On the morning of July 22, CBC Radio news reported on a suspicious fire that had occurred overnight at a commercial plaza near Eglinton Avenue East and Kennedy Road. Later that day, I viewed cable news footage of the fire scene and immediately recognized the location as Liberty Plaza, which I had photographed for my Strip Malls documentary project in 2022.
The majority of the 60 malls included in my Strip Malls series are each represented by a single architectural photograph. However, because of their unique relationship, I decided to take extra views of the two large malls on Eglinton East near Kennedy Road. Both had opened in the early 1960s, and they were aligned directly opposite each other, set back behind their wide parking lots.
The unnamed mall on the south side of Eglinton was partially abandoned, while the units in Liberty Plaza on the opposite side were fully occupied.
Liberty Village also had a couple of unusual features. The Kennedy/Eglinton branch of the Toronto Public Library occupied its west block, while a carriageway through its central section led to a second large parking lot in the rear.
Although it would not open for several more years, by 2022 the Line 5 LRT rail corridor had already been completed on this section of Eglinton, forming a traffic barrier between the two malls. Thus, I was able to include a new piece of transportation infrastructure disrupting a scene that otherwise reflected the car culture of the past.
The news reporting suggested the July 22 fire, as well as a previous one in April, might have been arson attacks on Seven Heaven Massage Spa at 2408 Eglinton East, which lacked external signage and sat in an inconspicuous corner of the mall. The spa was devastated, but its neighbours, Incredible Discount and All Star Beauty Complex, also sustained considerable damage. Ten residents were displaced from apartments above the stores.
The affected businesses are typical of the small enterprises I encountered in 2022, when I photographed different inner suburban strip malls to the south, east and west of downtown. Strip malls are attractive to retail startups of all kinds, but some businesses remain for generations. While All Star Beauty Complex was only eight years old when I photographed it, Incredible Discount had been in business at Liberty Plaza since 1995.
Arson attacks against businesses are not a new phenomenon in Toronto. They can wreck thriving enterprises and displace or frighten residents of mixed-use buildings. Recovery can be a long process, but happily restoration work at Liberty Plaza is already underway.
All photos © P. MacCallum, 2022 (petermaccallum.com)
