Galleria Shopping Centre — Attraction in Toronto

The Galleria is eventually closing, making room for condo towers and reimagined green space and a new community centre. The one star rating reflects that last breath of a mall/shopping plaza that once served as a community hub. It was where immigrant families once shopped for groceries, outfitted their kids with affordable clothes, got their hair cut and worn-out working class shoes repaired. The weekends were always bustling, the common areas were crowded and buzzing with conversations containing more than a few dialects. A place where adolescents meet their first crushes and wives could find the husbands playing cards or having coffee with the boys. This is where you could buy a communion dress, suit for the wedding, tuxedo for prom and still have enough cash left over to be a friend lunch.

As the customers became more affluent, they moved away and the community started to diminish. The stores inventories started rotating more slowly - you could walk in a year or two later and the same dresses and suits would be in the display - perhaps a little more dusty. The old boys and card playing presisted, almost becoming a private club, but they also started to fade away in time

In the dying days the Galleria got the nickname Gonorrhea. The local joke for directions to anyone unfortunate enough to have to ride the Dufferin 29 bus was, "you grab the Suffering 29 until Dupont and The Gonorrhea is right in the corner, you can't miss, look for the McDonald's (also demolished)."

Oh, the stories that corner could tell, the lives that were lived, the loves that were found and lost. It might be a one star relic now but it will always have 4 stars in the mythology of a...

Ok so you should know that this mall is completely and unapologetically a retro throwback straight out of the 70s and I love it for that. Some of the stores have been modernized like the pharma plus and fresh co. But there are also tiny independent retailers that sell the kitsch style of an era long past being hip. This mall is not trendy, it is not in fashion, it does not try hard, some might say it doesn't try at all. But this mall is literally one of the last of its kind in Toronto. At a time when every mall seems to be concerned with making sure it looks new and shiny, when even dufferin mall is getting a makeover. The Galleria continues to stand stubbornly against the tides of change, and for that it is a treasure. For those of you giving it terrible reviews, the Galleria never promised you good views, great stores or even easy navigation. The Galleria is what it is and in a city that seems to be caught up in constant never ending renovation, gentrification and renewal, the Galleria continues to be a breath of fresh air in spite of its clearly...

Things have really gone downhill during construction. First of all it seems like the construction workers take up all the parking, so even during a quiet part of the day there is nowhere to park. Fortunately they don’t seem to ticket you in the fire lane at the entrance if you’re running in quickly (maybe make these temporary handicapped parking?).

The property also used the construction as an excuse to remove the benches from the inside near the pharmacy. Previously I would see a number of elderly community members using these benches to rest or socialize with other s in between running errands. This stinks of some building manager or security company trying to fight against loitering. Many people need to sit for a minute, especially when walking to grab some groceries, etc. The benches weren’t even near any construction/renovations - pointless and inconsiderate move. The area is now a massive hallway with nowhere to sit.

Other than that, the gym seems affordable and the grocery store has a great...