[dt_toronto_geek]

March16th Update

I don't dislike it as much as you folks but I still mutter to myself, we lost one of the great remaining cinemas in Toronto for these two very average buildings?

I like the crane orgy happening at the top

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.

 

[whatever]

Well, really we lost the cinema for one of these buildings. Tho sometimes I do wonder if that other little building would have been redeveloped it it hadn't been heavily damaged when they had that accident

And the way the setbacks terminate really bother me. It feels like they need some sort of finial to define them. As it stands they just look too abrupt

 

[urbandreamer]

What is laughable, as my friend noted as we stood gazing up at Uptown from Bloor yesterday, is how the precast cladding doesn't fit properly--some panels installed with larger gaps than others, some on crooked angles etc. Uptown is clearly the c.1990 Chevrolet Celebrity to Casa's c.1990 Honda Accord. (Panel gaps.) I hope they wash the poor old clunker--it's dirty.

 

[Mongo]

^Find the post where I stated I hate Toronto. Prove it!

"The beautiful thing about tourists in Toronto staying in the PATH by day is they don't get to see how ugly downtown Toronto looks during daylight hours!

Now, I'm slightly biased with my roots in Vancouver...but seriously, other than f&f and business trips, what is there to see in Toronto as a tourist?"

This was the most recent post, but over the years there have been many posts from you expressing similar ideas. It is no single post, but rather the accumulated contempt for Toronto expressed in scores of posts over a long period of time.

I just spent six hours walking around Toronto today, taking photos, hanging out at cafes, looking at art, and admiring old Victorian buildings, showing a friend how beautiful the OISE building really is, etc. Have you ever walked from Bloor West Village to Yonge Street, down to K-Market, and back via College St within 6 hours?

I no longer live in Toronto, but when I do visit, that is pretty much what I do. Maybe not that exact path, but certainly making a loop from Front to Bloor, and from Spadina to Yonge (or a similar distance).

 

[urbandreamer]

^Clearly, you missed my tongue-firmly-in-cheek humour. I was making fun of people who find PATH interesting. Of course there's much to see in Toronto--duh! There are parts of Toronto that are ugly, just like parts of Vancouver are hideous--Broadway corridor from Spruce to Main should be redeveloped as it's so ugly, for example.

The fact you no longer live in Toronto explains your defensive position--it's like immigrants saying "my home country is so much better than Canada" blah blah blah.... I got it.

edit: Just found a story on DCN that could be the solution--self-cleaning concrete.

 

[maestro]

Uptown's a dog but the gaps and panels are likely still to be adjusted/tightened

 

[Mongo]

The fact you no longer live in Toronto explains your defensive position--it's like immigrants saying "my home country is so much better than Canada" blah blah blah.... I got it.

There is no doubt that there are things wrong with Toronto's appearance. The most egregious offenders are the 1960s-style overhead hydro/phone lines, with their rusted, sometimes leaning support poles, and the asphalt-patched sidewalks. Truly a third-world look. I do not think that this will change, as long as Toronto is treated like a cash cow by the province and by the country, and the money that could be used to upgrade Toronto's street appearance is taken from Toronto and handed out to the rest of Canada.

But the buildings themselves are (for the most part) nothing out of the ordinary. A few great designs, a few lousy designs, and most in the middle where most buildings always are. Toronto's best feature is simply its sheer mass and scale, beaten in North America only by Chicago and New York. With the ongoing building boom, it will only get more impressive. This is seldom commented on here, because we focus on individual buildings.

 

[UrbanAffair]

I like the crane orgy happening at the top

Theres only three, you would need 4 members to call it an orgy.

 

[steveve]

Theres only three, you would need 4 members to call it an orgy.

Maybe we can call it unrestricted thorgy? forgy? lol

 

[RezBoy]

It looks just ok so far but not butt ugly. They could've done better (if they care at all).

btw, does anyone know what the background of Pemberton Group is ? Is there a Mafia link (money gets laundered in these projects) ?

 

[steveve]

AWESOME DAY FOR PHOTOS!

We got the luck from the Irish indeed

Taken by me today!

All photos by me: steveve

 

[Solaris]

VERY comprehensive update steveve ... nice !! thanks

 

[casaguy]

Excellent updates, everyone. Here's where they were at early this morning...

 

[syn]

This project has been a very pleasant surprise. All things considered, it's turning out quite nicely.

 

[condovo]

The token black granite's going up on the base but it doesn't nearly make up for the nasty, filthy precast and cheap-looking, off-the-rack windows. The building's still fugly.