It’s been a few weeks since Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) filed for CCAA creditor protection, leaving Canadians anxious about the fate of Canada’s oldest retailer. On March 21, it was reported the brand will liquidate all but six stores (for ongoing updates you can follow our HBC timeline).
The demise of HBC is another blow to the once-dominant department store model. “The department store typology is an iconic North American consumer culture building,” says Philip Evans, Principal at ERA Architects, who added that they were important and disruptive transformations to our urban fabric.
Starting as far back as the late 1800s, many department store brands began building shopping palaces. Notable architects erected grand structures with large windows and multiple floors that had intricate details, the latest modern technologies, and luxurious décor. “At their conception, department store blocks created a new shopping culture and building form that hadn’t been seen before,” Evans says.
The stores revolutionized shopping, becoming in and of themselves worthy attractions and one-stop destinations. They carried home goods, toys, sporting equipment, groceries, and clothing as well as hosted amenities and services like tailoring, shoe repair, broadcast stations, reading rooms, concert venues, food halls, and more. “Department stores are pillars of an early cultural economy that sold us on comfort and a lifestyle,” Evans continues.
Today, only a few Hudson’s Bay locations from the department store golden age remain operational. These massive architectural wonders will create large vacancies in major downtown cores, leaving many to wonder what will replace them. But before they're remodelled, repurposed, or altogether razed, let’s tour a few locations that have become national symbols and revisit their glory days.
Calgary: A Model for the Future
Arcade of the Hudson's Bay Calgary store looking north, from the Hudson’s Bay Company (Calgary Fonds), courtesy of the University of Calgary Digital Collections.
As HBC’s role as a fur trader declined, it shifted focus to its retail operations. To usher in this new era, it built “a modern department store” that acted as a commercial space and social destination.
Calgary was its first location, opening in 1913, showcasing the brand’s prestige. It became a model store from an architectural and amenities perspective that would be replicated at five other Western Canada locations (Edmonton, Saskatoon, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg). Together the six locations would known as the “Original Six” stores.
Calgary Store Arcade. Courtesy of Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba, Hudson's Bay House Library, ca. 1918-1975, HBCA 1987-363-C-220 - 106
Architects Burke, Horwood and White built the six-storey structure with a terra-cotta clad facade. Its arcade, wrapping around the south and east sides, is one of its most treasured features. Modelled after buildings along Rue de Rivoli in Paris, it features granite columns, bronze detailing, decorative floors, and rounded arches.
Hudson's Bay Company department store at Christmas, from the Glenbow Archives, courtesy of the University of Calgary Digital Collections.
Throughout its over 110-year history, this location had up to 40 departments and several amenities including a post office, play area for children, a circulating library, beauty parlours, and a 275-seat dining room called the Elizabethan, which had oak panelling and armour suits on display.
Montreal: A Nostalgic Font*
Henry Morgan Building, Sainte-Catherine Street West, Montreal (1936), courtesy of Archives de la Ville de Montréal.
Originally built for department chain Morgan’s, and purchased by HBC in the 1960s, the Hudson’s Bay brand took over the Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest address in 1972.
Constructed in phases, the first building was a four-storey neo-Romanesque structure designed by John Peace Hill in 1891. The facade features red sandstone, imported from Henry Morgan’s homeland of Scotland. Its top floor served as a factory for its custom goods division, which set it apart from competitors. In 1923, an eight-level addition was added with large windows and walnut fixtures. A modern brutalist structure was added in 1964 along Boulevard de Maisonneuve.
The store is unique not only for displaying the company’s French name (Compagnie de la Baie d’Hudson and La Baie), but also because it sports the 1965 yellow font and “Ribbon B” logo. It even has hidden historic details inside. Look between the interior doors at the front entrance and you’ll notice four brass friction plates used to light matches.
In 2021, a 15-storey office tower was proposed. The redevelopment would include the demolition of the 1960s addition, but restore the historic property to reveal “architectural elements not seen in almost a century,” according to HBC Properties and Investments.
Toronto: Relics of Another Store*
Simpson's store at Yonge and Queen streets decorated for the royal visit, courtesy of Toronto Archives.
On the facade of the Hudson’s Bay’s downtown Toronto store, you’ll notice the letter “S” etched in windows or “RSC” on metal grills above doorways. These letters represent the Robert Simpson Company, who was the original occupant.
