The Albion Centre

[J-M-Z]

The verbiage from the above advertisement does seem like bit of an exaggeration (or even a fluff piece); but that's marketing for you.

As "renowned" as Albion is, I've only noticed a considerable amount of expansion to the surrounding area in the last decade or so.

I can still remember walking through the large field of grass next to Price Choppers' (now a Sunny's Food Mart) parking lot. Which has since been converted into a strip mall complete with Tim Hortons, Subway and even a laundry mat among other shops. The additional patch that used to sit between Finch and Kipling has also been converted into a smaller collection of shops and the recent home to the 23 Division Police department.

Here's another vintage find. A trade token for use exclusively in Albion Mall back in 1980.

Perhaps this is where Dr. Flea's Flea Market got the idea for their patented "Flea Dollars".

Credit/source to Zwiggy's Trade Tokens: https://zwiggystradetokens.com/cana...on-stores-toronto-ontario-private-trade-token

 

[J-M-Z]

The surrounding area around the "renowned Odeon Manner" (Albion Mall) was more publicized than I had originally thought.

Here's an ad promoting "albion grove Village". Ontario's first all-electric subdivision which opened in 1963.

Located just down the street from Albion Mall, 12,000 people gathered over the course of a February weekend to see an open house on 136 Stevenson road.

Houses built in the Albion Grove Village contained a medallion above the doorbell certifying that they were "all-electric".

With families moving into the Albion Grove Village, it made sense that Albion Mall opened the Odeon Cinema a year later in 1964.

All credit to The Etobicoke Historical Society for their excellent article, historical significance and pictures. For those that would like to read more, I highly recommend checking out the original article here:

Albion Grove Village

On a cold weekend in February, 1963, 12,000 people lined up for a look at six model homes being advertised in a new subdivision in Northern Etobicoke called Albion Grove Village... the first “all...

www.etobicokehistorical.com

 

[interchange42]

Why do you keep going on about the "renowned Odeon manner" being the mall? Again, what they are claiming is renowned is the manner in which Odeon theatres were operated. It has nothing to do with area, which frankly, is not particularly renowned.

42

 

[J-M-Z]

Why do you keep going on about the "renowned Odeon manner" being the mall? Again, what they are claiming is renowned is the manner in which Odeon theatres were operated. It has nothing to do with area, which frankly, is not particularly renowned.

42

Simply because I find the language used in the advertisement both outmoded and comical. I thought that was obviously apparent.

Now, to the rest of the group: anymore vintage photos?

 

[J-M-Z]

Stumbled across the vintage photos about a month ago. Splendid finds with a nice shot or two from inside the mall.

Going back to Shoppers World Albion: before K Mart was converted into a Canadian Tire, was the location once a Simpsons/Sears as well?
An old friend of the family also said before No Frills and Fortinos, Albion used to have either a Loblaws or Dominion in the 1980's (anyone care to verify?).

Here's more vintage ads which mentions Albion Cinemas/Odeon from 1974 and 1975:

A rare exterior view of Shoppers World Albion from 1980 (when driving along Albion rd.):

Besides the Odeon Cinemas logo, Brewers Retail (more commonly known today as The Beer Store) can be spotted on the left.

Credit: cinematreasures.org

A modern comparison shot from google street view. Of course, The Beer store still remains on-site within Albion's parking lot.

Modernizing or not, I'd also like to go on record saying I much prefer the coloured balconies (as seen along Stevenson road in the background) than today's clear design.

 

[J-M-Z]

The Toronto Public Library's Digital Archive is a treasure trove for vintage photos, facts and information.

Today's find includes a look inside Shopper's Drug Mart at Albion Mall back in 1979:

"Two Floras. MP Flora Macdonald meets a namesake while campaigning in the Albion Mall for Tory candidate John Hanna of Etobicoke
North. The less famous Flora is an employee of Shoppers Drug Mart. The pair exchanged autographs".

Next to the Beer Store and Albion Cinemas, Shoppers could very well be the oldest store still standing in the mall.

Going back even further, I found a photo going over the construction of the nearby Robert J. Smith (also known as
Albion Lodge) apartments; which were completed in 1966:

"The model of a 520-suite; $3;500;000 housing project for persons over 60 years of age is studied by Ontario Economics
Minister Stanley Randall (left) and Metro Chairman William Allen. It will be built in conjunction with Thistletown low-rent
project on west side of Kipling Ave. just south of Albion Rd."

 

[SunriseChampion]

^So, all these commie block things that even I have the "privilege" of living in really did have a sort of mid-century modernist utopian promise before execution.

Good to know.

 

[J-M-Z]

Funny enough, residents living in the Albion area at the time could very well have considered living in your complex as a privilege.
For, just up the road at 60 and 70 Esther Lorrie drive, Etobicoke's first 7 floor apartment buildings were just constructed in 1960.

Living in a building with nearly double the floors was pretty much non-existent until the early 1970's when high-rises around Albion
Mall (Stevenson, Martin Grove, etc) were built.

 

[Northern Light]

Stumbled across the vintage photos about a month ago. Splendid finds with a nice shot or two from inside the mall.

