An extant asset
Although I had been living a little more than 100 miles as the crow flies from the Canadian city of Vancouver for over a decade, I had still never paid it a visit despite numerous recommendations. I even chose Edmonton as the first city in Canada in which to sojourn. Eventually, however, I would make that short trip across the border.
1- Coquitlam Centre on opening day. 2- The Bay’s mall entrance. 3- The interior entrance to Eaton’s. 4 & 5- The earlier, even darker interior of the centre. 6- An aerial shot of the sparsely developed land surrounding Coquitlam Centre in the seventies. (Source for all)
I’ve been to quite a few beautiful cities in my lifetime. But Vancouver was nothing short of stunning; it is doubtless the most beautiful city to which I’ve been. But there was more to Vancouver than just the green snowcapped mountains hugging densely packed neighborhoods while being reflected off of the blue waters of Vancouver Harbour.
Coquitlam Centre lease plan ca. 1979. View the full PDF version here.
The city also boasts quite the urban rail system with an extensive layout and ridiculously short headways. Using this transportation system alone I was able to easily visit a number of the city’s shopping venues. However, in my opinion, the most memorable would have to be Coquitlam Centre.
1 to 3- Ardene’s seventies inspired exterior, formerly home to Woodward’s and Sears Canada. 4- London Drugs from the outside, originally occupied by Eaton’s. 5 to 8- Another fantastically retro façade for Hudson’s Bay.
Located in a northeastern suburb sharing the same name, Coquitlam Centre looks more like an American style shopping mall that any of the others I’ve yet visited in Canada. Though dense residential towers are abundant in its background, the facility itself as well as its parking lot are sprawling and extensive.
The anchors and common areas of the originally built complex share façades of deep red brick and dusty tinted glass crowned entranceways so common for its era. And I was extremely stoked that during Coquitlam Centre’s nearly fifty years of existence they were never modernized away.
1- The T&T Supermarket outside face. 2- The Walmart exterior. 3 & 4- The common area façade. To the left is the original center while to the right is the expansion. 5 to 8- Entrances to Coquitlam Center’s interior.
Already enjoying this feast for the eyes, I entered through an egress on the second level abutting the anchor Ardene, which originally opened as Woodward’s. What I saw just beyond that foyer was a conventional whitewashed corridor serving as the dividing line between the original center and its later expansion. Then I arrived at the main concourse.
Coquitlam Centre lease plan ca. 2010. View the full PDF version here.
Much like the metropolitan area in which it is located, the common areas of Coquitlam Centre are nothing short of stunning. Running the length of the original north to south oriented concourse was a vaulted ceiling covered in dark wooden slats. These made me giddy enough until I noticed the skylights at the tip of the cathedral-like a-shaped frame.
1 to 3- The main northern entranceway in the expansion area. The stairs lead up to rooftop parking. 4 to 7- The side corridors of Coquitlam Center. 8- The interior entrance to T&T Supermarket.
The unique skylights of Coquitlam Centre consist of ten foot wide panels of stained glass running the full length of the north-south concourse. The perpendicular east-west running corridor, however, was nearly flat with vaulted sections only over the anchor entrances at either end.
1- Walmart’s mall entrance seems to remain closed even when the all is open. 2 to 5- The main concourse of the expansion with its much less extravagant vaulted ceilings. 6- Where the expansion meets the original 1979 Coquitlam Centre.
But the absence of uninterrupted stained glass above this corridor wasn’t a disappointment in any way. Though the skylights are deservedly the focal point of Coquitlam Centre’s décor, the handsome, murky tones of the wooden ceiling present quite a statement themselves; one that I’m gratified to know hasn’t been replaced with accoutrements like curved, chrome ceiling panels or the like.
1- Sport Chek’s location on the first tier. The store has no exterior access. 2 to 8- The main common areas of Coquitlam Centre’s original building.
The newer section of Coquitlam Centre runs just to the north of the original building. The single level passageway, while still capped by vaulted ceilings matching the originals in height, is much brighter and less unique than its older counterpart. And it leads to a Wal-Mart. While I appreciate the juxtaposition, the initial facility is what I’ll never forget.
The east-west running concourse between Ardene and Hudson’s Bay. The ceilings are more subtle and flat here, with the stained glass only located immediately in front of the anchor entrances.
Coquitlam Center opened in 1979 after a 1977 groundbreaking. Laid out in a cross pattern, the original anchors were Hudson’s Bay to the west, Eaton’s to the south and Woodward’s to the east. The main entrance, off of which the expansion was built, was to the north.
Coquitlam Centre pamphlet ca. 2022. View the full PDF version here.
The center, occupying a 300 acre site, was built to compete with the nearby Lougheed Mall in Burnaby. The largest shopping centre in its region at the time, the facility held room for the three anchors, 130 inline stores, parking for over 4,000 vehicles and, of course, seven thousand square feet of stained glass.
Coquitlam Centre’s center court.
According to the article Coquitlam Centre: 40 Years in the Community, these were joined by twenty pieces of artwork from local sculptures and over one thousand tropical plants mainly from Florida. But the stained glass windows were definitely the highlight and, according to the article-
“The windows were designed by BC Artists Ray Friend, Anna Gustafson, and Lutz Haufschild, and were fabricated by the specialists at Granville Glass. Ray Friend’s creation for Woodward’s court, an abstract design of billowing cloud-like forms, transforms the floor below into pools of pastel shapes. Anna Gustafson’s mosaic of brilliant colours accents Eaton’s court with light that pours through 6,500 separate pieces of glass, only five inches square. The Bay court is filled with light flowing through Lutz Haufschild’s beautiful flowing designs.” (Columbian Newspaper, August 14, 1979)
1 & 2- The mall entrances to Ardene on the top level and Accents @ home on the bottom. The egress originally led to Woodward’s. 3 to 5- Golf Town, Best Buy and London Drugs share what was originally Eaton’s space. 6 to 8- The interior entrance to Hudson’s Bay. This was my favorite part of Coquitlam Centre.
Not long after opening, the groundbreaking design earned developer Ira Young the 1980 Merit Award from the International Council of Shopping Centres and the 1982 Governor General’s Award for Architecture.
Coquitlam Centre pamphlet ca. 2024. View the full PDF version here.
Over the years, Woodward’s was eventually replaced by Ardene on its upper level shared with Accents @ home on the lower tier. In the same timeframe, Eaton’s became home to London Drugs on its first level with Best Buy as well as smaller shops upstairs. Hudson’s Bay, of course, hasn’t changed a bit. And I love that.
The Coquitlam Centre food court.
Joining them are names such as H&M, T&T Asian Supermarket and Sport Chek. But besides the northward expansion of 2001, Coquitlam Centre has remained much the same throughout its 45 years. And I hope that never changes for this masterpiece of retail architecture.