacon, and a preview of that spring's "modern lamps," in an ad bearing an illustration of one of the mall's totem poles. To celebrate the mall's opening in 1955, anchor tenant Woodward's had commissioned five totem poles from Kwakwaka'wakw artist Ellen Neel, which were installed outside the store.
When it was first built, Westmount was designed as an outdoor "shopping park," with 40 stores accessible from the exterior, and about 13,000 parking spots. In 1956, the Sahara Theatre opened at the mall, with one screen and just over 800 seats. It quickly became a popular date spot for Edmonton couples; the theatre included a desert-themed restaurant, making it the only place in the city where you could grab dinner and a movie in the same building.
The mall's success led to several expansions over the years. An extensive renovation in the 1960s involved enclosing the centre to create an indoor mall. More rounds of expansion ensued in the '80s and '90s. The theatre grew as well, eventually being named the Westmount Theatre and expanding to four screens.
The '80s are also when Woodward's decided to let go of the five totem poles that had stood at the mall for 30 years. One was donated to the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia; it was later installed in Stanley Park. Another may have ended up in pieces in St. Albert. The fate of the other three is unclear.
Another expansion in the 2000s added a food court and an ice rink. But the mall's fortunes would soon decline. Some tenants moved to free-standing buildings in the parking lot, which still brought in revenue but reduced mall foot traffic. The theatre closed in 2011. Many large tenants, such as Home Depot and Walmart, had exterior entrances that eliminated the need to enter the mall. Soon, the building was full of empty storefronts and abandoned hallways, with many sections simply closed off.
Now, it looks like Westmount Shopping Centre will be returning to its roots as an open-air mall. Earlier this week, plans were unveiled to redevelop the site, removing many of the interior spaces and providing outside entrances to the stores, connected by pedestrian spaces. Construction is set to take place over the next 18 to 24 months.
This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist Rev Recluse of Vintage Edmonton.