Long-time lurker. First post.

A new development encompassing both heritage buildings in their entirety, interior and exterior, the parkette in between, and the lot behind would be ideal. I'd love to see a very light and airy glass atrium / pavilion / gallery-space connecting the two buildings in place of the parkette, which, nice though it may be, is somewhat of a dead-zone.

I always thought that these two beauties, connected, would make a lovely little museum, perhaps one dedicated to Yonge St and the surrounding area.
 
The Urban Decoder in Toronto Life answered this one a few months back:

"There are two vacant bank buildings on Yonge across from the Eaton Centre. They’ve languished in disuse for years. Will they ever be occupied?—Douglas McTaggart, Cabbagetown
Posted on October 9, 2007

The future of old buildings in this city is never a certainty, but things are looking up for these two old-timers. Along with a third historic bank at the northeast corner of Yonge and Queen, they were bought up by the city in the late ’80s in anticipation of a big revitalization project. When it failed to materialize, the city sold the buildings off. The Bank of Montreal at the corner was eventually gutted and its façade incorporated into the Maritime Life Tower, which opened in 2004. Up the road, the old Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was sold to Parasuco Jeans in 1999. The company says it’s planning a flagship store and further development on the site, although dates have not yet been finalized. Don’t be surprised if it gets swallowed by a new tower, too. As for the third building, the domed former Bank of Toronto branch, the city’s own heritage department used it between 1992 and 2001. (You’ll see it’s been renovated for wheelchair access, a rarity in the 19th century.) Since then, it has disappeared under piles of pigeon droppings. But in late 2006, a visiting Irish businessman passed the edifice early one morning and fell in love. With a partner, he bought it, hoisted the Irish flag above the door and began looking for tenants. This fall, negotiations were under way with a prospective occupant; if all goes well, a piece of Toronto’s history could stay intact for another day."
 
Museum?

Too bad the city sold them, I have always thought that was an ideal place for some kind of museum devoted to the financial underpinnings of the city, like a museum of banks or a museums of industry or something. Small but focussed.

But then, I have a lot of ideas for quixotic museums.
 
I used to think that they should be connected by a glass atrium or tower beind/between the buildings, however I have changed my mind. I kind of like them being 2 seperate buildings, free from modern additions.
 
It would be great if they could build some sort of performance space between them, given that the old tavern that was there was pretty important on the jazz circuit. It could be Toronto's version of Rose Hall in New York.

Better yet if we had some people like the Rose family, paying for planetaria and jazz venues and library restorations and god knows what else.
 
Archivist said:
Too bad the city sold them, I have always thought that was an ideal place for some kind of museum devoted to the financial underpinnings of the city, like a museum of banks or a museums of industry or something. Small but focussed.

But then, I have a lot of ideas for quixotic museums.
Click to expand...

I have another idea- too bad the city owns land - it should sell it. And shut down some of those horrible quixotic museums, too - especially the neighborhood ones, the 'this' house and 'that' house, etc.
 
^Okay, this is sheer trolling. What's the policy here for banning trolls? This person's alias and location should have been a big clue that we are dealing with a troll.
 
whoo! the board did feel a lil constipated for the past few days...

annnyway. back on topic...

I think using the two buildings as lobby "arms" to link a tower development behind it to Yonge Street would be really cool. And then the middle courtyard section could be developed a la Paley Park -- it would be an awesome location for something like that... all done with additional bonusing on the tower portion to build another supertall? ;)
 
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