Police have finally released images of the arson suspect...

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adma said:
Actually, I think one subtle reason why it was taken for granted is that it *already* underwent a sort of renewal/restoration in the 1970s, when all the Edison Hotel signage was removed and the brick sandblasted--evidently, they were trying to channel some of that Gloucester Mews mojo further south on Yonge. Unfortunately (and ironically), the sandblasting may have weakened the brick to the point where it precipitated last year's collapse, as well as compounding whatever weakening effect the present fire caused...
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Photos taken as part of the 'Yonge & Gould capital works' project when Gould was narrowed & the sidewalk vendor kiosk & chess tables were installed in the early 80's.

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Blovertis said:
Setting the bar a tad low, aren't we?
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Indeed, marginal rust-belt US cities are hardly a point of comparison. In a more comparable city like Chicago, Frankfurt or Stockholm I would think a large fire on their main shopping street would garner significant attention- particularly if it arose under suspect circumstances.

As for LA- well I'm not even sure it has any historic structures left :D
 
As someone within heritage, the impact of this fire has been enormous. The public and the city are finally asking the right questions.

Both the City and the owner are responsible. The City has a by-law, brought in by Kyle Rae after Walnut Hall collapsed. They can force the owners to do the work, take them to court or do the restoration and bill it to them. Like many processes, it's complicated and takes time and was in the works here. But the process needs to be streamlined - the delay caused its demise. Owners need to be held accountable obviously, but they also need incentives to develop heritage structures. Quebec, the UK, the US offer way more incentives than we do to re-adapt and restore structures.

There are many - too many to mention - structures that are in danger in this city, they just may not be that obvious to the public. It's not just their condition, it's the system that's in place that is the problem.

Speaking of which, the owner of 7 Austin Terrace has applied for a demolition permit, even though the building was designated after that debacle over a year ago, when he willfully destroyed the heritage features. It is legal, and the City will review (and probably refuse it), but will probably go to the OMB after that. But what does designation really mean, when an owner has so many loopholes that allows this destruction, and the City doesn't enforce by-laws to protect them? Even if the OMB tells the owner he can't tear it down it doesn't prevent the owner from letting it rot.
 
As for LA- well I'm not even sure it has any historic structures lef
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You will be shocked to know that unlike us, LA has completed their inventory of properties so they can protect them. Their Conservancy does a great job.
 
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^^^ exactly! T.O. is a world class city.
Detroit and Buffalo are poor and depressed cities that doesn't even compare to here.
 
Tewder said:
Your anger at the building owner is one thing but the fact that you completely let the city off the hook is another. At the end of the day where was the city? Where are the laws, regulations and codes to protect from this kind of thing? This simply shouldn't happen, and certainly not at the heart of Yonge/Dundas.
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I absolutely agree, and I stated as much in my letter to Mayor Ford to which I've had no response - ..."What happened at 335 Yonge Street should never have happened. Where were the City's lawyers and building inspectors here? We nearly lost two of Toronto's finest when they slipped off the HMV roof, thank goodness they were rescued thanks to quick thinking and excellent training..."

... and enough already with turning this into yet another divisive partisan issue. Lets not pretend that the issues that have plagued this building for years - and what those issue represent in a more profound way - are anything to do with Ford. I mean, it's sort of like blaming Obama for stimulation spending! If the worst Ford has done is to keep his mouth shut on something he probably doesn't know very much about then he's certainly done far better than Miller thus far. In the meantime we must lobby Ford and the province for responsible improvements to building/heritage legislation.
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The US stimulus package and a non-visible Mayor are eggs and oranges. This is hardly partisan, all I expected was a statement from Ford to signal he cares about heritage properties or is concerned about what has happened here. That's three or four minutes for an aid to write up a piece for media distribution, but he has remained silent. The City Councillor in my Ward and where the fire took place, Kristyn Wong-Tam, took the time to respond to me with a lengthy letter, I copied her in my correspondence to Mayor Ford. I've seen her in several media pieces too. I'm pleased to know that she's in the loop and on the job.

