Freiman Mall

Freiman Mall entrance

Freiman Mall is an enclosed arcade between Rideau and George Streets in Downtown Ottawa, Canada, east of Sussex Drive and west of William Street. The adjacent Hudson's Bay department store abuts the Freiman Mall on both its north and south sides, and can be accessed from the Freiman Mall interior.

History

The current location of the Freiman Mall was once a public road called Musgrove Street, located immediately to the east of the Freimans department store. The street was later renamed Freiman Street after the department store and its founder, Archibald Jacob Freiman. The Freimans department store was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1972 and rebranded as an outlet of the company's (then) "The Bay" chain.

In conjunction with the development of the Rideau Centre across the street in 1981, the City of Ottawa agreed to close Freiman Street and to lease the land to the HBC for a term of 99 years in exchange for the construction of an enclosed, public pedestrian passageway connecting Rideau Street to George Street and the ByWard Market, to be open 24 hours per day. Under the terms of the lease, HBC was entitled to install three kiosks related to its store within the new Freiman Mall, and the company and the city would share operating and security costs. In 1992, the lease was amended to allow HBC to encroach into the Freiman Mall with its merchandise displays, as long as a minimum 6.1-metre (20 ft)-wide public passageway was maintained. So as to reduce security costs, the lease amendment also allowed the company to close the Freiman Mall during a portion of the night.