The Galleria Mall at Dufferin and Dupont is where I worked for five long years of my life. I was a grocery clerk at the Food City there, and helped Oshawa Foods convert it to a Price Chopper.
Five years is a long time to work anywhere, let alone the Galleria Mall. When I started there, Boots was the drugstore across the hall from Food City and Zellers anchored the west end. P.M. Toronto Sports Bar was where degenerate gamblers hung out and I remember an LCBO and pet store amidst smaller ma and pa outlets. I knew the Galleria Mall like I knew the back of my own hand, having wandered around killing time during many a break.
News broke earlier this week that Freed Developments has purchased the Galleria Mall, and surely changes are coming. After all, if any piece of real estate in Toronto needs an overhaul, it's the Galleria Mall. The Honeydale Mall in Etobicoke would be a close second.
The Galleria Mall was always sad. It screamed of despair, so dark and dingy. Although the Food City and Price Chopper was always busy, inside the mall there was little foot traffic. It was so lifeless in the early 90s, I can't imagine what it's like today.
Blow it up and start again. It's long overdue.
Photo by blogto.com