Going back to Shoppers World Albion: before K Mart was converted into a Canadian Tire, was the location once a Simpsons/Sears as well?
An old friend of the family also said before No Frills and Fortinos, Albion used to have either a Loblaws or Dominion in the 1980's (anyone care to verify?).

Here's more vintage ads which mentions Albion Cinemas/Odeon from 1974 and 1975:

View attachment 241170

View attachment 241171

A rare exterior view of Shoppers World Albion from 1980 (when driving along Albion rd.):

View attachment 241172

Besides the Odeon Cinemas logo, Brewers Retail (more commonly known today as The Beer Store) can be spotted on the left.

Credit: cinematreasures.org

View attachment 241177

A modern comparison shot from google street view. Of course, The Beer store still remains on-site within Albion's parking lot.

Modernizing or not, I'd also like to go on record saying I much prefer the coloured balconies (as seen along Stevenson road in the background) than today's clear design.

TY for all your archive digging, makes for interesting reading and consideration.

For the life of me.......looking at the little Odeon sign, my first amused thought is that 1980 is 2 years after the merger with Cineplex, to form Cineplex Odeon. Clearly they weren't in a rush on that sign.

My second thought inspired by the sign and the mall exterior of 1980 (or the current one) is how it was ever thought that such an exterior was aesthetically permissible.

I mean 'Yuck'.

Times change........if we were to quibble about the cladding/brick, or the colour scheme that would be ignorant of the variation in tastes over decades.

Even the presence of parking, though I detest the huge surface lots out to the street could perhaps be forgiven as the relic of an era.

But the fact the plaza/mall turned its back end out, such that what people saw on approach essentially blank wall and backdoors.........

I really don't get how anyone ever thought that reasonable.

 

[J-M-Z]

But the fact the plaza/mall turned its back end out, such that what people saw on approach essentially blank wall and backdoors.........

I really don't get how anyone ever thought that reasonable.

Thank you for the kind words. It's nice to know other people enjoy digging into the past as well.

Personally, I have always thought Albion Mall's design is an echo of the Rexdale plaza which first opened in 1956.

Rexdale Plaza before its demolition in the mid 2000's. Photo credit: Dan Bartle (Flickr).

Though, the Etobicoke Historical Society states the Rexdale Plaza didn't become an enclosed mall until 1972.

While neither Albion nor Rexdale Mall had many food options in their earlier years, both malls had great snack kiosks.

By the time Albion was adding a food court, the original Rexdale plaza was on its way out and just a few years from being reverted
into an outdoor mall for the second time in its existence.

 

[J-M-Z]

Today's search includes reproductions of original advertisements promoting BMO's opening in the Albion Mall from 1967:

The bottom photograph looks like an outside shot of Albion Mall from 1967 (when viewed along Albion rd.).

The store on the left appears to read "Young Canada Fashions - Infants To Twelve" while the stores on the right are "Golf"
and "Gino & Sons Hardware".

Credit: Mary Scarmato (Twitter):

Next up is an ad from the mid 1970's promoting Bell Bottoms at select Thrifty Stores across Toronto (including Shoppers
World Albion):

Credit: themedium.ca


Another vintage Albion Cinemas ad found on cinematreasures.org:

For those that want to read up on Albion Mall's inner workings, here's the paperwork used to determine whether additional
stores would be added next to the former K-Mart circa 1997:

BCC Ruling No. 97-14-556

www.mah.gov.on.ca

 

[J-M-Z]

Here's a rare find taken just up the street from Albion Mall in 1977. The intersection of Albion (going West to East) and Martin Grove Rd.

Esso would be replaced by a Canadian Tire gas station in the decades to follow. The service office to the right would also be demolished
in favour of a more compact design next to the pumps.

Across the street along Albion also appears to be another gas station and mechanic shop/Car Wash that was located at 1625 Albion Road.
Anyone remember the name of this shop?

My guess would be Supertest Gas Station, but the style of the standing pylon sign to the right of the above picture seems out of place.

A close up to one of the banners looks like "S.T." or "S.F." in white letters with a stop sign.

Where this unnamed station once was located now sits a commercial complex with various stores and services all bundled together.

More vintage clippings from back when Albion Cinemas played Hollywood movies:

Credit: cinematreasures.org for these wonderful clippings.

 

[SunriseChampion]

Funny enough, residents living in the Albion area at the time could very well have considered living in your complex as a privilege.

To be clear, I don't live there, or anywhere near there....though I did spend a stint in the are back in 2005-2006.

I live in a formerly "utopian" commie block in Parkdale. The utopianest one, with straight lake (and highway!) access.

 

[J-M-Z]

Still no luck identifying the mechanic shop at 1625 Albion road from the above photo. Though, Toronto's digital archive appears
to have a coloured photo of Albion Mall's exterior from the late 1960's.

At first glance, I shrugged the photo off as the wrong location (the Rexall to the right made me think of the strip mall at 1701
Martin Grove road along John Garland Blvd). That was, until I noticed "Gino & Sons Hardware" to the left.

Gino & Sons Hardware was previously spotted in an advertisement posted in this thread promoting a BMO which was
opened in 1967. I'm currently going back through Toronto's Archive to hopefully find more photos from this set.

 

[FW36]

I recently went to the Albion mall. While there are still some stores closed the mall still has some some decent traffic going through it. I wonder how the mall will cope in the long run though