page_title: Munkkivuori
section_title: Shopping centre
hierarchical_section_title: Munkkivuori / History / Shopping centre
caption_attribution_description: English: The Munkkivuori shopping center and church in Helsinki, Finland. Suomi: Munkkivuoren ostoskeskus ja kirkko Helsingissä.
context_page_description: Munkkivuori is a quarter of the Munkkiniemi neighbourhood in Helsinki. The buildings and the plan of site are typical of the late 1950s. Most of the residential buildings in Munkkivuori are within a loop formed by Ulvilantie ring road. The automotive traffic to the residential buildings is routed along Ulvilantie whereas Raumantie no through road terminating in the center of the Ulvilantie loop provides access to public services and limits the through-traffic in residential areas. A designed network of crushed stone walkways provides easy accessibility around Munkkivuori for cyclists, pedestrians and other non-automotive traffic.
  Munkkivuoren ostoskeskus, the first shopping centre in Finland, was built in 1959. The small shopping center, known as "Ostari" amongst the locals, is the focal point of Munkkivuori and is the home to some 40 companies. Many everyday services are available at the viable shopping center. These services include two grocery stores, a post office, a cafeteria, a nearby church, a couple of barber shops and fast food restaurants, one larger restaurant, a pharmacy, a privately owned health center, ATM, various bank branches, a bookstore and an Alko liquor store.
context_section_description: The Munkkivuori shopping centre was designed by architects Olavi Terho, Nils Sandell and Antti Pernaja. The shopping center was the first of its kind in Finland, and introduced a new way of shopping, in which families would concentrate their shopping in one place. The developer for the project was Otto Wuorio Oy. The CEO of Otto Wuorio, Lauri Reunala, travelled to the United States to learn about shopping centres. At first, there were conflicting naming proposals for the shopping centre. The initial name suggested was "Munkkivaaran ostoskeskus" and this name was even adopted by the local pharmacy for a while. Professor Kustaa Vilkuna, a linguist, suggested a common name "Puhos" for all shopping communities. In practice, the current name "Munkkivuoren ostoskeskus" became established, simply after the name of the quarter.
  A real estate company named Munkkivuoren Ostoskeskus Oy was established on 30 January 1959 for managing the shopping centre properties. The shopping centre opened on 3 December 1959, with attractions such as Fazer cafeteria, Varuboden, HOK bar, Clou make-up store, and various banks such as HOP, SYP, Torkkeli and KOP-bus. PIVO traded daily consumer goods and introduced their own-produced convenience food. In the 1960s, the shopping centre was marketed with good traffic connections and parking space, and was first expanded and modernized in 1964. Planning work for building a metropolitan railway system in Helsinki was intense at that time, and a first draft was issued in March 1963; in accordance with this draft, the expansion of the shopping centre included the construction of the first metro station of Finland.
  The plan to build a metro to Munkkivuori and a metro depot to Tali, however, was rejected after lengthy discussions as too extensive. Helsinki metro construction works finally commenced in 1971 but by that time the whole metro line running northbound from city center was abandoned and an eastbound line was to be built. Thus, ironically enough, the first metro station of Finland never saw a metro. The 1964 modernization of the shopping center, including Munkkivuori metro station construction works, was already completed when the northbound metro plans were scrapped. As of today the station has been converted into a small business plaza where a handful of stand-alone stores operate. A short leg of the metro tunnel also remains under the shopping center as reminiscence.
  The next modernization and renovation of the shopping center took place in 1994. An underground parking hall and an extension wing for S-Market supermarket were built. The shopping center courtyard was bulldozed to give room for the parking hall. The bulldozing ended the era of a pyramid shaped hamburger kiosk that was located in the middle of the courtyard. Also the easternmost building of the shopping center, where an R-kioski convenience store and a shoemaker traded, was demolished. The National Board of Antiquities analysed all shopping centers in Finland in year 2002. The board found the shopping center of Munkkivuori to be in the top of the first class in functionality as well as in cultural value. Especially, the so-called pavilions were classified as cultural heritage and protected in the plan of site.
caption: Munkkivuori shopping centre, church and bell tower in the early 1960s
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