It's good to see this building being restored after all these years. I didn't really notice it yesterday when I took this, despite photographing it here...I was in a rush.
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GenerationLee said:
It's good to see this building being restored after all these years.
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Shockingly, some UT forum members view the stripping away of 1950-2000 dreck (they like it?) from our heritage buildings constitutes Toronto bashing. I actually had a UT member say that to me a few years back and that Toronto haters like me weren't welcome on UT. He viewed the criticism of our public realm as Toronto bashing as well. Maybe people like him just need to be shown how much nicer our city will be if we give our heritage buildings (and public realm) the respect, attention, and care they deserve.

Hopefully, he's changed his tune. City improving projects like this will help change minds.
 
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The high quality of this project now highlights how much of a revamp the nearby highrise/Harry Rosen store needs, with its discolored glazing and nonexistant relation to the street wall.
 
I've seen these striped brick buildings around the world, mostly in former British colonies (there's a also a famous one in Ponce, Puerto Rico), but is there any other example in Toronto?
 
These are my most favorite kind of projects. Projects that involve restoration of historic facades and it's always exciting to see the final reveal! I understand in this case it was largely a recreation and the final product is spectacular! It got me thinking wouldn't it be great if we could recreate some of the long-lost Toronto streetscapes? Not necessarily in the same location because that would be impossible in most cases but why not in these green-field developments for example on the eastern waterfront? I know this is something that has been done in Europe. As this project proves the skills still exist to create these types of buildings. All we need to do is create the will!
 
Rascacielo said:
I've seen these striped brick buildings around the world, mostly in former British colonies (there's an also a famous one in Ponce, Puerto Rico), but is there any other example in Toronto?
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Just to clarify it’s not brick; it’s concrete slabs interlaid within the brick.

That said, the Design Exchange (234 Bay - 1912) has a striped effect down at the base, and the John E. Thompson Block (221 Yonge - 1886), just up the street and built a year after 2QW uses interlaid striping.
 
Thank you Parkdalian! Queen Street is lost for a few years but this is a nice consolation prize.
 
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