<![CDATA[Urban Toronto - Buildings, Architecture & Urban Design]]> http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/ en Wed, 22 May 2013 18:00:10 GMT vBulletin 60 http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/images/misc/rss.png <![CDATA[Urban Toronto - Buildings, Architecture & Urban Design]]> http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/ Is Dundas East secretly transforming? http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/19700-Is-Dundas-East-secretly-transforming?goto=newpost Thu, 02 May 2013 03:03:49 GMT Dundas st east of Victoria has always been a shaddy area people want to avoid. However, there seem to be some interesting development and some subtle... Dundas st east of Victoria has always been a shaddy area people want to avoid. However, there seem to be some interesting development and some subtle transformation seems to be taking place.

First Bond Place Hotel got a mini-face lift. It still looks shabby but much better than before.
Then a bunch of small restaurants opened between Bond st and Jarvis st, including the Ramen place where there is always a 20 minutes line outside. On the north side, some new retail is popping up too, including a boba milk tea place. There is also an indian curry restaurant further down the street. And the Chinese place called "goodview" also had a renovation and now has a much better ambiance than those in Chinatown.

Of course PACE under construction gives one the most hope. It is actually THE project I most look forward to.

What will happen to the Dundas/Bond parking lot, the Dundas/Mutual lot, and the gas station at Church st? If the right development is put in those places, Dundas East can easily transform into a highly vibrant and desirable neighbourhood.

Among all the EW streets Dundas E is the ugliest and I have a feeling it will also experience the biggest change within the next 5-10 years. ]]> bleu http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/19700-Is-Dundas-East-secretly-transforming Heritage Victorian Home Restoration Resources (continuous list) http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/19687-Heritage-Victorian-Home-Restoration-Resources-(continuous-list)?goto=newpost Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:28:37 GMT “If you keep knocking down old heritage buildings and keep putting up modern buildings that could go anywhere (on the planet), pretty soon you’ve lost the things that make Toronto, Toronto.”
-ROLLO MYERS
MANAGER OF THE ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVANCY OF ONTARIO




I proudly own a grand 3 storey victorian home of 4500+ sq.ft, which needs to be restored. So after some research, thought I'd start a thread to aggregate some resources I found online which may be helpful for people like me who are proudly victorian home owners. Please add your list by replying to this thread, especially Toronto based authentic victorian restoration product / service resources, including vintage and antique stores.

Unfortunately many old victorian homes in Toronto have gone through extensive remodelling and renovations, losing their original charms and characters.

Here's a chance to educate and help on how to restore a Victorian right, how to make your victorian beautiful, timeless and increase your home value. Please add your views and knowledge here. Thanks!

PS: if you have already done a similar restoration / renovation, please kindly share some interior photos for inspiration if possible.

Brickwork:

http://www.huntheritage.ca/

http://www.victorian-restoration.com/

Stained Glass Windows:

http://www.theglassstudio.ca/

Tin Ceiling Tiles

http://www.americantinceilings.com

All Victorian Architectural Products, including crown molding

http://www.wishihadthat.com

http://www.architecturaldepot.com

http://www.decorgroupinc.com

Furniture / Art

http://www.designtoscano.com

KA photo file victorian interior.jpg
victorian-loft.jpg
Victorian Decorating For Nostalgic Home Decor.jpg
images.jpg
Victorian_interior_render.jpg ]]> azureray http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/19687-Heritage-Victorian-Home-Restoration-Resources-(continuous-list) Are hospitals the new freeways? http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/19684-Are-hospitals-the-new-freeways?goto=newpost Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:02:13 GMT In terms of their impact on neighbourhood life, vitality, etc.

I was thinking about how one of the biggest impediments to Toronto's downtown vitality is, ironically, one of the biggest assets to Toronto's economy and downtown job growth: the giant "Discovery District" of hospitals and healthcare research facilities. Let's face it: the area bounded by Edward, College, Bay and McCaul is an urban write-off. Hospitals are monumental in size and put up rather blank facades; good architecture is almost never demanded. Despite the thousands of workers in these places, they seemingly can't support the retail and services of the financial district so even with all that employment the surrounding streets feel deserted at the best of times. Other cities have hospitals in their downtowns, but shove them away to a corner: Montreal's hospitals and healthcare facilities all seem to hug the mountain; New York's are along the Hudson river on the edge of Manhattan; Vancouver puts it all in the VGH campus south of Broadway. Toronto is unfortunate in that the more exciting office and shopping areas of downtown grew around the hospital district, such that, were it not for Yonge street, Yorkville would be severed from the rest of downton by a square kilometer of institutional dullness.

Well, the hospitals aren't going anywhere, and they actually were there first when Yorkville was just another sleepy residential neighbourhood. Still, what can we do to enliven the hospital area? It kind of just sits there like a tumour. ]]> Hipster Duck http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showthread.php/19684-Are-hospitals-the-new-freeways