Central City

Surrey Place Mall-1972

Surrey Place Mall
Exterior of Surrey Place Mall. The Bay is shown, along with cars in the parking lot. Surrey Place, [197-]. Courtesy of Surrey Archives, 60.15.

Central City mall used to be known as Surrey Place mall. Surrey Place mall has been described as having a big wood-carved SP logo on the mall entrance, along with a massive parking lot with sky-high lights1.

Surrey Place mall opened in August 1972 (renamed to Central City shopping centre 30 years later)2, and included two large department stores, an automotive service centre, food supermarket and 47 speciality stores, including Simpson-Sears, Hudson’s Bay and Super Valu. The two-storey mall was designed to allow consumers to observe activity in the mall as well as provide spaciousness for shoppers to freely move3.

Surrey Central City Mall Foot Court
The food court at Surrey Place was a great place for fairs, events, and gatherings. Citation: “Food Fair”, 16 Mar. 2000. Cathy Jennings photo, Surrey 2000: Captured Time Collection. Courtesy of Surrey Archives, CT.041.03.

Fond Memories of Surrey Place Mall4

Surrey Place mall was the place to be in the 1970s. Teenagers, children, and young adults all made many memories playing, working, and hanging out in the mall.

Surrey Central Station in 2000
Near the mall today stood Whalley Exchange, which was renamed to Surrey Central Station in 1994. Skytrain Outside Sears at Surrey Place, 16 Mar. 2000. Cathy Jennings photo, Surrey 2000: Captured Time Collection. Courtesy of Surrey Archives, CT.041.01.

Did you know that the first Pizza Hut was in Surrey? A realtor named Jack Johnson brought Pizza Hut to Canada, and the first ever Pizza Hut location was at Surrey Place mall.

Inside Surrey Place Lotto Kiosk
The wells in Surrey Place allowed consumers to observe activity in the mall as well as provide spaciousness to the lower level. Inside Surrey Place Lotto Kiosk, 16 Mar. 2000. Cathy Jennings photo, Surrey 2000: Captured Time Collection. Courtesy of Surrey Archives, CT.041.02.

Some popular sites cherished by all who visited Surrey Place mall in the 70s were Zellers, Radio Shack, and the Bird Cage in the mall. Zellers was a popular store that had a restaurant when the mall opened. Radio Shack was everyone’s go-to store for electronics, since during that time there was no Amazon or Best Buy. It was especially popular during Christmas.Around the holidays, there was a Christmas display with phone booths to call the North Pole. This display was popular amongst many children, who were dropped off there while parents and guardians shopped. Lastly, there used to be a bird cage that went across both floors in the mall, top to bottom. It had a variety of parrots in it.

Places such as Sears, Sam the Record Man, Crepes and Greens, Laura Secord, Smitty’s and Guenthers were also popular and some of the frequently visited places. Sears was the go-to store for everyone to shop in, and was greatly visited by children who wanted toys and candy from their kiosks. Sam the Record Man is another popular store cherished by people, where one could buy records. Crepes and Greens was described as a semi-formal restaurant with greenery, mirrors and windows. Laura Secord was famously known for chocolates and ice cream. Children often asked their parents to stop by and did not want to leave until they got a treat. Some say that one could possibly still find Laura Secord chocolates at Winners. Smitty’s was a popular place for people to grab a coffee while taking a break from work or shopping. People who stopped by as well as worked there say that it was always busy. Guenthers was one of the most talked about places, as people did not seem to remember the spelling of the place as well as if it even was the place they were looking for! It was a German deli that had sausage rolls and ham salad in little containers.5

There was also a “breakdance” competition that took place in the mall. A popular group that performed each time was Flipside, which consisted of students and was known for their amazing choreographies.

Exterior view of Surrey Place Mall and Hudson’s Bay Company
Even when the mall was closed on Sundays, car clubs would set up a course in the parking lot where people would compete to see whose car finished the course the fastest. Exterior view of Surrey Place Mall and Hudson’s Bay Company, 17 Feb. 1975. Basil King photo, Columbian Newspaper Collection. Courtesy of Surrey Archives, 2003.0100.895.

Bing Thom: An Architect with a Vision

Michael Heeney, who was the managing director of Bing Thom architects6, wanted to build a mall for the people. It was then decided as a community gesture that Surrey Place mall would be prepared with an exhibit that would have photos of the entire area of Surrey with the intention of having the shoppers view the history through the photographic memories. The exhibit was donated to the Surrey Museum by the Surrey Place management so that future generations can also view the history of Surrey through pictures. The exhibit contains more than fifty photos of the prehistoric days in Surrey until the present time.7

Parking was open at both upper and lower levels of the mall to minimize the walking distance for shoppers. Citation: Surrey Place parking lot, [196-]. W. W. Hastings Collection. Courtesy of Surrey Archives, WH.3014.

The architects and developers had their own ideas incorporated in the expansion but tried to blend most of the original Surrey Place mall. The mall used some techniques popular in Eastern Canada. The mall was designed keeping consumers and their preferences in mind. People wanted fully climate controlled shopping, but they wanted an outdoor feel as well. Surrey Place mall had it all, as well as plants both indoors and outdoors.8

The Expansion of Surrey Place Mall

On October 29, 1980, Surrey Place mall opened after a new expansion. The mall was designed to be more airy and bright, featuring a dome built of glass and decorative wood squares, as well as a large skylight, five new kiosks and a plant galore. The general manager of Surrey Place mall stated that Surrey Place is community minded. Hence, the shopping center aims to serve Surrey’s community as it grows. With many more apartments being planned around the mall, Surrey Place, now known as Central City mall, went on to become a core part of Surrey’s community.9

Footnotes.

1 Based on memories and stories from a Facebook group called “We Grew Up in Surrey So We Remember”.

2 Jane K. Watts “Surrey: A City of Stories” , 2017.

3 Surrey Leader, January 21, 1971, para 1 and 2.

4 Based on memories and stories from people in the facebook groups “We Grew Up in Surrey so we Remember” and “I Grew Up in Surrey so I Remember”.

5 Based on memories and stories from people in the facebook groups “We Grew Up in Surrey so we Remember” and “I Grew Up in Surrey so I Remember”.

6 Surrey Leader, January 21, 1971, para 1 and 2.

7 Early Surrey, “Photographic exhibit”, November 2, 1980.

8 Newspaper Title Unknown, 1980, para 19.

9 Newspaper Title Unknown, 1980, para 19.