^ Indeed, and I think the fugly bus terminal has a lot to do with that. It's got to go, along with the parking lot right next to Prii's Nightmare on Elm Street.
 
Building on that parking lot would help rehabilitate that area immensely. But I couldn't disagree with you more about the 1931 art deco Toronto Coach Terminal, although its coach platform buildings could definitely use a spruce-up.
 
If you gotta keep the facade, be prepared to keep the interior as well (which'd make a decent office/condo lobby)
 
The facade may be mediocre for AG but the fact is that it's one of the few Art Deco buildings still left in the downtown core. It may not be the Chrysler building or 30 Rock, but it's still protected and worth keeping.

The bigger problem for the "build large" argument is that it necessitates relocating the bus terminal somewhere else. That somewhere else would have to be downtown, linked to the subway, and no further north (and not much further west) than it currently is. So we're looking at about $150+ mil to buy land and build a replacement, not taking into account any money recouped from selling off the current site.

But of course that's only a problem if it's an either/or proposition: build large OR keep the functioning coach station. If the proposition is actually "build large OVER the existing bus bays", then it could certainly lead to something interesting.
 
I should clarify that when I called the coach terminal fugly, I specifically meant the bus bays, which are a nightmare to walk past. I couldn't believe how dark, dreary and filthy they are. A total embarrassment to travelers whose first impression of Toronto is this unfortunate place. The old terminal building is quite nice, though it seems there's been a lot of misguided mucking about with the interior in the name of "updating"...
 
Northern Magus said:
The facade may be mediocre for AG but the fact is that it's one of the few Art Deco buildings still left in the downtown core. It may not be the Chrysler building or 30 Rock, but it's still protected and worth keeping.
Click to expand...

Hey...do you remember this one up the street.

AddisononBaybuilding.jpg
 
toronto_bus.jpg


Yeah, the coach terminal is no masterpiece, but definitely worth saving.

The demolition of the Addison building was a real piss off... would have made a great base for a condo.
 
Towered said:
I should clarify that when I called the coach terminal fugly, I specifically meant the bus bays, which are a nightmare to walk past. I couldn't believe how dark, dreary and filthy they are. A total embarrassment to travelers whose first impression of Toronto is this unfortunate place. The old terminal building is quite nice, though it seems there's been a lot of misguided mucking about with the interior in the name of "updating"...
Click to expand...

For what they are, I don't even mind the bus bays--at least they're original and integral to the whole. (And they were better still years ago before the original brick pavers were Unilock'd.)
 
"It's no masterpiece" is the saddest argument against preservation. If that's the only criteria for preservation, that the building be a masterpiece, we'll lose many beautiful and architecturally important buildings.
 
Yeah, but it will be rebuilt with new materials, like at the Bay Adelaide Centre. What's the point of that? One of the reasons to preserve historical structures is that we cannot recreate them without them looking fake.
 
If the coach terminal was 5 or 6 stories taller, we wouldn't be having this discussion on whether to keep it or not. It adds a lot of character at street level.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top