dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
Sounds like Yonge St!
Ok, so how can rag-tag dollar stores and "junk" dealers afford the rent on Yonge? I could never understand this.
Are there wooden hydro poles on Yonge Street? I can't recall any but I could be wrong.
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Are there wooden hydro poles on Yonge Street? I can't recall any but I could be wrong.
renvel
Active Member
Wooden junk poles
The most notorious ones are on Dundas St . W across the street from the AGO .
But this is not Yonge Street , sorry....:
The most notorious ones are on Dundas St . W across the street from the AGO .
But this is not Yonge Street , sorry....:
gstreetwalker
New Member
Yonge St. Scene collection
Folks, I have a collection of Yonge images captured from Google Street Cameras
http://gstreetwalker.blogspot.com
Folks, I have a collection of Yonge images captured from Google Street Cameras
http://gstreetwalker.blogspot.com
Jonny5
Senior Member
So the infamous blue-yellow Christmas lights are back again this year!
In store news:
Marble Slab Creamery is open in the space that used to be the Pizza joint at Gould.
There is a sign outside Swiss Chalet that says something like "Up to 5000sq. ft. of ground level retail available!". They are still open, so I take it they are not renewing their lease and are moving out. They've had a very long run there.
Another waffle place is opening in one of the tiny store fronts near Zanzibar. Actually I think this might be a move for the waffle shop just south of Gould.
The facade of the building just south of the Elephant and Castle is completely boarded up. It seriously brings down the whole street to have it like that. The BIA should get on covering it up with something.
The wing restaurant that opened at Granby, near Amato's seems to be doing brisk business every time I walk by.
Further north, I always see people peering through the window to Zelda's, but I don't know if they are actually getting any traffic inside.
In store news:
Marble Slab Creamery is open in the space that used to be the Pizza joint at Gould.
There is a sign outside Swiss Chalet that says something like "Up to 5000sq. ft. of ground level retail available!". They are still open, so I take it they are not renewing their lease and are moving out. They've had a very long run there.
Another waffle place is opening in one of the tiny store fronts near Zanzibar. Actually I think this might be a move for the waffle shop just south of Gould.
The facade of the building just south of the Elephant and Castle is completely boarded up. It seriously brings down the whole street to have it like that. The BIA should get on covering it up with something.
The wing restaurant that opened at Granby, near Amato's seems to be doing brisk business every time I walk by.
Further north, I always see people peering through the window to Zelda's, but I don't know if they are actually getting any traffic inside.
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taal
Senior Member
To add a bit,
most of the spaces for lease 1 year ago are now occupied ... there's still more stores for lease but not nearly as much. The shoe store near Ryerson is a notable one.
For the most part, the vacancies have been filled with fast food joints or restaurants.
most of the spaces for lease 1 year ago are now occupied ... there's still more stores for lease but not nearly as much. The shoe store near Ryerson is a notable one.
For the most part, the vacancies have been filled with fast food joints or restaurants.
Archivist
Senior Member
Says Yonge Street Shabby; Has Mean Shop Fronts
From the Star, January 31, 1927, Page 1
John M. Lyle Strongly Criticizes Appearance of Business Streets
I doubt if any city in the world of a similar size can show a shabbier street than Yonge street; a mean lot of shops, or a worse conglomerations of false fronts,” said John M. Lyle, a graduate of Yale University and L’Ecode des Beaux Arts, Paris, in speaking to the Canadian Club to-day on “Canadian Architecture”.
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I guess it was ever so. Perhaps Aura is the answer.
From the Star, January 31, 1927, Page 1
John M. Lyle Strongly Criticizes Appearance of Business Streets
I doubt if any city in the world of a similar size can show a shabbier street than Yonge street; a mean lot of shops, or a worse conglomerations of false fronts,” said John M. Lyle, a graduate of Yale University and L’Ecode des Beaux Arts, Paris, in speaking to the Canadian Club to-day on “Canadian Architecture”.
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I guess it was ever so. Perhaps Aura is the answer.
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adma
Superstar
And his response to that was the building in front of which Jane Creba was killed.
Jonny5
Senior Member
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Coltaine79
Active Member
I dunno, they seem to be making Yonge sound worse than it really is. I mean, to me it still has that "funky and eclectic" vibe - I don't consider it "in decay" at all!
BTW! Usually newspaper blog-style comment sections are the sole domain of unemployed right-wing yahoos who loathe everything urban and progressive... but I actually found an honest comment I agree with 100%, I wish I had posted it:
BTW! Usually newspaper blog-style comment sections are the sole domain of unemployed right-wing yahoos who loathe everything urban and progressive... but I actually found an honest comment I agree with 100%, I wish I had posted it:
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Glen
Senior Member
Wow, more condos with ground floor retail, I never thought I would see more of that in Toronto [/sarchasam].
