[Filip]

Yes that's the one! I think it was removed with the construction of the Urban Eatery. Such a shame, the Eaton Centre had such a fantastic heritage of art, greenery and fountains. It is all gone. I'm afraid CF is doing the exact same thing at Sherway Gardens which is going to turn it from a fairly unique mall into a generic Yorkdale.

There was a similar prism fountain right at the top of those escalators. more like a pond really, but had the floating cubes/prisms in it. That one was removed a very long time ago (must have been the 90s).

The big shame for me really is Toronto's reluctance surrounding fountains. They are probably one of the most amazing pieces of public art/infrastructure as they not only look great, but provide a soothing sound in a hectic urban environment. I think this city has less fountains (believe it or not) than it used to.

 

[Skeezix]

That's the beauty of great design...you don't have to replace or "update" it...you just need to maintain it. All those elements were custom designed and reflected a common design element that was reflected in every part of the building. The signs, the railings, the roof, window wall and bridge structural elements, the stairs, the "street" lighting, the planters...all in that integrated High Tech white painted steel. Take a careful look at the way they had designed the street lights...they were made of that same white painted steel conduit, which curved up from under the floor slabs. A simple and elegant design.

And most of it they never "upgraded" or replaced...they simply eliminated it all together. Except for a few little planters, the greenery is basically non-existant (I would actually describe the early TEC as "lush"). As mentioned, the water featured save for the major attraction one (although I noticed not working) are all gone...as is a lot of the art. There's only a fraction of the seating there used to be.

All of the "street lights" were removed and not replaced. In the old days, the place had a nice glow at night, as these street lights added a really nice ambiance.

Now it's lit up very harshly, like an arena.

Not sure I agree with you about the railings. They were painted white, but hardly high tech. The paint was constantly chipping and getting scratched, and Cadillac had a painter on permanent standby painting those railings. I used to work in one of the TEC towers, and it was routine to see people painting the railings at 1 or 2 a.m. if I left the office late. I don't blame Cadillac for replacing them, and I think it's debatable that they didn't need to be replaced. I *do* blame Cadillac for replacing the railings with generic crap/removing a signature element of the original design. They ought to have replaced the railings with some sort of more modern product, that replicated the original design, but with a more durable exterior.

 

[picard102]

It's hard to imagine so much gnashing of teeth over modern generic railings replacing 80's generic railings as people's main concern.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

It's hard to imagine so much gnashing of teeth over modern generic railings replacing 80's generic railings as people's main concern.

It's the loss of quality throughout the complex that is the main concern. Details matter - especially when they add up.

AoD

 

[Skeezix]

It's hard to imagine so much gnashing of teeth over modern generic railings replacing 80's generic railings as people's main concern.

If your only contribution to the discussion is to be patronizing and dismissive, maybe it's better not to comment at all.

 

[Bayer]

Interesting about the prism fountain! To me it was a new feature of the Eaton Centre, as I remember when that whole level was built. That level, and the fountain, were not in keeping with the general design of the mall.

 

[Bruno Republic]

Yes that's the one! I think it was removed with the construction of the Urban Eatery. ...

I think it was gone before that, no? I do recall the fountain eventually looked rather worse for wear, with the waterfall portion discoloured and the prism dulled by buildup of all the sludge that's in the water. So naturally, rather than clean it up, they just took it out.

Fountains used to be a standard fixture in malls, but it looks like they're now on the endangered features list.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I think it was gone before that, no? I do recall the fountain eventually looked rather worse for wear, with the waterfall portion discoloured and the prism dulled by buildup of all the sludge that's in the water. So naturally, rather than clean it up, they just took it out.

Fountains used to be a standard fixture in malls, but it looks like they're now on the endangered features list.

Yeah, the prism itself was in pretty sad shape before the removal - mind you I thought it didn't fit well with the aesthetics in any case. I would love to see a significant dichroic glass artpiece at Eaton Centre (think various works by Olafur Eliasson). Anyways, I think rugs and sofas are the new fountains at malls now.

