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Hudson's Bay flagship store

(Redirected from Hudson's Bay Queen Street)

The Hudson's Bay flagship store (originally the Simpson's flagship store) is a department store on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was designed by the Burke and Horwood architecture firm for Robert Simpson, and opened in 1896; it replaced the first store on the grounds founded in 1894, which burned down in 1895. It was the flagship store of the Simpsons department store chain, was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1978, and was converted to The Bay flagship store in 1991. The store was rebranded to Hudson's Bay in 2013, and sub-divided to include the Saks Fifth Avenue Canadian flagship store in 2016. The previous Hudson's Bay flagship store was located several blocks north at the Hudson's Bay Centre on Bloor Street East, and existed alongside the present-day flagship store until 2022.

Hudson's Bay flagship store
Exterior of Hudson's Bay flagship store (2021)
Map
Former names
  • Simpson's Department Store
  • The Bay
General information
Architectural styleNeo-Romanesque
Location176 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates43°39′07″N 79°22′46″W / 43.65194°N 79.37944°W / 43.65194; -79.37944
Current tenants
Opened1896
Renovated
  • 1907
  • 1923
  • 1929
  • 2014–2016
ClientRobert Simpson
OwnerCadillac Fairview
Technical details
Floor count8
Floor area70,000 square metres (750,000 sq ft) of selling space
Design and construction
Architecture firmBurke and Horwood
Website
Hudson's Bay Queen Street

The Hudson's Bay flagship store spans 70,000 square metres (750,000 sq ft) of selling space, making it one of the largest department stores in Canada. HBC sold the building to Cadillac Fairview and officially became part of the Toronto Eaton Centre in 2014, although the two buildings have been connected by skybridge since the 1970s. The companies maintain a leaseback agreement through 2039, and the store was one of six locations the spared from the creditor protection and liquidation filed by HBC in March 2025. However, on April 23, 2025 due to court rulings deeming it "low probability" to find a buyer to keep the remaining six stores afloat, HBC announced the liquidation of all Hudson's Bay stores including the Hudson's Bay flagship store. [1]

History

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1895–1991: Simpsons

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Simpson's Department Store c. 1908

The 1896 sandstone building located on Queen Street slightly west of Yonge Street was built by Toronto firm of Burke and Horwood for Simpson's Department Store in the Romanesque Revival style with Chicago School influences.[2][3] The fireproof steel frame structure replaced the original 6-storey store that burned in 1895 just three-months after opening.[4] The store was built to replace the original Simpson's dry goods business at 184 Yonge Street [5] and was located directly across from rival retailer's Eaton's Annex.

The store's interior featured an open atrium that extended from the ground to the sixth floor. In addition to other departments, the basement featured a coffee shop and discount division. In 1954, it was connected to the Queen subway station and later to the PATH network.

In the early 20th Century, a Dominion supermarket (City Hall Market) occupied the northeast corner of the ground floor. It closed in the 1960s.[citation needed]

The store outgrew the capacity of the structure by 1900, leading to the first of several expansions. Burke and Horwood returned with additions in 1907 and 1923.[6] The largest expansion came in 1929 with Chapman and Oxley's nine-floor Art Deco addition (facing Bay and Richmond) capped by the Arcadian Court.[7] When construction completed, the store occupied two full city blocks.

In 1969, John B. Parkin's Simpson Tower was added to the complex at the corner of Queen Street West and Bay Street to house Simpson's offices.

Unlike Eaton's, the store survived the remaking of the neighbourhood and retained the original look. A glass-enclosed bridge was added in the late 1970s to allow customers to access the Toronto Eaton Centre without braving the elements or traffic.

Today's Special, a children's television series that aired on TVOntario and in the United States on Nickelodeon during the 1980s, utilized the location for several scenes.

1991–present: Hudson's Bay

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Void of the department store

In 1991, the Simpson's name was replaced with the banner The Bay (amended to the current "Hudson's Bay" in 2013).

The Bay Queen Street continues the Simpson's tradition of Christmas-themed display windows facing Queen Street West west of the main Queen Street entrance.

The complex connects to the nearby Bay Adelaide Centre, Queen Station and shared underground parking complex.

In January 2014, HBC announced it had sold the property to Cadillac Fairview through a sale-and-leaseback arrangement, with HBC leasing the property for at least the following 25 years (with options for a further 50 years). Under the deal, the store is for the first time considered an official part of the Cadillac Fairview-owned Toronto Eaton Centre.[8]

The main department store space was divided into two, with one side remodeled and opened in 2016 as a Saks Fifth Avenue, a luxury department store chain that HBC acquired in 2013, the other half retains the Hudson's Bay store.[8]

In 2016, a grocery store, Saks Food Hall, was added run by Pusateri's in the basement. It shut down abruptly in 2024 amidst Pusateri's bankruptcy filings, despite initial statements saying it would remain open.[9][10]

In 2023, a small section of Hudson's Bay in the basement is dedicated to the revived Zellers.

  •  
    Entrance Lobby
  •  
    Level 2 Women Fashion
  •  
    Level 3 Shoes
  •  
    Level 6 Furniture

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Deschamps, Tara (April 23, 2025). "Hudson's Bay will liquidate last 6 remaining stores, court filing says". Global News. Global News. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  2. ^ David Monteyne. "Burke, Horwood and White". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  3. ^ "Simpson's Department Store". Architectural Index for Ontario. Toronto Public Library. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  4. ^ "The Robert Simpson Company Limited". Hudson's Bay Company. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  5. ^ "Canadian Fashion Connection – St. Regis Room, Simpsons". Jonathan Walford's Blog. 4 December 2010. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  6. ^ "Information on Architect: Chapman & Oxley, (firm)". Architectural Index for Ontario. Toronto Public Library. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  7. ^ "Simpsons". The Department Store Museum. April 2011. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  8. ^ a b "HBC sells flagship Toronto store, will open Saks location". 2014-01-27. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  9. ^ "Most Pusateri's locations to shutter amid bankruptcy filings". Aug 17, 2024. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  10. ^ Patterson, Craig (2025-01-27). "Saks Food Hall Closes in Toronto, Marking End of the Concept". Retail Insider. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
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  Media related to Robert Simpson Department Store Building at Wikimedia Commons

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