UrbanFervour
Active Member
I am excited about Snohetta's upcoming proposal for Ryerson, 1 Bloor, Five, (Aura, I guess) and other potential changes to Yonge... but this article made it sound like drastic changes are in the works for the segment of Yonge between Dundas Square and Gerrard. I really hope that whatever changes are made are made with consideration of the impact these new buildings, already in their various stages of planning/construction, will have on the street... Massive sweeping change to our (admittedly shabby) main street could leave it as a soulless copy of Bay Street. In my opinion, we need and should keep storefronts on Yonge. Lots of them.
If all this gentrification cleans up Yonge, where am I gonna go to get a tattoo, look at strippers, buy tacky Canadiana tchotchkes and generally enjoy the seedier side of city living?
If all this gentrification cleans up Yonge, where am I gonna go to get a tattoo, look at strippers, buy tacky Canadiana tchotchkes and generally enjoy the seedier side of city living?
buildup
Senior Member
"Mr. Levy, at Ryerson, is pushing the city to allow the block north of Dundas to evolve into a “digital media zone” meant to attract high-tech entrepreneurs and extend the glitzy electronic vibe of Dundas Square north to College. “It’s time for the city to take the initiative,” he says.
That’s a contentious idea, and one candidate running to succeed Mr. Rae, Kristyn Wong-Tam, feels it’s important the city not forget about local apartment dwellers. “Yonge belongs to the neighbourhood and the business owners,” she says. "
I thought Wong-Tam's comment was puzzling, sort of reflexively anti-development. For one thing, 'apartment dwellers are not owners'...secondly, where are these apartment dwellers exactly who would object to this area being upgraded? The 2nd & 3rd floor occupants of commercial properties fronting Yonge? Anyway, it just seemed like a an odd note from a candidate - perhaps the first-ever argument against intensifying and upgrading Yonge & Dundas. Also, what does she mean saying "Yonge belongs to the neighbourhood"? That is meaningless. The street & sidewalks belong to the city, and the properties belong to whoever has title. Her tone is vaguely Marxist, even though she's not really saying anything.
That’s a contentious idea, and one candidate running to succeed Mr. Rae, Kristyn Wong-Tam, feels it’s important the city not forget about local apartment dwellers. “Yonge belongs to the neighbourhood and the business owners,” she says. "
I thought Wong-Tam's comment was puzzling, sort of reflexively anti-development. For one thing, 'apartment dwellers are not owners'...secondly, where are these apartment dwellers exactly who would object to this area being upgraded? The 2nd & 3rd floor occupants of commercial properties fronting Yonge? Anyway, it just seemed like a an odd note from a candidate - perhaps the first-ever argument against intensifying and upgrading Yonge & Dundas. Also, what does she mean saying "Yonge belongs to the neighbourhood"? That is meaningless. The street & sidewalks belong to the city, and the properties belong to whoever has title. Her tone is vaguely Marxist, even though she's not really saying anything.
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Northern Light
Superstar
On 'the digital media zone'.......in the block north of Dundas......
Am I missing something, excluding 'metropolis/Toronto Life' w/e its called this week........that block only has the HMV and the damaged historical property left.
That's not much of a zone....but ok.
However, Ryerson has made no secret of their desire to buy up the whole east side of Yonge up to Gerrard......Hmmmmm
On Primus.......let's get our real Estate people on this......Mike, Observer......what have they snapped up? Do they do residential?
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As to most of the rest, I certainly think overall Yonge is progressing, just as downtown is, in a positive direction overall.
FIVE is best-in-class of the redevelopments as far as I'm concerned, and more like that would be welcome.
*****
On narrowing Yonge, bike lanes, trees etc. An idea I fully support, but am not holding my breath for just yet.
There is no plan, the BIA just re-did the sidewalks, I think this is a few years away yet, but I'd be happy to be wrong.
Am I missing something, excluding 'metropolis/Toronto Life' w/e its called this week........that block only has the HMV and the damaged historical property left.
That's not much of a zone....but ok.
However, Ryerson has made no secret of their desire to buy up the whole east side of Yonge up to Gerrard......Hmmmmm
On Primus.......let's get our real Estate people on this......Mike, Observer......what have they snapped up? Do they do residential?
********
As to most of the rest, I certainly think overall Yonge is progressing, just as downtown is, in a positive direction overall.
FIVE is best-in-class of the redevelopments as far as I'm concerned, and more like that would be welcome.
*****
On narrowing Yonge, bike lanes, trees etc. An idea I fully support, but am not holding my breath for just yet.
There is no plan, the BIA just re-did the sidewalks, I think this is a few years away yet, but I'd be happy to be wrong.
TrickyRicky
Senior Member
Thinking about lower Yonge in decline, I don't think lower Yonge is in decline relative to itself but I think its importance to the city has been in relative decline for decades. I live in the old city of Toronto and I don't think I have been to a store, bar or restaurant on Yonge in the past 2 years. This is not an indictment of Yonge, rather a testimony to the dynamic changes occuring throught the central city.