Toronto Five St Joseph | 160.93m | 48s | Five St. Joseph | Hariri Pontarini
someMidTowner
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I feel like if I blink too hard looking at that picture, the whole building would collapse IRL.
thecharioteer
Senior Member
Ironically, so many of the wonderful buildings demolished in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood in the 1960's and 70's were so degraded at that time, stripped of all ornament, cornices, sills, etc. that the public didn't even view their demolition as losses. Unfortunately, much of Yonge Street is in a similarly precarious position.
Front and Scott, 1960's:
Which is the same building just to the left of the canopy:
Miscreant
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Wow. That looks marvelous. What a shame.
Armour
Senior Member
I can't taking looking at pictures like that. Seriously, what kind of alcohol were people drinking in the past that allowed them to let such exquisite works of art degrade to piles of filth, ultimately to be demolished? Just imagine how incredible the city would be if we preserved streetscrapes like that. That's on par with any European city, in terms of architecture. It's impossible to imagine how we could go from such pristine grace and charm and become such a downtrodden city. There was so much romanticism in the old Toronto and I'm completely in love with how the city looked, even though I never had the chance to experience it in such a state. Had we preserved most of our built heritage, I wonder how different the city would be today...I imagine there would be greater civic pride, identity and much less apathy towards our public realm and built form.
When one looks at photos of those buildings on Yonge St, as posted above, is it any wonder why there is basically no public support for heritage preservation? To most people, it's as if we have nothing worth saving. Most of our exceptional buildings are so poorly maintained, so it's no surprise that the general public is indifferent to such matters. Torontonians go to New York, Chicago, Boston, Europe, etc. to enjoy the architecture, and are completely oblivious to what we had and still do have that is worthy of such attention.
When one looks at photos of those buildings on Yonge St, as posted above, is it any wonder why there is basically no public support for heritage preservation? To most people, it's as if we have nothing worth saving. Most of our exceptional buildings are so poorly maintained, so it's no surprise that the general public is indifferent to such matters. Torontonians go to New York, Chicago, Boston, Europe, etc. to enjoy the architecture, and are completely oblivious to what we had and still do have that is worthy of such attention.
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Lenser
Senior Member
Yeah, that's gob-smacking. Such lovely attention to detail and classic rhythm. Amazing how complacent people in any given era can be about their contemporary architecture. I guess if you let things slide long enough however, decrepit buildings invite the wrecking ball.
Armour
Senior Member
It would be great if we could 3D print some of these lost buildings one day. Demolishing the FCP base and bringing back the Toronto Star Building would be a good start. Off topic, but does anyone have an estimates as to when 3D printing of buildings would be feasible? I imagine one day that's how we'll be constructing buildings. This would make it possible to recreate very ornate buildings from the past, for which stone masons and artisans of such required ability are extremely scarce in today's world.
thecharioteer
Senior Member
Well put, Armour! Yet there are some stretches of Yonge that have such potential (and are not too far gone), like this terrace of 10 commercial building, designed by E. J. Lennox in 1883:
TheKingEast
Senior Member
The worst is all of the lovely structures along Sherbourne that have been so poorly maintained.
salsa
Senior Member
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Miscreant
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Yeah, well, the St. Lawrence Arts building is an unholy abomination, but I can handle the building on the n/w corner there.
I'm assuming you're not including Brookfield Place in your condemnation, since I've always enjoyed its presence.
I'm assuming you're not including Brookfield Place in your condemnation, since I've always enjoyed its presence.
urbandreamer
recession proof
I'll take grit any day over sanitized restoration like you see at Five. But yes, our Toronto ancestors sure knew how to build a city.
salsa
Senior Member
I was condemning the loss of the heritage buildings and the crappy buildings that eventually replaced them. As for Brookfield Place, I like it however I will say that I'm not happy with how it clashes with the view of the Gooderham building. The Gooderham is very unique and probably one of the most photographed buildings in this city, but those monolithic twin towers behind it really undermines it's presence and diverts attention away from it in my opinion. I understand that towers are important and that not everyone would agree with me, but if the city cared more about heritage view corridors then I'm sure a better outcome could have been hashed out that wasn't as overwhelming.
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Tewder
Senior Member
I love that view with the towers, it's iconic.
The building in the old photo above was actually located where Berczy Park is today.