Yet, on August 22, 1972, thousands of people climbed to the complex's plaza roof and engaged in a massive ceremony that included live music, food and a fireworks show signalling the grand opening of the mall and adjacent Bank of Montreal's commercial pavilion.

After years of dispute and confusion over the future of the Hamilton Farmer's Market, it was consolidated into a new indoor space in 1980,[4] coupled with a new, larger central library.

In 1989 Yale Properties announced it would close the skating rink and replace it with a daycare centre for the office workers, an idea that never came to full fruition.

[5] By 1994, as high-end chain clothing stores and smaller local boutiques left the mall in quick succession, Jackson Square became a haven for delinquent activity.

[9] The final blow for Jackson Square came in 1997, when the Bank of Montreal announced that it would be leaving its commercial pavilion and moving to its own lot on the corner of Main and Bay Street.

[4] After the release of the Hamilton Spectator's Code Red study in the Spring of 2010 revealed that the downtown core was a food desert, significantly contributing to the poverty and ill-health of the city's poorest citizens, Manager of the Economic Development Department Glen Norton placed an offer of $650,000 in grants as an incentive for a private grocer to build in the core.