Woodward building

See this typical brick building, crowned by a big red W, sitting on top of a replica of the tip of the Eiffel Tower? This is the oldest part of a historic downtown building, constructed in 1903 for Woodward’s department store. In its heyday, the building took up the entire block, and was 12 stories high. A pioneer in the idea of bringing together a wide range of products under one roof, people flocked to Woodward’s from everywhere for its various displays that went so far as offering turnkey travel bookings, and a food store at the basement, which was then one of the first supermarkets in North America! The curious also wanted to catch a glimpse of its enormous bright red W sign and admire its famous Christmas windows, beautifully decorated during the holiday season. Since the store’s bankruptcy in the 1990s, due to the emergence of a new model of hypermarkets in the suburbs, the building remained vacant, except for a period of occupation during which a small group of activists squatted the premises to demand the creation of social housing. Their action became known as “Woodsquat” and was the catalyst for the subsequent redevelopment of the site. In 2003, the city purchased the historic building for $5 million, to which they added a $400 million housing project. The oldest part of the building is preserved – that’s what you see in front of you – the neon sign however, was brought down from the roof and copied, to create a visually identical model but equipped with energy-saving LEDs. The rest of the building was demolished to make room for a 122 meters tall skyscraper known as the W Building. You should be able to see it in the background. If you’re passing along Cordova Street, be sure to admire its profile, strongly inspired by New York’s flat Iron building. You’ll also see the original W, placed in front of the entrance as a commemoration.