[Mongo]

There has been considerable discussions on various threads about converting some threatened or abandoned structure into a cultural facility of some sort, usually a museum. It may be time to consolidate these discussions into one thread.

Some buildings which have been proposed for such a conversion:

Hearn Power Plant
Ontario Place (aquarium for the location, possible cosmology museum in Cinesphere)
Canada Malting silos
Redpath sugar refinery (if it is ever shut down -- already contains the Redpath sugar museum)
Old City Hall (Museum of Toronto?)
Distillery District (if a Canadian alcohol industry museum is founded)

My own addition to the list would be the Victory Soya Mills silos at the east end of the Inner Harbour, just east of the southern termination of Parliament Street. The East Bayfront development is apparently required to include a significant cultural feature, and these silos are in much better physical condition than the equivalent Canada Malting silos on the west side of the Harbour (which frankly are almost unsalvagable, and most likely need to be demolished for safety reasons). I think that in general, a museum on a related theme to its enclosing structure is best, in this case perhaps one on Canadian agriculture and the development of the Prairies (and the role that Toronto once played as a grain terminus and trans-shipment point). The biggest problem, as always, would be finding the needed funding.

 

[Tewder]

What about the two Beau Arts buildings on Yonge that have been derelict for about thirty years? A courtyard between them and an addition behind them would make for a beautiful space.

 

[Mongo]

Oh, definitely. I've admired those two buildings for a long time, they deserve to be part of a significant cultural institution. Wasn't one of the buildings home to a Toronto historical society or association for several years?

 

[Urban Shocker]

In 1974, when I was at OCA(D), our environmental design class was given a project to evolve new uses for the derelict former Consumers Gas complex on Berkeley Street just south of Front, which was then owned by a demolition company ( Greenspoon, I believe ). Our group proposed setting up a Museum of Victorian Industrial Technology ... in what eventually became the Toronto Free Theatre ( later CanStage ) complex. Our instructor, Joan Burt, was keen on generating practical ideas for adaptive reuse rather than demolition - she was ahead of her time in creating examples of how this could be done, including residential rows such as the east side of Berkeley just north of King, which she bought and renovated in the late '60s. The Canadian Opera Company eventually purchased the former Dalton's warehouse ( also part of the Consumers Gas complex ) to the north of the theatres for their offices and rehearsal space, and the other large Consumers building to the east became a cop shop a few years ago. When, as students, we used to wander through the disused and rather bleak Berkeley Street properties to photograph them and work on our project the Gooderham & Worts buildings, to the east, were admired but off-limits to the general public, and I'm delighted to see how they've been drawn into the fold as well. The evolution of The Esplanade is another success story - that whole lower east side of the downtown is born anew from the days when I first visited it. The mature trees flanking the wide pedestrian walkway on the north side of The Esplanade give it an entirely different character that's quite unique for the downtown - I suppose the planned plantings on the Quay would be the closest recently proposed equivalent. Museums and cultural centres seem to be one of the first things that come to mind when old buildings like these are reconsidered for new uses, for some reason or other. I can't think of any other disused buildings that are currently available though.

 

[Mongo]

I suppose that the Don Valley Brickworks are another example of adaptive reuse -- although in that case there was a fair amount of new construction as well.

 

[slickpete83]

how about Woodbine Mall turned into the Rexdale Welfare Museum hahahaha .....

 

[Irishmonk]

The Ontario Place pods which would make a fine contemporary art gallery or a possible National Portrait Gallery. (I also mentioned this in the OP thread)

 

[FAC33]

Oh, definitely. I've admired those two buildings for a long time, they deserve to be part of a significant cultural institution. Wasn't one of the buildings home to a Toronto historical society or association for several years?

The Toronto Historical Board, now Heritage Toronto, used to have offices in 209 Yonge St (the northernmost of the two buildings), which had been newly restored at that point. They later moved to St. Lawrence Hall. Oddly enough, they kept the same logo, which was originally a simple rendering of the Yonge St. building but works for St. Lawrence hall as well.

The restoration work done in that building was quite nice, and I was never quite sure why the THB/Heritage Toronto moved out, unless the rent was too high.

 

[adma]

The restoration work done in that building was quite nice, and I was never quite sure why the THB/Heritage Toronto moved out, unless the rent was too high.

Municipal offloading. The city needed money.

 

[jaycola]

Whitney Block Tower. If this tower isn't screaming to be brought back to life, I don't know what building in the city is.
It could house an art gallery, a museum and maybe some banquet/restaurant facilities.

Built in 1932 as an addition to Whitney Block (built in 1926), the Whitney Block Tower has sat unused for decades due to its inadequate emergency infrastrucutre. The album consists of photographs taken on Oct., 31, 2008 during a tour conducted by staff

http://news.webshots.com/album/569428084lXhjZi