AoD

 

[Filip]

I think it was gone before that, no? I do recall the fountain eventually looked rather worse for wear, with the waterfall portion discoloured and the prism dulled by buildup of all the sludge that's in the water. So naturally, rather than clean it up, they just took it out.

Fountains used to be a standard fixture in malls, but it looks like they're now on the endangered features list.

I worked at the HMV on that level back in 2009. Fountain was still there. I'm pretty sure it disappeared with the urban eatery reno.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Not sure I agree with you about the railings. They were painted white, but hardly high tech. The paint was constantly chipping and getting scratched, and Cadillac had a painter on permanent standby painting those railings.

I used the term High-Tech to refer to the aesthetic movement from the 70's, that the TEC's architecture and interior design falls into.

Yes...painted surfaces occasionally need to be repainted. By all means use a more durable, technically advanced paint. But the railing design was a integral part of the design of almost everything in the TEC, and replacing it with something else is the same as putting victorian furniture in the TD Centre.

So picard102 couldn't be farther from the truth when he describes the original railings as "80's generic" (and not just because it's 70's and not 80's), but because it's obviously gone over most people's heads.

 

[Skeezix]

I'm not arguing with you that they ought not to have replaced the original railings with something different (as my comments above make clear). I'm suggesting that it was not unreasonable for Cadillac to have wanted to replace (rather than maintain) the original railings, as the originals required a lot of work to maintain. However, Cadillac ought to have replaced them with replicas that were easier to maintain, not some generic replacements. The painting on the original railings was far, far more than "occasional" - if not every night, there were painters in the centre a few nights a week touching them up. I saw them all the time. It's one of the excuses Cadillac used, although sadly they used it as an excuse to ditch the entire design.

 

[GKW]

Since we are talking about the old Eaton Centre's fountain and plants, here is a shot from the early 80s that I posted in the photos section awhile back

 

[freshcutgrass]

I'm suggesting that it was not unreasonable for Cadillac to have wanted to replace (rather than maintain) the original railings, as the originals required a lot of work to maintain. However, Cadillac ought to have replaced them with replicas that were easier to maintain, not some generic replacements.

I think it is unreasonable from the standpoint that you shouldn't be ruining the integrity of design. It's better to simply maintain the original.

I also think maintaining it (doing paint touch-ups) is far more economical than replacing them, with what they did or with your hypothetical durable replicas.

Which is why I don't think the railings had anything to do with saving money, as all the other stuff they just eliminated. I think they honestly thought it needed a "makeover". I think the powers that be at CF simply don't know any better. The latest $120 million makeover, was just an expensive exercise in taking a bad situation and making it worse. I'm sure they don't see it that way.

 

[Skeezix]

I think it is unreasonable from the standpoint that you shouldn't be ruining the integrity of design. It's better to simply maintain the original.

I also think maintaining it (doing paint touch-ups) is far more economical than replacing them, with what they did or with your hypothetical durable replicas.

Which is why I don't think the railings had anything to do with saving money, as all the other stuff they just eliminated. I think they honestly thought it needed a "makeover". I think the powers that be at CF simply don't know any better. The latest $120 million makeover, was just an expensive exercise in taking a bad situation and making it worse. I'm sure they don't see it that way.

Nobody said they wouldn't maintain the integrity of the original.

Do you have the stats to show that the maintenance costs over time were less than new railings?

I never said the railings had anything to do with saving money.

 

[freshcutgrass]

Do you have the stats to show that the maintenance costs over time were less than new railings?

It's not as if they needed to repaint the entire surface of the Galleria twice a week. Routine touchups on high traffic areas (easy access) compared to the $millions it takes to replace all of the railings in the complex doesn't require much in-depth enquiry to figure out which one is more costly...short or long term.

I also think the cleaning of the new railings requires more maintenance to look good. Not only have they greatly increased the actual surface area requiring cleaning, the glass and stainless materials take more effort to clean properly and require cleaning more often to look good than white painted steel conduit.

Also, the railing design is ubiquitous throughout the entire complex, inside and out. They haven't replaced all of them. Are they planning to, or do they not care for how stupid the lack of continuity looks?