2011-01-31

MTM: West Edmonton Mall - Part I

Yes, part one! You may have heard of the mall we have here in Edmonton, some of you may have even seen it, or parts of it. It is the largest mall in North America. When it was completed in 1999 (phase IV), it was the largest in the world. It held that title until 2004 and is now the 5th largest world-wide.

From Wikipedia: West Edmonton Mall covers a gross area of about 570,000 m2 (well over 6 million sq ft).[1] There are over 800 stores and services[4] and parking for more than 20,000 vehicles. More than 23,000 people are employed at the property. The mall receives 28.2 million visitors per year; it also attracts between 60,000 and 150,000 shoppers daily, depending on the day and season. The mall was valued at C$926 million in January 2007.[5]

If the mall had an apartment/condo complex attached, you would never have to breath fresh air! (Apparently they do have the permission and zoning for it, but haven't started yet) There is an Hotel, if you only want to stay a few days...or are loaded!

 Click any photo to enlarge

They have about three food courts, many full restaurants, banks, any kind of shop you could possibly want, a shooting range and a casino. There is also a gym, a chapel, a petting zoo and a few nightclubs.

This is Professor WEM's Adventure Golf

 Europa Boulevard (upstairs from the golf)

The dragon leading up to an Imax theatre, it actually breathes fire!
(just not at 9 in the morning)

 Chinatown...just in case you can't read the sign ;)

 One of a pair of vases and you can see the edge of the supermarket sign.

More art.

Lovely fountain, bridge and gate. (sign in front of the pond asks that you don't throw food or coins in the pond as it is not good for the koi.... sadly there are no koi there anymore.)

As you can see here, the fountains are in need of some work.


 This is what they are replacing the fountains with.

And of course we have to have an oil themed statue. If it weren't for oil, we wouldn't need such a blatant show of excess.

Many things have changed since Phase I opened in 1981. There used to be birds (a beautiful white peacock, parrots and many other exotic birds - they couldn't take the noise though) and a car dealership. The area known now as Chinatown used to be the International Marketplace and had all sorts of cool little shops. But that is the way of malls, things have to change. Some things are pretty constant and I will be highlighting those in their own posts over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, to enjoy more My Town Monday posts, visit the MTM blog.

Have a good day all.

Future posts will be on: the World Waterpark & the ice rink; Galaxyland; and the Sea Life Caverns & lagoon.


12 comments:

messymimi said...

Looks like a fun place to visit, or to get lost. Of course, if i came, i would lose a kid or two there.

The bad thing with staying on site would be thinking that this mall is all there is of your beautiful town.

Hilary said...

My cousin lived in Edmonton for a number of years and is still searching for THE mall that makes her feel like home. She loved that place.

Fine, colourful photos, Reb.

solarity said...

23,000 employees? That's more than the population of my county! I love the dragon, though, even flameless.

Mary Anne in Kentucky

Reb said...

Messymimi, it is - at 9 in the morning before the stores open and the crowds get started ;) It is a great place for kids to play though.

Hilary, your cousin must like shopping! Thanks.

Mary Anne, I wondered if anyone would notice that and make a comment like yours ;) There is a photo of him flaming in the link.

Scott Oglesby said...

You take some phenomenal still-life photos Reb! My favorites were the dragon tail and the oil drillers. Even after only perusing your fine photography I feel like I have to get the hell out of there. Malls/shopping is cool for like an hour but then your brain starts to convulse and your skin begins to twitch…

Reb said...

Thank you Scott. It is especially bad in that mall, the twitching and stuff. If you know where you are going, you can park at the closest entrance and be in and out, but otherwise.... it can be hell.

Anonymous said...

A petting zoo, seriously?!? Amazing.

The dragon looks incredible. I'm not a big fan of malls (huge understatement) but your post made me want to read part 2. :)

Reb said...

Karen, that was a new one for me too! I'm not a big shopper...never have been. That could be why it has taken me three years to get to the mall to do this ;)

Dawn said...

I thought we have a few large malls here (compared to my sleepy little home village) but that is simply gigantic. A great peek into your home town, Reb.

Reb said...

Dawn, it is overwhelming! I have only just begun to show you ;)

Leah J. Utas said...

How 'bout that mall? Good piece.

Reb said...

Thanks Leah ;)