Eaton's, which was once Canada's largest department store chain, partnered with development companies throughout the 1970s and 1980s to develop downtown shopping malls in cities across Canada. Each mall contained an Eaton's store, or was in close proximity to an Eaton's store, and typically the mall itself carried the "Eaton Centre" name. These joint-ventures represented a significant retail development trend in Canada during that period.
With the demise of the Eaton's chain in 1999, and the retiring of the Eaton's name as a retail banner in 2002, some of these malls have been renamed, although three of the larger ones continue to carry the Eaton name. Some malls in smaller urban areas, which were typically the least successful of all the Eaton Centre developments, have been demolished or converted to other, non-retail uses.
Before the Eaton Centres
Prior to the building of these large shopping malls, Eatons, like other departments stores in Canada and around the world, built stand-alone buildings that would hold one large department store only. Often these large retailers dominated the central cores of many mid-sized Canadian sized Canadian cities. Examples include Eaton's Building , College Park , and Eaton's Annex (Toronto).