The old Ontario Plaza was built starting in 1956 at Mountain Avenue and Fourth Street and expanded in 1959 down to I Street. The nearly six blocks of shops and services marked Ontario’s transition away from the downtown core and into suburban-style shopping.

The Plaza was torn down in 1998 for a new development, also named Ontario Plaza, but with an Albertsons, Rite Aid and other shops.

Sunday’s column talks about the Plaza and notes many of the stores that were there. Feel free to comment here about your personal favorites or about any Plaza memories.

The photo above was shot Friday morning on the northeast corner of Mountain and Fourth. It depicts what I believe is the only surviving portion of the Plaza. The post office and Laundramatic were original tenants, arriving shortly after the Market Basket supermarket, and the signs and architectural style look like they might be original, don’t they?