Toronto The Dineen Building | ?m | 5s | Commercial Realty G. | George Robb

Yes. This being Toronto, at first I thought it had to be orange paint. But these guys are serious.

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... and a bit more revealed by lunch today.

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It's so heartening to see an entire city that has been hiding in plain view for decades gradually emerge again, as more and more of these restorations take place and the grime, or neglect, or gaudy commercial signage, or stucco, or advertising billboards, or graffiti "art" is banished.
 
I agree with you completely. Its easy to get discouraged. If left too long Empress Hotel outcomes are possible. But in 99% of cases these beauties are waiting patiently for us to rediscover them. At the very least its safe to say no more beauties are getting demolished.
It would be interesting to identify comparable opportunities.
 
As with many other older buildings, after so many years, I had no idea that this was the actual color of the building. I had similar surprises with Old City Hall, the Ontario Legislature, and many others.
 
And, here's a weird thing on that topic: even many years after restoration, when I look at Old City Hall for example, my eyes clearly tell me that it is light brown, but my brain somehow still wants to believe that it is soot black. Does anyone else have this perception?
 
Mississauga Slim said:
As with many other older buildings, after so many years, I had no idea that this was the actual color of the building. I had similar surprises with Old City Hall, the Ontario Legislature, and many others.
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Sections of St Michael's Cathedral and the Metropolitan United Church have been cleaned (or maybe uncovered?) and you can see the yellow brick much better in these locations. It would make a fantastic difference if both could be given a good scrub.
 
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It would make a fantastic difference if both could be given a good scrub.
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And on top of that, nighttime lighting. In fact, I think that should be encouraged (if not downright required) of any non-residential heritage restoration projects.

AoD
 
Everything about this is making me smile. I feel like we are finally taking the city's history just that little bit more seriously.
 
They seem to have gone overboard (in a good way) with the little flourishes! Just shows what can be done with what was looking like a wreck. Good bones, I guess. (And lots of $$$)
 
The attention to detail is quite inspiring. It's hard to believe that there are people who let similar buildings literally fall apart on the street, like the Lalani Group with the Empress Hotel. It also looks much more satisfying than the building reduced to an alien facade on a modern tower.
 
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