John Street south of Adelaide has taken on a predominantly high-rise built form over the past decade, while the stretch north of it has maintained a much more intimate scale. This week's Throwback Thursday takes us to the John Street, between Queen Street and Renfrew Place for a look at Lamb Development’s OneSixNine Lofts at 169 John Street, an 11-storey loft building containing 46 units. Back in 2006, the building had topped off and cladding was well underway on the Core Architects-designed mid-rise.

Looking north on John Street from just north of Queen Street, May 2006, image by Edward Skira

Jumping ahead to 2016, and OneSixNine Lofts has long since been completed and occupied. Immediately next door to the south, the structure that formerly housed the Young Thailand restaurant at 165 John Street has been extensively modified into a 7000-square-foot concept store for Umbra. Designed by Kohn Shnier Architects, the 2007-built project is notable for its exterior consisting of translucent bright pink vertical bands.

Looking north on John Street from just north of Queen Street, April 2016, image by Jack Landau

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto!