Dead Mall & Toronto's Second Largest Underground Network Walk

A Toronto walk through Cumberland Terrace, a 1970's era dying mall as well as 2 Bloor East and the Manulife Centre. There's multiple foodcourts, shopping centres and even two subway stations (Bloor-Yonge Station and Bay Station) in this northern "mini PATH" located in Toronto's swanky Yorkville neighbourhood.
Recorded in 4K at 60 FPS on Friday, October 20, 2023.
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[@thomasroell8979]

Thanks!

[@JohnnyStrides]

Thank you!

[@PWingert1966]

There used to be, in the 80's, a secret room in the back areas of the Cumberland terrace upstairs area that was never left locked. The upstairs area of cumberland terrace was supposed oit be a mall as well but it has never, ever been filled. There was a false panel that had been left ajar one night that we discovered and followed a series of corridors into the back area then we found it. I discovered it with a former girlfriend one evening when we were looking for a quiet place for fun. Someone had set it up with a desk, a fridge, a case of beer aa small bed. I think it used to be for overnight maintenance staff. I always brought a couple of beers as a token. But neve saw anyone there in 15 years. They were always gone when I returned weeks later. We took advantage of it. It was there for years and as my secret go to places for interesting dates. They eventually closed the whole area off and renovated it, but it was great for 15 years.

[@nikolaforzane2285]

Toronto always has secret places. There used to be, coughs "paint store" elite after-hours nightclub from 2:30am-8am. Many of the cities nightclub DJs, barmen, bouncers, dancers, strippers, etc go for after party for party animals. No advertising, must know someone type deal.

[@DeeBatch]

great story man.

[@onlyfacts4999]

were you concerned about getting caught doing the deed with your dates by a security guard? 😅

[@PWingert1966]

@@onlyfacts4999 It was the thrill of it. Leaving the six pack of beer for them (One for us and one for them) helped. we also made sure the bed was made afterwards (It usually wasn't when we arrived). Back then there was usually one lone security guard and a couple of cameras. This was a high-income area, and the shops were closed so back then there was no concern.

[@PWingert1966]

@@onlyfacts4999 if we ever had've gotten caught We would just claim we got lost looking for a washroom for the girl (Girls always have to pee!) and ask them to show us the way.

[@kaysingh9174]

Born and raised in Toronto- seems that the downtown core has lost its soul - everything has changed so much and not for the better.

[@paulchristiansen7014]

yes l agree with that one.

[@railfandepotproductions]

Man I miss they days when capitalism was actually good and not the un regulated variant plaguing north america along with the rest of the world we have rn

[@pilbomags488]

@@railfandepotproductions You want more Government regulations? You have it backwards. That's the reason why these situations.

[@railfandepotproductions]

@@pilbomags488 what do you mean by that?

[@americanineverywaybutcitiz2330]

@@railfandepotproductions what do you mean what does he mean? You have it exactly backwards.

[@ibizawavey8630]

wow, i live in toronto 2005-2010, that mall was PACKED! Tons of shops, people everywhere etc.

[@francisyoung3584]

I remember the same.

[@GlobalVirtualTravelNetwork]

Good Morning Johnny and viewers, wishing every person a positive weekend!

[@saramartin4135]

Heartbreaking. I used to shop there all the time. So many places are gone now. Great video

[@ivanronin8209]

Chhhhina Virus Killed the Business' too ! Travesty !

[@Thegoodgood_toronto]

We used to own a store there called Obsessions Fashion...it used to be a vibrant place!

[@lindaniedringhaus8790]

Visited here in the dead of winter from the US back in the late nineties. I thought the underground shopping center was the most wonderful invention in the world!

[@i6power30]

I'm a big fan of underground space. It makes Canadian winter much more livable. Instead of just shopping malls, city should build and maintain some kind of underground activity space for families and kids. similar to playgrounds in parks. It will bring families and kids to live in downtown and fight urban sprawl.

[@n.b.3521]

Yes! And I wish they'd connect the PATH all the way from Union to Bloor.

[@Corbots80]

Winter is not what it used to be. Not much of a need to hide from it anymore

[@Andytess91]

@@n.b.3521it’s not connected?

[@n.b.3521]

@@Andytess91 No, the main PATH only goes as far north as Dundas & then there's a secondary smaller PATH between Yonge-Bloor & Bay. There's also a PATH-like basement mall around College station which would be so much better if it connected just one stop south with the bit that ends at Dundas.

[@giseliapereira5914]

I think you’re going to love the 15 cities.

[@johnpatterson4272]

The Cumberland Terrace, Manulife Centre and the Holt Renfrew Centre were thriving shopping areas in the 70s and 80s. While always rather 'high-end' they were frequented by largely working Torontonians as a 'local Toronto shopping mall'. For those of us living outside of the GTA as it was then, the Eaton Centre and Yonge St. were ground-zero. Bay-Bloor Radio was once (and probably still is) the mecca of an audiophile's wet dreams. In the 70s that store featured a plethora of Canadian made audio products that were on-par with anything from Europe or Japan.

[@ivanronin8209]

Got my First Mission'' Speakers there 18 Years ago ! Made in England then ! Now Everting is Chines ! 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲

[@strongbrain3128]

​@@ivanronin8209blame it on greedy capitalist: sell at the same or higher prices, but made cheaply anywhere in the third world.

[@zochbuppet448]

It was busy into the early 2000's. started dying around 2005. Cumberland terrace was never able to attract big name stores because location wise its hidden from the main streets, and the non working people are quickly passing through to actually go in

[@McChrister]

And don’t forget the beautiful store “Creeds”….Man, I used to love that store!🥰🤑

[@johnpatterson4272]

@@McChristerCreeds was awesome, expensive but very cool.

[@monicapushkin3274]

This makes me very sad. I used to frequent Cumberland Terrace fairly regularly, being right on the subway and convenient back and forth from Bloor and Yonge. Shopped at a few places and the food court. Too bad it is slated for demolition 😢😢

[@eddiew2325]

I love u monica

[@saucililwench9006]

I haven't been dt in years. But didn't there used to be a movie theatre at the cumberland?

[@D33Lux]

So all that underground path of cumberland is going to be destroyed?

[@jasonfilipchuk7894]

I spent many hours in these locations, having worked just down the street at the Manulife buildings and living on Isabella Street. It used to be thriving with people and stores. Your video paints a different picture of the area. I suspect there are many people, who used to work in the office buildings, now working from home.

[@crsh2007]

I used to work there in 2001-2003 (Carlton Cards at Bay and Bloor), and I loved the area. There was a coffee shop right across from us and so many other stores that I would stop in to after work, most notably Indigo and The Bay. Haven’t been around there in years, and I miss it 😢

[@leejones7439]

Manulife Center used to have a rooftop lounge called Panorama. In the 1980's, it was part of the still thriving Yorkville district (famous for it's 1960's hippies and cool bars). Yonge/Bloor is a shell of it's former self. Very sad.

[@phynessea247]

Panorama was a popular first date spot for drinks--spent many evenings there.

[@kevwwong]

It's called AP now. Eataly is actually quite nice as well.

[@blueeyered8155]

Used to be called Aquarius 51 in the 70's

[@Ann-hm7gj]

Yes I remember the manulife center. What a great place. They came to visit me when I was in the hospital for support😢. Thank you MANULIFE. They used to have offices there. 🙌🏿 I use to sit in that place for hours.

[@eb9844]

I used to work in a café in Cumberland Terrace as a high school student in the mid 80’s. Cafe Coco. It was a dead mall then as well.

[@vltree]

I remember Cumberland Terrace for the times when I went there for the TIFF when it was a lot more affordable. Their ticket office used to be there where we had to line up for hours to submit our orders, and one of their main theatre venues used to be there too - does anyone else remember that? Thanks for bringing back the great memories of a long gone era.

[@Genious.]

6:15 I assume I'm the only one on here that remembers the movie theatre that was just downstairs, just to the right of those doors, yes yes?

[@JohnnyStrides]

I remember and should have brought it up.

[@PWingert1966]

I actually went and watched movies there all through university. Its now a dollar store. If you ever get to see into the back storage area there are reminants of the space still there. They only took about 1/3 of the space for the dollar store. The rest is hidden and walled up.

[@MrPatrick1414]

The brown tiled floor is a dead giveaway for parts of Cumberland Terrace that haven't been renovated. Its the same at Square One in Miss.

[@nickdadon]

Toronto is odd, as it grows, more and more people, but less and less businesses…

[@sangomoon5456]

Also with less and less housing. The zoning laws here are too rigid and take ages to complete. Its a mess.

[@muskokamike127]

It's probably been 20 yrs since I was downtown (Y and B) but if you drive down any main street you'll see business after business after business. What's dying however are over priced malls. The owners did it to themselves. How do you expect a small business to make a profit when you're charging $20,000 a month rent? I saw that flower shop, toy store and dollarama? how the hell are they able to afford the rent?

[@dylanreynolds8264]

good morning everyone

[@jrochest4642]

Cumberland Terrace isn't really a 'dead mall' in the traditional sense of the term -- it was active right up until covid, and it was still reasonably full a year or two ago -- I bought Xmas gifts and some chocolates there the year before last. I think stores were being deliberately evicted in anticipation of redevelopment. It's really frustrating to look at what's happened to Bloor between Bay and Yonge -- it was a really lively shopping district, with interesting small stores in the mall and anchors like Zara, the Gap and H&M.

[@lisadeeyoung]

It was active and now it's not - it is a dead mall.

[@felinequeen9243]

It's disheartening to see now it's been turned into concrete jungles with no life!!

[@lisadeeyoung]

@@felinequeen9243 It's disheartening to see comments like this that lack basis in reality.

[@jrochest4642]

Yes, but it was closed by external forces -- it didn't die for lack of interest. @@lisadeeyoung

[@Kathleen_Theriault]

True enough. I worked in the area for several years and some of the shops were forced out due to all the fancy new plans. And now they’re trying to rent the spaces out? Dumb. Trouble is that this strip has too many dead corridors with no stores at all so it’s not very appealing.

[@johnp6260]

There used to be a movie theatre in the section at the beginning when you were walking through the old Bay store section. The entrance was near the former Mac store.

[@azamyahmad]

Bless weekend from Montreal QC .. absolutely another spectacular beautiful upload .. TQSM Sir

[@johndefalque5061]

I live in Quebec City and am jealous of all the underground shopping in Montreal and TO. Winters are harsh and long underground corridors to get you through the city in winter would be nice.

[@jacquelines9966]

Good morning

[@suzyparker8303]

I remember walking through Cumberland Terrace for the first time as a teenager in the late 70's and you're right, it has not changed at all. A few different stores of course but essentially no change. Thanks for the nostalgia!

[@brentsarazin6597]

Never knew this place existed. It might have a 1970's vibe but it looked quite fresh with customers and choices of Retailers.

[@user-qv2ur2bw3z]

2 Bloor St E. use to be WSIB main offices rock station Q107 use to be on the 30th floor there as well before moving up Yonge and Sheppard area ticket master use be there as well lined up many times for concert tickets in the mid 80s.

[@JoniMitchell-qi6hr]

Those buisnesses that were sucessful employed people!It also encouraged "restaurants" That hired people to perform Courteous full sit down clean table friendly efficient server's😊❤🎉

[@airborne63]

Haven't been downtown in about 30 years....no reason to do so. Thanks for the tour....and bringing back some memories.

[@JohnnyStrides]

You're welcome!

[@PoliticalJunky101]

I worked there when I turned 16 (ions ago in the 80’s) when I got my sin #, at Cultures Fresh Food Restaurant. We had a wide variety of healthy foods. We used to make smoothies too. Every time we made a smoothie Johnny would sing - Smooth Operator by Sade - but he’d change the lyrics and he would sing - I’m the smoothie operator, the smoothie operator … and we’d all join in. The customers loved it! So many years ago. So many good memories. Life was simpler then but oh so enjoyable. Thank you for taking me down memory lane! You just made my day ❤

[@violinmke]

I remember eating at a Cultures.

[@viagemcomcafe9215]

This is one of the main intersections in Toronto and even the street level store's are closed lile Bay's, Nordstrom, Macewan, H&M and severally starbucks... downtown Toronto is becoming a phantom city.

[@rickma6363]

There will be something taking over the McEwan space.

[@johnp6260]

I live downtown, less then a 10 minute walk to Yonge/Bloor, "phantom"? not really. 2 big names in retail have left but it's busier then ever. Mind you all the redevelopment closes a lot but when complete opens a lot of stores etc. and brings in more ppl to live in the areae.

[@jasonrussell5265]

@@johnp6260 doubt they're referring to the 'big names' leaving.

[@orbyfan]

Same in Edmonton, and I suspect, most other cities.

[@blancasamayoa7602]

I used to walk for all those areas when coming back from work. Thank Johnny for this video 😊❤

[@kevinbrady3063]

I've lived in Etobicoke just west of DT Toronto my whole life and have spent an untold amount of time in the city proper and never realized the extent of how long that mall really is. Most people are usually so busy transferring at the subway at Bloor/Young Station that you don't ever have the time to think "oh, I can just get what I'm looking for here" lol. But, Thank you for being the first person in my 54 years to enlighten me and for doing that very long walk! Maybe that's why it's not such a hit mall, you'd be tired if you had to do more than a few things there going from one end to the other. Peace ✌️

[@Jamie-1985]

Banks of pay phones (9:48 11:01 14:42 untouched since ca. 2005

[@ginny1068]

This is an excellent video. Really peaceful and lovely to watch. I know Cumberland Terrace well, but have not been for years. I used to walk through often as a teen, as my dad lives on Bishop St. in Yorkville. This really makes me sad, to see. Just because something is "older," does not make it less valuable. Change is good sometimes, but not always. Also, sad when I heard HB was closing. My baby clothes came from Holt Renfrew. Showcasing the older areas of Toronto, is fabulous and greatly appreciated!

[@kevwwong]

My friend's parents own Asia Art and Interiors. They've been at that location for years now. Cumberland was one of my go-to places when I worked in the area, because of the mom and pop quick serve places. Also loved going to Ginger (beside the Rail) and Hayden Salad House.

[@BirbarianHomeGuard]

That food court looked cozy. Love these videos about retail establishments from you.

[@stevenvallarsa1765]

Thanks for sharing. I haven't walked through that in over 30 years! There were no dead-zones back then, of course. But since I only went through on occasion, I don't remember much except a large book store that wasn't Coles and a Black's Camera.

[@ChrisMills-co1dh]

Great video Johnny. Brought back memories of briefly working in a United Cigar Store in the Cumberland Terrace back in the late 80's. It was a lttle livelier but just as depressing.

[@victoriap3832]

I liked the subway tiles.

[@erracht]

It's nice to see some of that old tiling on the floor, and not just the sterile smooth white floors that all the malls seem to have these days.

[@shoshi06]

Used to walk through Cumberland Terrace every morning for years in the 90's on my way to work..was aweful then! Really bad now..thx for the tour.

[@germainewright7348]

Thanks for the tour. Great memories. ❤

[@mtlreiner]

We used to walk through Cumberland Terrace on the way from the subway to Dynasty restaurant. It’s like stepping into a time machine. I remember some of the escalators always seemed to be out of service.

[@usbankusa]

Thanks for sharing.

[@DanielWOstler]

There is no earthly reason for this retail area to be abandoned. It must have been in someone's financial interest.

[@georgehoward9306]

Thanks for another fine video!

[@JCDenton2000]

I hope those small stores that are still open there are doing okay. My dad used to have a small business in downtown Toronto until the owner of the property sold it to a coffee chain. I know how hard it can be.

[@newsreader4321]

thank you! i avoided traffic by watching online!

[@mach2joe]

Thanks for the video. I used to work in Manulife Center before the big renovation. Can’t believe how nice it looks now!

[@petertoledo9387]

Thanks man brings old memories I used to visit cumberland terrace often

[@jeremytaylor3532]

I remember designing the green waterfall awnings for the manulife center way back in the late 80s. One of it's many facelift makeovers. Hopefully when the Cumberland center closes they can move the remaining shops down into the underground paths to fill in the blank spaces. The area used to be booming like anything.

[@YoungThos]

Fascinating stuff! I randomly found myself in the Manulife Centre last year as a tourist, but had no idea there was an entire underground pedestrian network between Bay and Bloor-Yonge 😮

[@anngcampbellbower4385]

I had lived in downtown Toronto & Cumberland Terrace was once thriving mall, but over time it did have its troubles, the stores had closed eventually. Changing times, changing demographics economically.

[@haowu1337]

Cool. I used to live on Charles a couple of blocks south of Bloor when I went to U of T in late 1990’s. Brings back memories.

[@ann2554]

Its a shame Malls or as we call over here in the UK the Shopping Centre, have closed but feel its due to the increase in online shopping in recent years and because of the effects from the Pandemic. Always remember back in the late 80's and through out the 90's that they were always popular and the place "to be seen" at. Shame how some things change!

[@waffles1ca]

My wife and I used to go to the Shopping Centre weekly, now for some reason I’d rather never go to the Shopping Centre again ever. I think I consume far less things bought at a Mall. If I need clothes I go to an area of “big box stores “ Fascinating that we have seen the Shopping Centre kill the downtown independent retailer and 40 or 50 years later the “big box and online retailer have killed the “Shopping Centre “ ,( I guess Department stores first killed most of the independent retailers) Grocery stores are killing the bakery… and so it goes

[@Ban00]

it's not a shame. it's just proof that society has progressed or you want civilization to revert??

[@waffles1ca]

@@Ban00 plenty of people desperately want civilization to revert, the good old days as they say. We must keep pushing forward.

[@zochbuppet448]

The place thats going to be redeveloped isnt really a mall. In the U.S and Canada people now call everything a mall...even if they see two store together they will still probably call it a mall

[@bennystein7976]

10:22, In the background you will see a taped-off area with a door. That led to an underground tunnel that crossed under Cumberland Street, which connected with a now-gone plaza (The Village Arcade, home to Dinah's Cupboard and other shops), on the north side of Cumberland. Cumberland Terrace used to be a very nice place, with lots of good shopping. Sadly, it's gone downhill progressively over the years and now it looks rather sad. On the main floor, the north windows once had lots of hanging plants, as hanging plants were very "in" in the 70s. One can still see the anchors in the ceilings. Thanks for this good video.

[@tiffanystephens4785]

Great video!!I rembember this area when I travelled by subway alot❤

[@jmarcine]

Guessed wrong Johnny…The One is not on hold, if you read the fine print on the story it mentions that the funding for completion is already in place and construction is continuing…oh and sorry to nit-pick but midtown is considered Bloor to Eglinton, so the name was appropriate…😊

[@CityWalks3216]

thanks for showing us this always enjoy your videos enjoy your weekend 😊

[@sandradd9957]

I truly miss going into TORONTO and going through the underground and up on top around all the streets and decently warm weather, of course. But I want to thank you for videoing this and making me feel like I was right there with you.❤

[@killer52lt]

I have spend a lot of time longboarding around that area. Your descriptions are spot on! Especially the description of the smell in that one stairwell...

[@Ann-hm7gj]

I'm tired now but great memories. I loved that area during christmas time! Wow amazing

[@paulstark1832]

Great job with video❤❤❤

[@shawnshon1238]

this is so cool thank you.

[@TheBassgoddess]

Great video. Brings back memories of growing up in mid-town Toronto. I used to live south of Yonge-Bloor, so I travelled the area often, including the underground mall & Cumberland Terrace. There used to be a movie theatre under the Hudson’s Bay mall. Saw lots of movies there over the years. Sad to see The Bay go. I worked in the mailroom when I was 17 (back in 1981).

[@Nathan630pm]

wow... the absolute difference 1 doorway makes between 1 mall and the other 👀

[@ergosteur]

Was walking around there the other day and just thinking it should be documented before it’s gone. So thanks for doing that!

[@truecynic1270]

Hey, memories.....! Now that you're covering Cumberland Terrace, it takes me back to Zumburger which was located right at the corner of Yonge and Bloor SE side AND Lothian Mews where I used to eat late lunch with my mother at The Coffee Mill. Wow those days ----------- Long gone ----------- oh the creativity and UNIQUENESS of THOSE days. Now everything is about being the same, spending the same money in the same looking stores......

[@david1george]

At 9:48 and 11:05, there's an old relic I rarely see in Windsor these days--4 side by side coin operated payphones. Can they still make money on 4 of those things in one spot let alone 1? Very interesting tour of the second largest underground mall.

[@PWingert1966]

I remember when drugf dealers and escorts used those phones in the pre-cell days. They actually get disabled except for 911 calls at night now because of that.

[@muchorelaxo5580]

Wow trip down memory lane. I remember lining up for concert tickets down there in the early 80’s. Thanks for sharing your video.