Predating the “Original Six,” the structure was designed by the same architects HBC commissioned almost two decades later. The first iteration was built in 1894, solely by Burke, and burned down months after opening. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1896, becoming Canada’s first fireproof building.
Robert Simpson Co. after the fire, courtesy of Toronto Public Library Digital Archive.
Over seven decades, the store expanded to occupy a city block, eliminating streets and demolishing a church. Burke, Horwood and White contributed additions in 1900, 1908 and 1923. Chapman & Oxley then built a nine-story Art Deco addition to the west, which included the 1,000 seat restaurant Arcadian Court. In 1968, the Simpson Tower was added.
Detail of Simpsons building at corner of Richmond and Yonge streets, courtesy of Toronto Archives.
HBC purchased Simpson’s in 1978, and moved to the flagship location in 1991. Today, the store still holds details from the Simpson’s era. On Richmond Street West, a marquee is the last reminder of the original main entrance and stone-carved street signs, reading Richmond, Yonge, and Queen, adorn the corners of the original building. Inside, a war memorial honouring Simpson’s employees sits next to the level one elevator banks.
Vancouver: A Store Faced with Neglect
Hudson's Bay Company store at 674 Granville Street, courtesy of the City of Vancouver Archives.
Since the early 1890s, HBC has owned a property on the corner of Granville and Georgia, with its current structure erected by Burke, Horwood and White in 1913. Its modern-day footprint is a result of three additional construction phases in 1925, 1926, and 1949.
Like its sibling stores, it features a terra-cotta facade and many of the same amenities. Around its exterior are Corinthian columns as well as the brand’s coat of arms, proudly displayed on the terra-cotta or the metal entrance marquees. Its glamorous men’s section on the top floor, once a restaurant, features brown wooden columns and a skylight.
Hudson_'s Bay Co. Shoe Clinic on Granville St. courtesy of the Vancouver Archives.
In 2022, a massive transformation for the site was proposed. The redevelopment included a consolidation of Hudson’s Bay retail footprint, a 12-storey glass tower built on top and an outdoor space on the building’s heritage roof. It would be a new outlook for the store which has faced years of neglect.
Victoria: A Destination Once Again
Former Hudson’s Bay at 1701 Douglas Street, Victoria. Image M07644, courtesy of City of Victoria Archives.
The Georgian style Burke, Horwood and White store took almost a decade to construct. Breaking ground in 1913, both the economic downturn and World War caused delays. When it opened in 1921, it had 50 departments and was seen as a symbol of modernism with ventilation systems and elevators. Descriptions note mahogany and brass fixtures outfitting the space and a library for customers to recharge.
It closed in 2003, but was converted into a mixed-use property called The Hudson, housing the Victoria Public Market and residential units. It's one example of what these properties could become.
Winnipeg: A Step Towards Reconciliation
Hudson’s Bay Winnipeg Flagship Store, Courtesy of Canada Dept. of Interior Library and Archives Canada.
The last of the “Original Six,” Barrott and Blackader’s Beaux-Arts building used locally sourced materials, like the famed Tyndall limestone, to construct the complex for an estimated $5 million ($88 million today).
Spanning over 600,000 sq. ft across two below ground floors and six above, all of which went through significant alterations over the years. Its exterior has two curved corners on Portage Avenue and a canopy running along Memorial Boulevard, Portage Avenue and Vaughan Street, which would display Christmas trees and other holiday decor on top. Some amenities included a grocery store, a restaurant called Paddlewheel and a museum showcasing HBC’s history.
After closing in 2020, HBC transferred ownership to the Southern Chiefs’ Organization Inc. (SCO), which represents 34 Anishinaabe and Dakota First Nations people in southern Manitoba. The landmark is being redeveloped into Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn, “it is visible” in Anishinaabemowin. It will feature 350 affordable and market housing units, units for First Nations Elders, a museum, rooftop garden, and restaurants. The interior will be unrecognizable once complete as a new atrium is being created.
The project is a significant step in reconciliation with SCO stating, “The history of the Hudson’s Bay Company is entwined with the history of colonial Canada... First Nations have a long and complex history with HBC... Many of the original people of Turtle Island were critical to the fur trade, however, they were often invisible in the Canadian narrative. Becoming the new owners of the Hudson’s Bay building is a public statement and an act of reclamation.”*These stores will not be liquidated.
