S
Sir Novelty Fashion
Guest
Yesterday, I found myself rousted out of bed early, and under some delusion about how warm it really was out there. So what better way to kill a Saturday than with an old-school walkabout update? Please feel free to attach this pics to threads hither and yon, but I always find there's something fun about having them all in one place too.
We start at the corner of Bloor and Spadina...
Mosaic:
Showing hints of a streetwall along Spadina:
Down behind Hudson, sitework on Glas is starting:
The sales centre is still there, though they're busy packing up the models:
Across the road, still the hostel, still ever so slightly overselling the backpacking life:
Cityplace, topped out
Malibu, at the foot of Bathurst:
Demolition next door at West Harbour City is still ongoing; half a factory still stands as a sales centre:
The lights are still on upstairs, which might not be remarkable if...
...it wasn't half-a-building. Seen from behind:
At the far end of the site, another stump:
And at the base, wreckers were working away on a Saturday morning:
Back up a windswept, barren Queen's Quay to HTO. Whatever else it may be, our urban beach doesn't do "year-round." Half the year, it'll be a park. The other half, it will serve as a constant reminder of what a god-awful part of the world this is. Who's bright idea was it to put a city here, anyway?
Simcoe, eh?
Over at the ACC, lots of excavation equiment on-site for MLS:
Just across the road, they were working weekends on digging the surprisingly compact Telus hole:
Infinity is nearly done; you can see the shorter part topped out behind.
Pinnacle: big giant hole
Just a hint of Spire, seen from the wrong side of the tracks:
A brief but beautiful snowfall at Union:
At the Metro Centre, they've closed down part of the underground concourse.
RBC: big giant shovel = big giant hole.
The un-dug half of the site, with access to the Simcoe Place docks:
Digging out the Ritz:
Bay / Adelaide Tower: below-grade demolition is still on-going; the Murray crews were working the weekend too. Hard to tell exactly what they were demolishing versus what they're preserving.
The enjoy-it-while-it-lasts view from Scotiabank:
I'm including this lousy shot because you can see the belowground columns they've excavated around, but are leaving standing:
Metropolis... Metropolis, Metropolis, Metropolis.
What a spectacular piece of non-architecture.
Exterior detailing includes ducts.
And also, ducts.
This is one large... how shall we say? Mother****er.
RoCP II, rising fast and looking good:
Murano: Still a big giant hole. One or two levels from rock bottom now:
One St. Thomas, looking ever more sepulchural. Did somebody write down the wrong part number when ordering the inexplicably black greenhouse windows?
ROM ROM ROM
Workers were busy applying corners to the crystals. Still no cladding to be seen. But it was getting pretty cold by this point, so I didn't stick around.
RCM: one side enclosed
Another side covered in a tarp.
RCM, seen from behind the Varsity grandstand:
The Varsity bubble rises from the snow, looking for all the world like an Antarctic research station:
Demolition is underway at One Bedford, and the old convenience store (which I'll miss) was the first to go. I passed by just as a girder became a goner:
It was at this point that my hands completely stopped functioning.
I leave you with pidgeons, who, like me, were feeling it.
We start at the corner of Bloor and Spadina...
Mosaic:
Showing hints of a streetwall along Spadina:
Down behind Hudson, sitework on Glas is starting:
The sales centre is still there, though they're busy packing up the models:
Across the road, still the hostel, still ever so slightly overselling the backpacking life:
Cityplace, topped out
Malibu, at the foot of Bathurst:
Demolition next door at West Harbour City is still ongoing; half a factory still stands as a sales centre:
The lights are still on upstairs, which might not be remarkable if...
...it wasn't half-a-building. Seen from behind:
At the far end of the site, another stump:
And at the base, wreckers were working away on a Saturday morning:
Back up a windswept, barren Queen's Quay to HTO. Whatever else it may be, our urban beach doesn't do "year-round." Half the year, it'll be a park. The other half, it will serve as a constant reminder of what a god-awful part of the world this is. Who's bright idea was it to put a city here, anyway?
Simcoe, eh?
Over at the ACC, lots of excavation equiment on-site for MLS:
Just across the road, they were working weekends on digging the surprisingly compact Telus hole:
Infinity is nearly done; you can see the shorter part topped out behind.
Pinnacle: big giant hole
Just a hint of Spire, seen from the wrong side of the tracks:
A brief but beautiful snowfall at Union:
At the Metro Centre, they've closed down part of the underground concourse.
RBC: big giant shovel = big giant hole.
The un-dug half of the site, with access to the Simcoe Place docks:
Digging out the Ritz:
Bay / Adelaide Tower: below-grade demolition is still on-going; the Murray crews were working the weekend too. Hard to tell exactly what they were demolishing versus what they're preserving.
The enjoy-it-while-it-lasts view from Scotiabank:
I'm including this lousy shot because you can see the belowground columns they've excavated around, but are leaving standing:
Metropolis... Metropolis, Metropolis, Metropolis.
What a spectacular piece of non-architecture.
Exterior detailing includes ducts.
And also, ducts.
This is one large... how shall we say? Mother****er.
RoCP II, rising fast and looking good:
Murano: Still a big giant hole. One or two levels from rock bottom now:
One St. Thomas, looking ever more sepulchural. Did somebody write down the wrong part number when ordering the inexplicably black greenhouse windows?
ROM ROM ROM
Workers were busy applying corners to the crystals. Still no cladding to be seen. But it was getting pretty cold by this point, so I didn't stick around.
RCM: one side enclosed
Another side covered in a tarp.
RCM, seen from behind the Varsity grandstand:
The Varsity bubble rises from the snow, looking for all the world like an Antarctic research station:
Demolition is underway at One Bedford, and the old convenience store (which I'll miss) was the first to go. I passed by just as a girder became a goner:
It was at this point that my hands completely stopped functioning.
I leave you with pidgeons, who, like me, were feeling it.
