[Urban Shocker]

Hate to kick a building when it's down, but couldn't resist passing on this little gem from the latest column by John Bentley Mays in the Globe:

It's toney and romantic, but unsophisticated — sculpted in imitation of the simple stepped-up facades Mr. Stern admires, but deliberately anti-modern and, in that sense, anti-Toronto. We're a big, sprawling Great Lakes town, after all, not dense Manhattan. One St. Thomas, and other pseudo-historical works of its sort, look as though they'd escaped from a museum of reactionary architecture.

 

[Evan]

Wow. Mays really is an asshole.

 

[junctionist]

It's a fair statement about the building. His comments about the city are, however, queer. The city isn't Manhattan, but has density and a history that predates the automobile. It also has Art Deco, even if conservative.

 

[Tewder]

John Bentley Mays in the Globe:

It's toney and romantic, but unsophisticated — sculpted in imitation of the simple stepped-up facades Mr. Stern admires, but deliberately anti-modern and, in that sense, anti-Toronto. We're a big, sprawling Great Lakes town, after all, not dense Manhattan. One St. Thomas, and other pseudo-historical works of its sort, look as though they'd escaped from a museum of reactionary architecture.

It seems that Mays' comments have escaped from a school of reactionary criticism. There is more to Toronto than modernism, whether the modernism of the 1950s/1960s or the pastichey pseudo-modernism fashionable with Toronto designers in the latest building boom.

 

[casaguy]

For those who may be curious... a peek inside one of the townhomes. (from lindareynolds.ca)







And some views of and from a tower suite. (from kevinmccarthy.ca)

 

[Redroom Studios]

cool... thanks for finding and presenting all those images for us. Looks like some very nice interior finishes and style to match the exterior. Some really nice views from the tower suite...

can anybody tell me the name of the building shown seen the first couple pics of the tower suite photos directly north across Bloor Street? I've loved that building since I first set eyes on it, but still dont know the name.

 

[Johnzz]

can anybody tell me the name of the building shown seen the first couple pics of the tower suite photos directly north across Bloor Street? I've loved that building since I first set eyes on it, but still dont know the name.

10 Bellair

A very nice building but units only have 9 foot ceiling height (except the top two floors).

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

For those who may be curious... a peek inside one of the townhomes. (from lindareynolds.ca)


And some views of and from a tower suite. (from kevinmccarthy.ca)

Suweeeeet! I love the balconies too.

 

[Redroom Studios]

thanks for the info!

 

[khris]

The kitchen looks very cramped! The pool is pretty nice!
The interiors are not my taste, but look well done.

 

[luxome]

very nice, but not quite my cup of tea. I prefer a more modern design. Thanks for the photos.

 

[lawsond]

We're a big, sprawling Great Lakes town, after all,

So is Chicago..even moreso but this style of building could have popped up on any street corner..or Cleveland, Detroit or even Buffalo.
What IS his point??
Other than it wouldn't have popped up today, but 80 years ago.
We needed those buildings then and didn't get them. So we're getting them now.
Whatever. Relax.
There's a huge difference between putting a period building like that in a neighbourhood that was well developed during that period and putting a mock Tudor split level in a '60s subdivision.

 

[Ramako]

I think it's great. An old style, but a strikingly different colour scheme.

Faux is fine in my books as long as it's done well, and this one has been.

 

[junctionist]

We needed those buildings then and didn't get them. So we're getting them now.

We're not really getting those buildings now, since this tower wouldn't have looked exactly like this if it was built in the 1930s. The stucco look is not Torontonian, and it lacks the various artistic flourishes which characterized the style.

 

[lawsond]

We're not really getting those buildings now, since this tower wouldn't have looked exactly like this if it was built in the 1930s.

fair enough and true. i took the liberty of rapping my knuckle on one of the panels that gird the outer skin and it rang like a bell...totally hollow. those things must be - wafer thin.
but that said, i guess i just like it regardless. it fulfills a need for buildings that even evoke the period.