Look up to your left and you’ll spot Brunswick Square-an enormous modern complex with rows of glassy windows and a tall 19-storey office tower that rises over the city like a concrete giant.
Welcome to Brunswick Square! Picture yourself here in the mid-1970s, the air buzzing with excitement and a hint of demolition dust on the breeze. Back then, this very ground was the stage for one of Saint John’s grandest transformations. Where you’re standing now, there used to be the legendary Manchester, Robertson & Allison-the beloved department store locals called MRA’s. For over a hundred years, MRA’s echoed with the clatter of shoppers and cash registers, right up until December 31st, 1973, when its doors closed for good. People who worked there hurried to pack up the very last boxes-maybe sneaking one last look at their old favourite window display.
Not long after, in February 1974, the ground here shook as the bulldozers took over. Day by day, brick by brick, the old cityscape faded away to make room for a bold new idea-a 19-storey skyscraper, the tallest in all of Saint John. Can you imagine the anticipation? The buzz in the streets as folks watched wave after wave of demolition sweep down King and Germain Streets, wondering what the future would bring. The original plan was even bigger! They dreamed up a 33-storey tower, a new Hilton hotel, and a three-level shopping mall wrapped around it all.
When Brunswick Square finally opened in 1976, they threw a party with a larger-than-life cake shaped exactly like the towers above you-a cake so impressive that Premier Richard Hatfield sliced it with a sword!
Over the years, Brunswick Square became the city’s crossroads, with a busy shopping mall, a huge parking garage, and the Inside Connection pedway system-secret tunnels and bridges connecting you to the City Market, Delta Hotels, city hall, TD Station, and beyond. It’s also the proud home of the New Brunswick Black History Society’s Black Heritage Site, telling powerful stories New Brunswick had never officially marked before.
Times have changed, though. The echo from crowds started to fade over the 2010s and beyond, as more stores closed and new gatherings took their places. Despite all the ups and downs-from a bustling shopping hotspot to quieter days and “for sale” signs-the spirit of Brunswick Square still stands tall, as if keeping a lookout over all of Saint John. Who knows what stories these glass walls will witness next?
