London Citi Plaza was the first surprise of the trip. It actually seems like a semi-functioning mall! The architecture is also pretty stunning all in all, with vaulted arcade-style roofs and some decor that has clearly been updated since the mall’s first incarnation. In particular, the super sleek, super simple metal pillars and bar chairs on the lower level, as well as the ceiling details above them, seem to stick out as fairly recent looking additions.

This was also the only mall on the trip to have a highly visible Security Office. Usually only bigger malls have this feature, like in Yorkdale Mall or in the West Edmonton Mall. It dramatizes the security presence in the mall, and acts as a Big Brother deterrence against hooligans.

Many stores have left Citi Plaza, however other major installments have taken their place. The public library now has a branch in the mall. Western University, Everest College and Fanshawe College all have campuses there too.

So here are the photos below. I’ve tacked on a few other photos of London, since there aren’t enough to warrant their own post. One of the more interesting things we saw in London was this velodrome built in an old hockey arena. Peter said that he thinks it’s the world’s smallest and it’s also one of only three indoor tracks in North America. We just kind of stumbled upon it (this happened a lot on our trip). Peter knew it existed and roughly where it was, but we just happened to be in the right area and happened to turn into the right parking lot!