Lably
Skip to content

West Edmonton Mall

Megamall with attractions in Alberta, Canada

  • 14 min read
  • 6 chapters

Related on Lably

Through Montreal, Retail and Rain

Lab · Class 6–12Supply Chains & Food PricesLab · Class 4–8Money & Making ChangeLab · Class 10–12Pollution of Air & WaterLab · Class 6–8Agriculture & Crops

West Edmonton Mall has over 800 stores and services including nine attractions, two hotels and over 100 dining venues in the complex, and parking for more than 20,000 vehicles. More than 24,000 people are employed at the property. The mall receives about 32 million visitors per year; it attracts between 90,000 and 200,000 shoppers daily, depending on the day and season.

History

1959–1981: Planning and construction

West Edmonton Mall was conceived by the Ghermezian family, who had emigrated from Iran to Canada in 1959, establishing a successful rug business in Montreal known as the Ghermezian Bros. on Sherbrooke Street. The company became the largest importer of oriental rugs in the mid-1960s, being featured in 16 states across North America. The Ghermezians relocated to Edmonton, Alberta in 1964, with the goal of financing the high oil economy in the province. Then, in 1965, Jacob Ghermezian, alongside his brothers (Eskandar, Nader, Raphael, and Bahman) founded Ghermez Developments, Ltd. and relocated to Ottawa in the late 1960s, where they proposed West Edmonton Mall. The company became the Triple Five Group in 1973, with the Ghermezians envisioning a "retail Disneyland"—a mixed-use complex that combined shopping with massive entertainment facilities—which was a concept virtually unknown in North America at the time.

In the mid-1970s, the Ghermezian family purchased large tracts of agricultural land on the outskirts of Edmonton, located in the neighborhood of Summerlea. The provincial government established a "transportation and utility corridor" (a ring road zone) around the city. The Ghermezians owned key parcels within this zone, and although they could not develop this specific restricted land, they sold it back to the provincial government in 1979 for a massive profit—approximately $18 million. This capital was directly funneled into financing the construction of West Edmonton Mall, which would feature 225 tenants.

Getting the proposal approved, however, was challenging, as the site selected was zoned for residential use, not a megamall. City planning staff initially opposed the rezoning, preferring typical suburban housing. The developers leveraged the fierce rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary, nicknamed Battle of Alberta. They effectively argued that if Edmonton did not approve the project and grant concessions, they would simply build the mall in Calgary instead. Fearing the loss of such a massive economic engine to their rival, the Edmonton City Council was forced to approve the necessary zoning changes and land swaps for the project. Due to the sheer scale of the project, Triple Five Group announced that West Edmonton Mall would be developed in phases, with the initial build starting construction in 1979.

Grand opening and early years

Phase I of West Edmonton Mall had its grand opening celebration to the public on September 15, 1981. The mall was developed in four phases, completed in 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1999. It was the largest indoor shopping centre in the world until 2004, and was named such in the Guinness Book of Records. The four phases of construction are used in a colour-coded system as a guideline for finding stores and attractions. The indoor roller coaster, The Mindbender had a fatal accident on 14 June 1986 when one of the rear cars derailed from the track and slammed into a nearby concrete pillar. Three people died and one was injured in the accident.

On 23 December 2000, a 22-year-old man drowned in a recreational lagoon. A man matching his description was seen swimming at about 2:30 am as the nearby drinking establishments had closed, though a second security check did not find anyone in the lagoon area. The man's body was found around 10:30 am later that morning, fully clothed except for his shoes and jacket, which were never located. He is believed to have accidentally drowned while under the influence of drinking alcohol and cannabis.

On 11 July 2004, the mall suffered millions of dollars in damage when a severe storm of hail and rain caused roofs to fail and drains to overflow. The Ice Palace and surrounding sections were the most damaged, and the World Waterpark had a sewage overflow. The damage was promptly repaired.

Construction on a total renovation of the mall shopping areas through all the phases began in the spring of 2011. The 'face lift' included the renovation of all mall common areas, which started in Phase I and finished in Phase IV. The most notable upgrades included the retrofit of an existing water fountain into choreographed musical dancing fountains, hanging décor of ceramic roses in the Rose Court near the Victoria's Secret (these are no longer there) and glass oil droplets around the Oilmen statue outside the Phase I Food Court. Most of the renovations were completed in 2014; however, some areas of the mall continued construction, such as Park Lane and Chinatown.

In 2017, the mall announced that the Ice Palace would undergo a renovation, retrofitting it with the latest technologies including modern lighting and sound. The Ice Palace closed in mid-2017 and reopened in December. Later in mid 2018, the mall announced that the World Waterpark would undergo renovations worth $2.5 million in September 2018. All upgrades have since been completed.

In 2021 local car dealership Mayfield Toyota made their move to the mall and rebranded as West Edmonton Mall Toyota, which is the world's largest full-service in-mall dealership. The dealership is in the main floor of the old Sears retail space in Phase I. It includes 65 service bays, a detailing centre, and a three-aisle drive-through that intersects the entire mall.

Since 2018, the mall has focused on adding several high-end retailers including Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Moose Knuckles, Moncler and Louis Vuitton.

In 2021, the mall added huge LED screens over the Deep Sea Adventure lake and Ice Palace to promote advertisements for stores, restaurants, and attractions in and around the mall.

World records

Current West Edmonton Mall world records include;

  • World's largest indoor lake – Deep Sea Adventure Lake
  • World’s largest indoor wave pool – World Waterpark
  • World’s tallest indoor permanent bungee tower (no longer in use but still there) – World Waterpark
  • World's largest parking lot with more than 20,000 spaces, and over 10,000 overflow spaces. – WEM's parking lot
  • World’s largest full-service in-mall dealership – WEM Toyota

Other records (past)

  • World's largest indoor shopping mall (until 2004)
  • World's tallest indoor roller coaster – the Mindbender
  • Most bungee jumps in 24 hours record while indoors was set by Peter Charney, on 6–7 November 2007 at the World Waterpark, completing 225 jumps.

Sign in to keep reading

5 more chapters are free with a Lably account.

More in Cities

Washington, D.C.Capital city of the United StatesBerlinCapital and largest city of GermanyChicagoMost populous city in Illinois, USViennaCapital and largest city of AustriaPhiladelphiaMost populous city in Pennsylvania, USBostonCapital and largest city in Massachusetts, United States