SM Megamall

Asia, Malls | 16. May, 2008 by GreatStructures | 0 Comments

SM Megamall is a large shopping mall in the Ortigas business district of Metro Manila, Philippines, owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings.. It is the third largest shopping mall in the country, and seventh largest shopping mall in the world.

SM Megamall is located in the Ortigas Center, at the portion encompassed by Mandaluyong City. It stands along the main EDSA thoroughfare and is almost adjacent to the Metro Rail Transit’s Ortigas station.

The mall is located in close-proximity to several other shopping centers and malls. It is right across the street from another shopping complex, St. Francis Square, which has branches of some shops restaurants also found in SM Megamall.

Some of the more notable shopping malls nearby are Robinsons Galleria, Shangri-la Plaza, Starmall, EDSA Central and The Podium; the latter is also owned by SM Megamall’s parent company, SM Prime Holdings.

In a study done on the world’s largest shopping malls by Eastern Connecticut State University, the mall was ranked fifth among the world’s largest shopping malls by “ground level area”, and was the third largest mall in the Philippines, below the SM Mall of Asia and SM City North EDSA.

History

The mall was opened in June 1991, the third SM Supermall, after SM City Sta. Mesa and the SM City North EDSA. At one point it was ranked third largest by floor area, measuring 331,679 square meters. It also boasts the first ice skating rink in the country.

Attractions

The mall is home to many of the staple anchors found in the SM family of shopping malls, collectively called SM Supermalls. Megamall has branches of SM Department Store, SM Supermarket, SM Foodcourt and SM Appliance Center. It also has twelve movie theaters as part of the SM Cinema theater chain.

Other acknowledged anchors include Ace Hardware, National Bookstore, Surplus Shop, Toy Kingdom, Power Books, Watson’s and Our Home.

SM Megamall has a X-lane bowling center, called the SM Bowling Center.

One of the first ice skating rinks in the country, can be found in this mall. However, it was built with a load-bearing pillar at center ice, thus making it impossible to play a proper hockey game, although various attempts have been made to do so.

For conventions and functions, the mall houses three SM Megatrade Halls on its top floor.

Technology-related shops such as computer shops and mobile phone-specialist shops are collectively located in a section of the mall’s fourth floor, designated the Cyberzone.

The Atrium is often rented out for events and in-mall concerts.

The Bridgeway connecting the two main buildings of the mall contains several eateries. While the mall itself closes at a set time (usually 9:00pm-10:00pm on ordinary days), restaurants located within the Megastrip portion of the mall on the outskirts of the building premises are usually open until midnight. Currently this portion of the mall is under expansion, slated to complete in mid-2009.

Incidents and Accidents

April 16, 2007 An empty, burning taxi was found in front of the mall’s entrance. Apparently the driver was able to escape his taxi before it overheated. Mandaluyong City firefighters extinguished the fire shortly after the blaze started.
May 21, 2000 A bomb exploded in a restroom of the Cinema in Megamall. This caused the modern inspection of bags and security and safety precautions in and around Malls today.