Eau Claire Mall closing for good (fit in, apartment, chapel)
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I stepped in there when I visited Calgary in 2019 and the moment I set foot in it, the place did not look pleasant or attractive at all. Paint peeling from handrails, many closed and vacant storefronts, the remainder occupied by strange shops and businesses, and so forth. The outside looked not much better. The edifice had no skylights or windows as far as I recall though I may be wrong but from the outside Eau Claire looked like an industrial box. It really did not fit in the surroundings.
The first time I was in Eau Claire was probably 2001 or so. It was quite the nice place: shops, restaurants, a movie theatre. Among the shops were a very upscale liquor store carrying items that other stores didn't have, and Riley and McCormick's, a western wear store. Nothing wrong with the neighbourhood either; a Sheraton Suites across the street, other restaurants, a park along the river, and a squirt park for kids. Eau Claire mall fit, in other words.
As the years went by, it got sadder and sadder. Shops and restaurants closed, the liquor store closed, and Riley and McCormick's closed. The last time I was in there, the movie theatre had closed, and only about half the storefronts were occupied. I would not be surprised at all if, over subsequent years, it continued on its downhill course, and it may be time for a more useful thing in that location.
Eau Claire went the way of many indoor urban malls and center throughout North America. It happened with our own Lafayette Place in Boston, Main Place Mall in Buffalo, NY, Chapel Square Mall in New Haven, CT, the Avenue at Tower City Center in Cleveland, OH, and it is happening to Brunswick Square in Saint John, NB. An indoor shopping center in or near a downtown but hidden away from pedestrians is ripe for failure. Not all indoor shopping centers suffer the same fate but the characteristics of Eau Claire definitely had pointers. For starters, it is too close to Downtown Calgary which already has another indoor shopping center on top of an outdoor pedestrian mall. There's too high of a concentration of shopping in a small area and not enough population to provide the foot traffic. Secondly, as an indoor space, the shops are hidden from streetview and isolated by a large parking lot on one side and a large empty brick plaza on the other. As I mentioned before, the exterior facade was really unattractive, even repugnant, the color scheme, especially that ugly grey color, do not even match. A non-local passerby like me would have thought it was a big box retailer, an overly fancy warehouse or wholesale facility, a discount bargain bazaar with stalls, not shops, inside, or some IKEA like mega furniture outlet, not a fancy upscale shopping center. That's the problem. When I said Eau Claire did not fit its surroundings, I meant that even though it started out as an upscale shopping center, it did not look its part. It fools people. I walked the surrounding neighborhood, the surrounding area was very pleasant and attractive with a nice park, a fancy Hilton hotel, beautiful new apartment highrises, and the nearby picturesque Bow River. An ugly semi-industrial looking building with a large outdoor parking lot does not fit, perhaps when it first opened years ago when that part of Calgary was a lot more industrial, it did but not now.
Well, from what I understand about Calgary's history, the Eau Claire area was indeed an industrial area, but that was about 60 years ago. Maybe the "industrial" look of the Market was an homage to that? But I agree; it did look like an Ikea or a Best Buy or another big box retailer.
Part of the problem, I think, is that there was no way to tell what was inside. Yes, there were shops, but what shops were they? Nothing outside indicated that there was a Riley and McCormick's, for example, or a liquor store, or a coffee shop, or anything inside. The outward-facing businesses tended to be restaurants, so unless you were hungry, there was no reason to go near the place. Unless you knew the inside--but how would you know if you never had an indication of what was in there?
The other problem was that, except for the specialty liquor store, it didn't offer anything you couldn't find elsewhere. Heck, there's a Riley and McCormick's not far away, on Stephen Avenue (technically, 8th Avenue). That interconnected pedestrian mall--the Plus 15 system, as it is known, due to all the bridges being 15 feet above street level--you mentioned, is extensive, and has many different kinds of retail, offering everything Eau Claire had, and more. And it's a great way to navigate downtown Calgary in the winter months, even if you aren't there to shop.
I liked Eau Claire Market--back in 2001. But like I said, it just got sadder and sadder as the years went by. There are better uses for that land, and it sounds like the city of Calgary is finding one.
What I'd really like to know about that area, is this: why is there a helipad in the park along the Bow River, roughly halfway between Eau Claire and 10th Street?
That’s disappointing. I used to love going to Eau Claire Mall when I lived in Calgary. I’ve not checked recently, but I hope Chinook and Market Mall are still doing alright.
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