Stephen's Green Shopping Centre is a large indoor

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre ( Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known colle ...

at the top of

Grafton Street Grafton Street () is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre (the other being Henry Street). It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south (at the highest point of the street) to College Green in the north (the lowes ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland. It is named after St. Stephen's Green, a city park situated across the road from its main entrance. Its street address is St. Stephen's Green West.

History

Site and Dandelion Market (1966–1986)

The site of the shopping centre was assembled over 15 years by the

Slazenger Slazenger () is a British sports equipment brand owned by the Frasers Group (formerly Sports Direct). The company was established as a sporting goods shop in 1881 by Ralph and Albert Slazenger on London's Cannon Street.J. R. Lowerson, 'Slazen ...

family, beginning in 1966. In total, more than 150 individual property owners were bought out over that period. Most of the buildings were Georgian, and these were left to fall into disrepair and ruin as plans for an extensive redevelopment of the site as an office block and shopping centre totalling almost half-a-million square feet were drawn up. The original architects were

Scott Tallon Walker Scott Tallon Walker is an architecture practice with its head office in Dublin, Ireland and further offices in London, Galway and Cork. It is one of the largest architecture practices in Ireland. Established in 1931 as Scott and Good, becoming ...

, and planning permission for their scheme was granted in 1975. During the recession of the late 1970s, the small shops were rented out under a scheme known as "the Gaiety Green". At the weekends, this was marketed as the ''Dandelion Market'', known for its alternative vendors, popular with younger people. U2 played some of their earliest gigs at the market. The market, which closed in 1981, is commemorated with a plaque, while Sinnotts Bar on

South King Street South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

is the only trader from the original site that remains. The site was put up for sale in 1980, and was purchased by Patrick Gallagher in April 1981 for £10.5 million. Most of the buildings on the site were demolished while Gallagher attempted to sell the site to

Irish Life Irish Life Assurance plc, commonly known as Irish Life, is an Irish life assurance and pensions company. Irish Life has been part of the Great-West Lifeco group of companies since 2013, when the Irish Government sold the business. Prior to 201 ...

, without success. He also sought permission to erect a show house for his Fortunestown development in

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but this was rejected by Dublin Corporation. After Gallagher went bankrupt, the site was re-acquired by the Slazengers, and it was placed back on the market in 1983, and later sold for £5 million to Power Securities. They drew up plans for 7 acres of retail, bar and restaurant spaces, with 40 luxury flats and parking for 800 cars.

Development and Construction

The centre in its final form was developed by

British Land The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It is headquartered in ...

under a design by James Toomey. Work began on the shopping centre in 1986, with plans for anchor and specialist shops, restaurants and bars, leisure facilities, and, at a cost of £15 million, 700 parking spaces.

Opening and operation

The project was completed in 1988, with a total budget of £50 million, and the centre officially opened its doors on 8 November that year, though with only 4 units ready on the first day. The use of glass and ornate white iron work on the exterior has been "likened to a Mississippi steamboat moored on the edge of the Green" and the building is locally often called "The Wedding Cake". In 2019, a fund managed by Davy Group acquired the remaining portions of the property not under its ownership.

Shops

The centre has over 100 outlets. Major retailers include

Dunnes Stores Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain also has operations in Spain, and formerly in England and Scotland. The f ...

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Boot or Boots may also refer to: Businesses * Boot Inn, Chester, Cheshire, England * Boots (company), a high-street pharmacy chain and manufacturer of pharmaceuticals in the United Kingdom * The Boot, Cromer St ...

, GameStop and

TK Maxx TK Maxx is a subsidiary of the American apparel and home goods company TJX Companies based in Framingham, Massachusetts. The stores operate throughout the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands, totall ...

References

Notes

Sources

External links

* {{coord, 53, 20, 23, N, 6, 15, 42, W, region:IE_type:landmark, display=title Shopping centres in County Dublin Buildings and structures in Dublin (city) St Stephen's Green