https://jacobfilipp.com/place/ Skip to the content * Homepage * Work History * Contact Me * PDF Resume * Writing Search for: [ ] [Search] Jacob Filipp A place I've never been to. A place I'll never go. April 12, 2024 / admin / 0 Comments "Market Village" at 4390 Steeles Ave. East. It's a mall just North of Toronto. I've always wanted to visit Market Village, but I never will. And neither will you. [google-maps-3] I mean, don't get me wrong. If you go online the mall looks quite lively. Google Maps shows it where it's always been. There on the right, next to "Pacific Mall". You can even see the internal layout if you look closely. Elsewhere, map markers show you the stores in the mall. With reviews and pictures and everything: [foursquare-1024x535] But if you and I get in the car and drive there - no, don't put your feet there. I borrowed the car from my Mother and I don't wanna mess it up! Listen, if you and I get in the car then this is what we'll see when we get there: [current-1024x448] Because the mall's been gone for 5 years. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally, this was a large and interesting-looking mall. It began life as an open air mall resembling a village and got roofed-over later. The pictures below show some of those unique "village" elements. [2018-03-02-front] [Off-Track-Betting] [2017-10-09] [seoul-garden-panoramio-104505001] [jan-li-cleaners] I really regret not going in. The truth is... I was with another mall. We're talking about Pacific Mall next door. It is the largest Asian shopping mall in the Western World. I could do a whole other post about P-Mall but let's just say that it's quite unusual. Futuristic on the bottom, ancient on top, all fresh fun. Back to Market Village: for years after it was razed, Google Maps showed pictures and reviews of the stores. Yelp had restaurant reviews. You'd forgive a tourist for putting the mall on their itinerary - there was no clue that it's a gravel field. It was eerie. The mall had become unmoored in time. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The mall is gone but it left all sorts of electronic ephemera. Delightful debris that we can archive and save forever. There is just enough of this digital detritus for us to go on an expedition to a place that doesn't exist. Come along with me to the mall! Stepping into the mall We don't have a VR sensory suit for us to go full-Synner but we have the next best thing: 360 degree photospheres. Click on a blue dot to teleport into that part of the mall's interior: Look at how the light lands on this spot. It's 10am on a Wednesday in February. Everyone is at work and the mall is not wholly awake yet. Can you find where this serene place is? [thelight] Snapshots from inside [panoramio-102470937] [panoramio-102470952] [panoramio-102470981] [panoramio-102470985] [panoramio-102470977] Bold colours, simple design, items spilling from stores into the common areas. These aren't sleek graphic designers with their next Instagrammable venture. These are regular people, running meat-and-potatoes businesses that pay the rent. [panoramio-102470877] [panoramio-102470910] [lucky-aquarium] [ones-better-living] [IMG_20160714_170449] [2673894504_8192d62a02_b] hhschueller [jeansfirst] "I tried to take couple off the rack to compare and as soon as I did that, she yelled 'Do NOT take them off the rack!' I felt offended, but I kept calm. I saw some bow ties so I grabbed one over to the suit and she stopped me on the spot by yelling 'Do NOT touch them! We will match the colors for you when you order!!'" Oct. 23, 2016 (source) --------------------------------------------------------------------- [4753598000_6aeeaccfdb_k-1024x683]^Parro Photography [Korean-Red-Ginseng] [2017-04-09-accurate-time] [IMG_20170223_104422] [39229468354_cc7a7eeb40_k-1024x576]Peter Jung Photography [15149497386_4a9991410e_c]scarboroughcruiser [32069192582_d73d65c825_b]Peter Jung Photography [IMG_20170803_151124] [2673894328_ce95c0eb3a_b]hhschueller [gui-hua-tang-desserts] [2270405216_c8a96c1277_o]Frank Hilzerman [tasty-house] "Make sure they don't add too much syrup into your bubble tea" Sept. 11, 2011 (source) [2269614067_f2b322db3d_o]Frank Hilzerman [march-29-2013] [2018-08-12-yans-soy-foods] [ga-ga-luck-frozen-dim-sum-and-food] "If you're feeling cheap and don't have much time, frozen chinese dumplings have got to be one of the best meal deals in the world..." Nov. 1, 2010 (source) [32108912] [2017-01-15-1024x768] [2017-03-03-smart-maple] "lack of customer service and politeness. the chinese lady wearing glasses was quite rude as i was trying to take a picture of the beautiful hello kitty display to show my friends. she said, 'hey! no pictures!!!' in a rude tone and manner. she obviously has not learned to be polite to customers. there was no sign indicating no pictures were allowed, so i thought it was alright. but i did not think it was necessary for her to practically yell at me and have no professionalism whatsoever. i hadn't even stepped foot into the store yet, and her rudeness and lack of greeting already repelled me from the establishment. didn't even bother going in after that. took my business elsewhere. highly do not recommend. i've dealt with better staff in other stores in toronto that sell the same type of products" Aug 16, 2013 (source) [IMG_20171013_123358] [2017-01-20-collections-e1712030242405] [2017-01-20-neo-home-1-843x1024] "This store isn't large to an extent, but is packed with many household goods. Unfortunately, it's so packed that the aisles are narrow, and if you're not careful you may be tripping over goods (and maybe even break them)." [Sept. 16, 2015 (source)] [2017-04-21] [2017-03-31-yungkee] [city-hollywood-cafe-2010]Click to enter [2017-03-31] [2017-01-20] [2017-01-07-secondfloordentist] [2016-06-13-gui-hua] [2016-06-13-dxboutique] [2016-06-13] [IMG_20171103_121942] End of the mall As early as 2011, the Remington Group was planning to demolish Village Market and replace it with the Remington Centre: a development that included a 700-retailer mall, an indoor night market (open 'til 3am) and 2 condo residence towers. The developers put a model of the planned Centre in the mall one day, so visitors could get a taste of the future: [4229113295_6aa3c7c0de_k-e1712112385511-1024x435]^Peter Jung Photography As the years went by, the developers pre-sold enough condominium units to start construction. First, the mall was shuttered in March of 2018. [40603445082_56a5c2bc2e_k-1024x683]^wyliepoon Then it was fenced around. [shuttered-sept-2018-1024x431] Finally, it got demolished at the end of December 2018. [demolition-1024x683]^source The good thing is that, after 5 years of construction, a beautiful new mall stan... just kidding! This is Canada. The place where construction has to stop because you're not allowed to uproot a tree on your own property. Or a vindictive neighbour holds up your project in Committee of Adjustments, until you build them a new deck as a bribe. Or construction is blocked by a surprise Heritage Listing on your building. I could keep going! So, 5 years later the site is still a mud meadow. The future of the project is murky, with plenty of speculation going on at Toronto's urbanite forums. A cryptic 2022 letter to pre-purchasers doesn't do much to clarify the future: [remington1] [remington2] It appears that the "mall" portion of the development was cancelled, in favour of more residential condominiums. Those who invested in retail space could get their money back - with zero interest for those 11 years that Remington Group held their cash. The latest news on Remington Centre is in Chinese, at iask.ca and yorkbbs.ca. Rebirth We'll end on an encouraging note: it looks like most of the vendors from Market Village moved a block North to a smaller mall called Denison Centre. The place is sleek and the shops look familiar: [Dennison-Mall-1024x682] So I'll get to "visit Market Village" after all! Out of all the vendors we've seen, one stands out to me: "Yan's Soy Foods". A humble stand where they focus only on Soy products. They appear to be thriving at their new home and have 4.8 stars reviews. Sign me up for the pudding: [soy-pudding-1] P.S. Do you have memories or stories of Market Village? Please add them to the comments below! Want to digitally preserve a place like I did in this post? Read "How to preserve a place that's disappeared". Categories: Writing Post navigation Microsoft ICE (Image Composite Editor) How to preserve a place that's disappeared Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Comment * [ ] Name * [ ] Email * [ ] Website [ ] [Post Comment] Freshest posts: * The Permadance * Jacob Eats: Pretzel Sand * Simply invent your own language * How to preserve a place that's disappeared * A place I've never been to. A place I'll never go. Copyright (c) 2024 Jacob Filipp Theme by Anders Noren -- Up |