What other issues have plagued this building?
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
The US stimulus package and a non-visible Mayor are eggs and oranges. This is hardly partisan, all I expected was a statement from Ford to signal he cares about heritage properties or is concerned about what has happened here. That's three or four minutes for an aid to write up a piece for media distribution, but he has remained silent. The City Councillor in my Ward and where the fire took place, Kristyn Wong-Tam, took the time to respond to me with a lengthy letter, I copied her in my correspondence to Mayor Ford. I've seen her in several media pieces too. I'm pleased to know that she's in the loop and on the job.
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Who really cares whether Ford values heritage or not, or whether he comes out and reads some carefully prepared statement? For all the lip service and pretence of other mayors and councils we still managed to fall into this deplorable state of affairs... and so it must be reiterated that this is nothing to do with fat old Ford and his crew of philistines no matter how little better they will likely prove themselves to be on this score, and that your outrage could be far better directed, imo. That said, the people of Toronto (or Brantford or any other town for that matter) get the heritage laws or civic/government responsiveness to these issues they demand... or deserve I should say. All of us should be outraged by this, and not just a minority of UT geeks or heritage watchdogs, and not just those who would have voted Smitherman or any other candidate that wasn't Ford.

... and again wrt whether Ford values heritage or not can we really be all that shocked that he may not when almost nobody else does? Can we really be surprised if buildings are dropping in a community/culture such as Toronto where for all intents and purposes there is nigh on zero tangible or meaningful interest in any ideas of Heritage, History or anything else that might amount to any notion of a collective past, not to mention zero value attached to it? For God's sake this is an almost three hundred year old city of almost three million people that doesn't even have a museum of history! No history and no story, in other words. So why be surprised if development and commercialism, expansion and profit, personal rights of property and ownership, and almost any other consideration you can think of manage to trump Heritage time and time again? This was the same under Miller as it will be under Ford, whether one chooses to talk purty about it or not, unless the people of Toronto miraculously have a change of mind about these things. Then again, maybe empty words make some people feel better about these things, or maybe it's simply just another opportunity to score political points.
 
Tewder said:
Who really cares whether Ford values heritage or not, or whether he comes out and reads some carefully prepared statement? For all the lip service and pretence of other mayors and councils we still managed to fall into this deplorable state of affairs... and so it must be reiterated that this is nothing to do with fat old Ford and his crew of philistines no matter how little better they will likely prove themselves to be on this score, and that your outrage could be far better directed, imo. That said, the people of Toronto (or Brantford or any other town for that matter) get the heritage laws or civic/government responsiveness to these issues they demand... or deserve I should say. All of us should be outraged by this, and not just a minority of UT geeks or heritage watchdogs, and not just those who would have voted Smitherman or any other candidate that wasn't Ford.

... and again wrt whether Ford values heritage or not can we really be all that shocked that he may not when almost nobody else does? Can we really be surprised if buildings are dropping in a community/culture such as Toronto where for all intents and purposes there is nigh on zero tangible or meaningful interest in any ideas of Heritage, History or anything else that might amount to any notion of a collective past, not to mention zero value attached to it? For God's sake this is an almost three hundred year old city of almost three million people that doesn't even have a museum of history! No history and no story, in other words. So why be surprised if development and commercialism, expansion and profit, personal rights of property and ownership, and almost any other consideration you can think of manage to trump Heritage time and time again? This was the same under Miller as it will be under Ford, whether one chooses to talk purty about it or not, unless the people of Toronto miraculously have a change of mind about these things. Then again, maybe empty words make some people feel better about these things, or maybe it's simply just another opportunity to score political points.
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I care very much what the leader of our city thinks about this subject, and it's not just me. Do we not have a right to know?
Again, I agree with many of your points here. My personal displeasure at what happened here is in great part directed at the owner, and partly at the City.
If anything good comes out of this I hope that all the media attention that this fire has generated may finally begin a serious debate among Torontonians and their elected representatives to affect change with what remains of our physical heritage in Toronto. I can promise you I'll continue to be a vocal advocate for heritage preservation and going forward will commit even more of my time to this issue than I do already.
 
why do security cameras have such shitty resolution?

[video=youtube;RRVoMw-mUgw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRVoMw-mUgw[/video]
 
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