[@justnski]

I've been down there twice in the last week. It's beyond my comprehension why a city of 2 point something million people has such dead energy.

[@nataliedurdle4445]

You know there

[@user-jj1yb7mz9b]

@@nataliedurdle4445 google before snark posting Nat

[@rickywinthrop]

There are 3 million people living here now. Look it up. Less people leaving the house due increased numbers working from home and the cost of living spiraling out-of control leaving no discretionary income for many. The city peaked in 2019 and is still trying to find itself again. Way less busy than it used to be but I'm starting to feel the energy returning slowly.

[@karenmacneil3678]

My first job in Toronto was down Bloor St from there and I used the Park Rd. entrance to get to the subway every week day. Thanks for trip down memory lane. Some parts haven’t changed all that much. 😊

[@darkjedi447]

So crazy that I've lived in various parts of the GTA since 1974 and I've never stepped foot in this underground area (at least I don't remember being here). Thanks for showing this to me. I'm gonna try to check it out myself as soon as I get a chance. Great video!

[@darkjedi447]

Actually I have been to the Bay/Bloor audio center when I was much younger, to buy a stereo....was so long ago, I can barely remember it. lol

[@andrewwilks5155]

I have been to Toronto in Childhood, 2005, and again in 2010. Even in 2010, these underground malls there didn't have a bunch of vacancies then either with many more department stores and more foot traffic then to. I am glad there is still some foot traffic and some department stores with some high end shops in these shopping centersplaces providing a sense of what was.

[@cameobabec968]

I think it's interesting that at one point you said it was a bit like a museum because like any museum when what's on show is properly curated it's an inviting place to visit. If the PATH management (whoever they may be) had continued to rent their spaces to stores that people actually want to shop at the mall never would have become the ghost town that it is now. I used to love walking through it and did my Christmas shopping there almost every year but one by one, for whatever reason, the stores started to leave and the stores that took their places just didn't carry what we were looking for. My guess is that the rents were too high and the traffic was too low and some were forced to close while others moved to street level. Something that I noticed was that most of the traffic was made up of people who, like me, worked downtown and who would step out on their lunch to pick something up and in the evening the bustle was all workers picking something up on their way to the subway to go home. Not the ideal crowd for stores who depend on shoppers who have the time to browse.

[@thinking_out_loud]

Thanks for the walk down memory lane. I don't go downtown much anymore. I have talked about Cumberland Terrace a few weeks back, but never made the trek downtown to satisfy my curiosity.

[@vincepitts9221]

I used to go to Cumberland Terrace food court alot to write in my journal. I loved the 80s vibe of that mall. I still remember when I found it and I was so excited it was such an adventure. I didn't know it existed it for a while.

[@Lushy260]

Thanks for uploading, I live in Etobicoke. And I still love going downtown

[@leona159]

Cumberland Terrace, I love and shopped there for ever, thank you J 🙌🏼

[@efaber3565]

I use to work at that Bay store in the early 80’s.

[@truthtobehonest]

Nice walk and talk. Have a good one!

[@hhustlehumble1]

The beautiful Toronto, that mall looks the same as it did when I was there 20 years ago… it was never that busy I guess it gets busy during lunch hours for the office workers . I guess it does feel underground as underground as it is. Thanks for the beautiful videos Johnny! I enjoy them. Cheers.

[@user-iw4jl6bc8h]

.Toronto has no soul and no sense of design, poor architecture , pollution , homless, crimes .... with a fake time square

[@JohnGenser]

I lived in the area for a few years during the early 2000s. Was great to catch a glimpse of my buddy Gerald heading down the hall to the grocery store.

[@normlarkin1199]

Wow lots of memories here. Worked at 2 Bloor E in 80's and early 90's. OLG had a prize office in Cumberland Terrace before relocating, there was a bad fire at Plaza II in the 80's, many more stores and restaurants back then in the underground concourses. Surprised The Bay closed, I think their store had 5 floors including a cafeteria style restaurant. For Yonge and Bloor area it sure looks worse now.

[@78zappaf]

Wow, I was just there but I did not go to the Cumberland section. Quite a shock seeing it very empty! I used to shop there a lot (before the Covid outbreak).I do hope stores return, this is very sad.

