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Location DB > Canada > Ontario > Waterloo > Waterloo Town Square Tower
 Name
Waterloo Town Square Tower
 Viewing Options
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 Database Info
created by Just Oni on 3/15/2005 2:59 AM
last modified by MsDeKay on 4/27/2009 11:46 PM
 Viewability
Publically Viewable Publically Viewable
This location has been labeled as Demolished, and therefore can be viewed by anyone.
 Overview
 Description

 Basic Information
Type: Building
Status: Demolished
Accessibility: Easy
Recommendation: forget it
 Physical Information
Address
--- King Street South
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada
Owner: First Gulf Developments
  • See a map of this location
  •  Hazards
  • asbestos
  • Anything is possible in a site under demolition.
  •  Interesting Features
    Weird little piano on the 6th floor. Bowling Alley downstairs apparently.
    Local Webmaster/writer Gary Will calls Waterloo Town Square "an aesthetic disaster, hideous in appearance from all sides" -- and decidedly idiosyncratic.


     Security Measures
  • part-time guard
  •  Historical Dates
    Built: 1961
    Closed: 2005
     Required Equipment
     Recommended Equipment
    Camera
     History
    In 1958, the City announced an undertaking on a scale they believed had no precedent. It would buy up the land between Caroline and King, relocate the industrial occupants, and construct a modern shopping mall that could proudly be displayed as the hub of the city. The old plants were bought up and demolished, as were some residences on Caroline Street. A developer was selected in March 1960, and construction began three months later. Waterloo Square opened for business in November 1961.

    The developer called the project "one of the most courageous and ambitious ever undertaken by a Canadian or American municipality." Mayor James Bauer was equally ebullient, saying, "In one stroke, the centre will advance the city 50 years and revitalize the main street."

    In 1969, the Waterloo Chronicle (who was and is a tenant of the building) could write that "In Waterloo Square, this city has one of the most modern downtown shopping malls in the province."

    Decades later, it's hard to see it through those eyes. The mall may be a step up from old factories, but it too is an aesthetic disaster -- hideous in appearance from all sides, inside and out, and disconnected from everything around it by a moat of concrete. The parking lot -- owned by the City -- is certainly useful, but the mall's design is very unfortunate for what should have been the centrepiece of the city.

    Canada Life put the mall up for sale in December 1997, asking for $16.5 million, but there were no takers at that price.

    It seemed Waterloo Town Square would be too big and expensive to tear down and rebuild, but that all seemed to change with a planned $240 million redevelopment that was every bit as ambitious as the one which led to mall's construction. The plan was cancelled in the summer of 2001, and the mall's future is still up in the air.

    [Update] The mall has essentially been cut down to half its original size and a Willis Way has been punched through the lot with a new side of the mall now providing storefronts onto the new roadway. The original TD Bank tower that was attached to the mall has been demolished. Much of the parking lot is now occupied by a new office commercial building.

     Media Coverage

     Future Plans
    South wing of the mall is being demolished to make way for new development. Willis Way will cut through the property from Caroline over to King.
     Stories


    Add your own story
     Photo Galleries
    Click to view gallery
    Oni's accidental visit
    Tue, Mar 15th, 2005
    posted by Just Oni
    4 pictures
    Click to view gallery
    Oni & Frost's visit
    Thu, Mar 17th, 2005
    posted by Just Oni
    12 pictures
    Click to view gallery
    Going, Going......
    Fri, Apr 22nd, 2005
    posted by Chronic
    5 pictures
     


    Add your own photos

    Mark all galleries as Seen
     Web Links
    http://www.garywill.com/waterloo/wts.htm
    http://www.waterlo...ult.aspx?tabID=904
    http://www.city.wa...ult.aspx?tabid=970
    http://www.city.wa...ult.aspx?tabid=903
    http://www.coldwel...cp/may_issue2.html
     Contribute

    Edit this Location
     Moderator Rating
    The moderator rating is a neutral rating of the content quality, photography, and coolness of this location.

    Category Rating
    Photography 7 / 10
    Coolness 8 / 10
    Content Quality 7 / 10
     Validation
    This location's validation is current. It was last validated by Mike Dijital on 11/16/2014 3:27 PM.

     Latest Changes
  • on Nov 16 14 at 15:27, Mike Dijital validated this location
  • on Nov 16 14 at 14:59, Mike Dijital updated the main picture
  • on Oct 1 14 at 17:57, Mike Dijital conditionally validated this location
  • on Apr 28 09 at 2:34, Steed validated this location
  • on Apr 27 09 at 23:46, MsDeKay changed the following: Recommendation
  • on Apr 27 09 at 23:46, MsDeKay changed the following: Latitude, Longitude, Co-ordinate Accuracy, Status
  • on Oct 27 06 at 21:37, Emperor Wang validated this location
  • on Oct 27 06 at 18:46, ahsun changed the following: History
  • on Sep 30 06 at 1:06, Emperor Wang validated this location
  • on Apr 22 05 at 22:25, Chronic deleted some pictures
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