Yorkdale Shopping Centre is a commercial building, built in 1964, located in North York. The structure is bounded by Yorkdale Road and Dufferin Street, right by the Ontario 401 Express Way and Allen Road. Its convenient location attracts people from multiple com-munities, acting as not only a retail destination but also as a social space that currently houses 270 stores and eateries. The design originally targeted automobile users in suburban communities until it was connected to the Spadina subway line in 1978.

Yorkdale Shopping Centre was the first indoor mall in Canada and at the time was the biggest in the world. It was constructed during the modernist period and contains unique brutalist pieces of architecture such as the former Simpson's store, now Hudson’s Bay. The exterior façades of the store have been preserved and the interior completely renovated. Several new wings have been added to the original project, however certain features of the initial design remain, such as the concrete decorative ceiling that used to overlook the Simpson's court space.

Even though Yorkdale is already more than half a century old, it is still one of the top selling malls in Ontario attracting millions of visitors every year. In 2017 the North York Community Preservation Panel nominated the Simpson’s building for heritage listing since it is “an outstanding example
of Brutalist style of Architecture in the Modernist period”.

The key elements that relate to the heritage value of Yorkdale Shopping Centre include:

• Its advantegous location for both car and pedestrian access;
• The vastness of the site puts emphasis on the mall within its surrounding context;
• The grand brutalist rectilinear geometry of exposed concrete walls;
• Original architectural interior features; and
• The famous “Universal Man” sculpture by Gerald Gladstone

Related entry: Joey Yorkdale Restaurant

• Architect - John Graham and Company  <-- More buildings by this architect.
• Architect - John B. Parkin Associates  <-- More buildings by this architect.
• Architect - E.L. Hankinson  <-- More buildings by this architect.