The Mall That Ed Built

You probably know somebody named Ed, like maybe an uncle or a landlord. There are people named Ed, and then there are places named Ed. I spent Thursday evening in such a place – in a place called West Ed.


West Edmonton Mall (aka West Ed) is a super-sized shopping mall in Edmonton which has all sorts of attractions built into it, including a waterpark, an amusement park, submarine rides, two theatres, a skating rink, a hotel, a bowling alley, a fire-breathing dragon, and the requisite pirate ship. When it was first built 20-some years ago, it was billed as the largest indoor shopping mall in the world. (Perhaps that was part of a rivalry with the Calgary Stampede, the self-proclaimed “largest outdoor show on earth.”) Surely, larger malls have been built since, but West Ed may truly have been the biggest for its time. Those glory days are now in the past.


West Ed shows its age, but it’s still an interesting place to come visit – mainly because it is a throwback to an earlier time. It’s also a great place for late-night bowling.

Two steep escalators bring you to the heights of Ed’s Rec Room, where a modest $7.50 allows you bowl to your heart’s content -- all the way until midnight. Amongst the shabby carpets, lonely vending machines and the unpainted panels of GypRock, I bowled one of the greatest games of my life. Since I am not much of a bowler, the mediocre score of 169 was enough to qualify for my all-time record (at least, highest in recent memory).

I give all the credit to Ed, who inspired me to reach for the stars.