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We started from the bottom—previewing retail space in the podium, then following the concrete pump system up 76 storeys, stopping occasionally to look out from the tower's expansive balconies—and now we're here. Concluding our tour of Great Gulf's One Bloor East, we arrive at the top of the tower, looking out over the city from second highest point of elevation in the city's skyline (behind only the CN Tower). Highlights of our tour are compiled in our video, which starts on the 55th and moves up, showing off some of the best views of the city on a moody but beautiful day:
During the indoor segments of the video, the loud intermittent sound is pressurized concrete being pumped up the 76-storey-long pipe that runs through the middle of the 257-metre, Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed tower.
Climbing to the 75th and 76th floors, we reach the penthouse levels, where high ceilings, combined with some of the most impressive views of the city—and beyond—will make for an exceptionally luxurious ambiance. While the entirety of the 75th floor is devoted to penthouse suites, half of the 76th floor will be the second floors of a pair of penthouse suites, with the mechanical elements set to take up the remainder of the floor space. During our visit, the interior of the penthouse floors was still in an early phase of construction, with shoring rods and fly forms still supporting the ongoing concrete pour on the mechanical space above (shown in our previous story). Above the 76th floor, an additional two levels of mechanical installations and elevator overrun top off the tower, all eventually be hidden by 13.7 metres of fritted glass walls.
Out on the balconies, construction noise gave way to city sounds and late afternoon panoramas. Stopping on the 55th, 67th, and 76th floors, we take in views of Downtown, the Danforth, Yonge and Eglinton, Mississauga, and the West End as we circle our way around the tower's exterior.
While the Downtown view to the south might be the most immediately eye-catching vista, the expanding mid-city skylines all around make a strong impact in their own right. Below, we look out to the east over the towers of Bloor and Jarvis, and across the Don Valley to the Danforth and Toronto's East End as Lake Ontario fills in half of the horizon.
To the northeast, the forested carpet of Rosedale and the Don Valley parklands was a bouquet of Fall colours unfurling across the urban canopy. Passing showers alighted on neighbourhoods to the north, treating us to a glimpse of the Southern Ontario's foliage at its most romantic.
The growing cluster of skyscrapers at Yonge and Eglinton is becoming a particular focal point of the view to the north… if you can see them through passing rain showers!
When the showers have passed, there were lots of buildings to catch the eye to the north. Looking through Yonge and Eglinton's towers with a zoom lens to those further in the distance, North York City Centre's increasingly impressive skyline—concentrated around Yonge and Sheppard (below)—promises twinkling evening lights to cut through the fog.
There's as much to see to the west as there is to the north, including nearby Bloor-Yorkville skyscrapers, and the University of Toronto grounds just beyond. Further afield, the city's West End neighbourhoods spread out towards Humber Bay and beyond to Mississauga's City Centre, which left a faint imprint on the horizon.
To the southwest, Lake Ontario and Humber Bay showed how much drama they can add when the sun finds a hole in the cloud cover. Certainly, wherever one stops on a balcony, they'll find incredible panoramas, but with super-high ceilings here, they'll be able to see views far into the suites.
While the exteriors have yet to take shape, at this level, the expansive views need nothing more than One Bloor's raw elevation to impress, with the clear day incredibly making a faint Niagara Falls skyline visible beyond the lake (below).
Concluding our series, we leave you with the shot you've been waiting for: Downtown Toronto from the 76th floor!
Want to learn more about One Bloor East? Check out our dataBase file—linked below—for renderings and more information on One Bloor. You can join in on the discussion in the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
