The Manulife Centre is located on the southeast corner of

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

and Bloor streets, along the

Mink Mile Mink Mile is an upscale shopping district in the neighbourhood of Yorkville in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, along Bloor Street between Yonge Street and Avenue Road. History In the 21st century, mid-market retailers have begun to locate along th ...

and adjacent to the southern edge of the Yorkville district of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It consists of a 51-storey 800-suite luxury residential tower a
44 Charles Street
and a shorter tower at 55 Bloor Street West, connected by a retail complex on the main floor and basement.

History

Designed by the Toronto architectural firm of Clifford and Lawrie Architects, construction began in 1972 and was completed in 1974. It was developed and built for

Manulife Financial Manulife Financial Corporation (also known as Financière Manuvie in Quebec) is a Canadian multinational insurance company and financial services provider headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company operates in Canada and Asia as "Manulife" an ...

, the current owners. Early retail tenants at the Manulife Centre included

Bretton's Bretton's was a high-end department store in Canada from 1985 to 1996. The first two Bretton's stores were opened in Ottawa in 1985 by the parent company, Comark Incorporated. Comark (founded 1976), owned by the Brenninkmeijer family of the Nethe ...

department store (60,000 square feet), Creed's (38,000 square feet), Harridge's, and other luxury tenants. Over time, these three large retailers went bankrupt and closed.

Today

Today the retail portion of Manulife Centre serves the local population, and includes Birks and Indigo Books. Bay Bloor Radio, which was founded in 1946, moved into the Manulife Centre when it opened and remains there today. A tunnel connects the basement level of the shopping concourse to

Holt Renfrew Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited (doing business as Holt Renfrew and known colloquially as Holt's) is a Canadian luxury department store chain founded in 1837 by William S. Henderson. It has been owned by the Weston family since 1986, and was previo ...

at 50 Bloor Street West on the north side of Bloor. Manulife Centre is home to Canada's first flagship

Eataly Eataly is a chain of large format/footprint Italian marketplaces (food halls) comprising a variety of restaurants, food and beverage counters, bakery, retail items, and a cooking school. Eataly was founded by Oscar Farinetti, an entrepreneur for ...

location as well as notable Yorkville fashion retailer, Over the Rainbow, and

Shoppers Drug Mart Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. (named Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in nine provinces and two territories. The company was founded by pharmacist Murray Koffler in 1 ...

. The tower is served by

Bay Station Bay is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in heart of the Yorkville district just north of Bloor Street West on the west side of Bay Street. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) operates ...

on the TTC's

Line 2 Bloor–Danforth Line 2 Bloor–Danforth is a subway line in the Toronto subway system, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It has 31 stations and is in length. It opened on February 26, 1966, and extensions at both ends were completed in 1968 an ...

. Tunnels from the Manulife Centre provide access to Toronto's busiest subway station Bloor–Yonge. Manulife Centre Interior 2022.jpg, Manulife Centre Interior Manulife Centre.jpg, Residential tower Indigo-Bay and Bloor 2022.jpg, Indigo Books Eataly Toronto at Manulife Centre 2022.jpg, Eataly Toronto in Level 2

References

{{Reflist

External links

Manulife Centre - Shopping

44 Charles - Residential
Skyscrapers in Toronto Shopping malls in Toronto Brutalist architecture in Canada Residential skyscrapers in Canada Residential buildings completed in 1974 1974 establishments in Ontario

History

Today

See also

References

External links