[@ivywillow9274]

The Game and Hobby store I used to shop at around 20 years ago. I was here about a month ago and was shocked to see it still there. Unfortunately I remember there being a lot more neat treasures and collectables there when I was younger. But it's still an interesting little shop that you can find collectibles in. It brought back a lot of memories walking through this mall and finding the hobby store still in its same spot. Glad to see when shops are able to still be there so many years later. A place to check out if you are ever at this location. It is quite a small store, but if you are ok with that, you should check it out. :)

[@ScottSimpson]

That's cool to see! I used to work at Church and Bloor (333/777/One Mount Pleasant) and walked through there every day. I move away in 2005, which feels like yesterday, but looks in your video like it was a long long time ago! For reasons not clear to me, I still have dreams about coming out of the subway into that mall, specifically the Shopppers Drug Mart and food court.......grateful to have stumbled upon your video. Thank you!

[@jenniferbakos6913]

Thank you for showing this. These were my old stomping grounds back in the late 80’s

[@showandtell4265]

Id like to imagine what toronto really was like when families lived in toronto.... Or growing up here. What i remember of toronto most dates back to late 80s when i was 5 years old. Car and subway rides...

[@albertinirock4926]

Brings back memories!

[@davidhinsley6243]

When I worked on Bloor St in the 1980's first at the Windsor Arms, then the Pearcy House at 96 Bloor W, that mall was very busy, I liked the LCBO store right near the entrance to the subway.

[@oldrotgut]

Fascinating! I bought a DVD player at Bay Bloor Radio when DVDs were the flashy new technology.

[@justindot4887]

mustve cost a fortune.. then they all went out.

[@PWingert1966]

The arcade was a wonderful place to take dates as well since no one ever went there either. and in the Cumberland terrace there used ot be a Duxy's Deli on the corner where you turned to head back to the holt Renfrew center. They spent a fortune a couple of years ago to renovate that Holt Renfrew area. I just realized they moved the Tim Hortens. It used ot be down the corridor where the Laura Secord is. that pass through leading ot the Manulife center became a swimming pool for a couple of weeks when they were doing construction on bloor about a decade ago. They had four feet of water sitting in the passage, and it took a couple of weeks till the city finished the construction before they could renovate it. Also, a stairwell at the north west corner (end of the hallway af the hallway on your right as you exit the passageway had 7 feet of water filling the entrance when a water man broke, flooding the stairwell with the drain having been cemented over by mistake from an earlier repair. . It was so surreal seeing this water pressed up against the door and trickling in.

[@Nomphalos]

There used to be a movie theater in the Hudson Bay Centre, 2 Bloor E. It was underground and the entrance was covered up over 20 years ago I think.

[@bb3ca201]

I used to attend Toronto School of Business when it was there. It was a great place to shop and eat (they had a great food court). Plus, of course, it was nearby to Yonge St

[@jasonrobertson9618]

Very cool to see it. I've always been interested in the 'underground city' portions of Toronto as someone who grew up in Windsor and only ever heard about them. What would be interesting to see is a map view of where you went in and came out, maybe with a dotted line to roughly show the path taken. It would help give a perspective for how much area is actually down there.

[@cameobabec968]

Yes, a map view would be great because it can be a bit of a maze for tourists to navigate, the signage is dreadful and one can easily get lost down there but in all my years working downtown if there was ever a map available for shoppers I never found it.

[@jimkoval4725]

Thanks for the cool tour. We lived north of the city for many years and got downtown a bunch. I remember going through this area as well as the Path. Would you know if when they build those 3 towers you mentioned do all those store get taken out to make the foundations or can they build over it?

[@IppiopaidFEEDBACK]

This video brings me back down memory lane, when I was new to the city. I remember I would get off the subway and buy beef patties from the Indian lady down there in the food court. And I remember when they had the Cumberland movie theater that is no more. I haven’t been down there in years, are used to know it like the back of my hand.

[@lawrencedewan9838]

Thanks! From M.T. Town

[@yypoon6290]

The entrance/exit of Bay Street subway used to be my path to get to work at City Hall down south on Queen n Bay. It was a more than 10 years daily routine but haven't been there over 20 years. A lot of changes. It was a bit rundown already before the millenium and all those sun filled area are new renovation.

[@MrKchernes]

In university in the mid-2000s had a group assignment to come up with a plan to improve Cumberland Street. Spent many days in that food court and wandering the underground paths.