346 Spadina Avenue (?, 3s, Metropolitan Commercial, ?) COMPLETE

[ProjectEnd]

Reclad / repositioning of this old friend on the corner. Construction is already underway:

https://www.metcomrealty.com/wp-con...346-Spadina-Ave-Brokers-Letter-Jan-2018-1.pdf

Some history:

Apparently it was / is haunted: https://torontoist.com/2007/10/vintage_toronto_37/

 

[someMidTowner]

Reclad / repositioning of this old friend on the corner. Construction is already underway:

https://www.metcomrealty.com/wp-con...346-Spadina-Ave-Brokers-Letter-Jan-2018-1.pdf

Some history:

Apparently it was / is haunted: https://torontoist.com/2007/10/vintage_toronto_37/

Ah the Hsin Kuang Building. I believe the (slightly ridiculous) story goes that there were allegedly regular paranormal occurrences that stopped when the lion sculptures were added out front. This was attributed to "bad feng shui" caused by the V-shaped billboards across the street channelling negative energy into the building. Interesting that the sculptures are being retained

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Ah the Hsin Kuang Building. I believe the (slightly ridiculous) story goes that there were allegedly regular paranormal occurrences that stopped when the lion sculptures were added out front. This was attributed to "bad feng shui" caused by the V-shaped billboards across the street channelling negative energy into the building. Interesting that the sculptures are being retained

Haven't heard about the V-shaped billboards problem but it was supposedly a funeral home prior so no surprises about the stories around alleged sightings.

*supposedly - there is surprisingly no uncontestable record of it being such.

AoD

 

[someMidTowner]

Haven't heard about the V-shaped billboards problem but it was a funeral home prior so no surprises about the urban legends there.

AoD

We need a thread for Toronto urban legends!

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

We need a thread for Toronto urban legends!

I have added some provisos; and more info here:

http://jbwarehouse.blogspot.com/2015/12/off-grid-ghost-city-346-spadina-avenue.html

I think we might have a thread somewhere that mentioned this project before.

EDIT - found it: https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/chinatown.5144/page-12

AoD

 

[interchange42]

In any case, no ghost would be caught undead in that new design. Yuck. It's scaring me off.

42

 

[someMidTowner]

In any case, no ghost would be caught undead in that new design. Yuck. It's scaring me off.

42

They'd never make it past the lions though

 

[someMidTowner]

This is creepy but also presented as "eyewitness accounts", so let's just take it for its entertainment value: http://www.torontoghosts.org/index....-old-hsin-kuang-restaurant-?showall=1&start=0

Here's a snippet with no context for those who just don't care:

What I saw was an Asian female with long hair hovering in mid-air at the far back wall, wearing a red dress.

 

[wolfewood]

Reclad / repositioning of this old friend on the corner. Construction is already underway:

https://www.metcomrealty.com/wp-con...346-Spadina-Ave-Brokers-Letter-Jan-2018-1.pdf

Some history:

Apparently it was / is haunted: https://torontoist.com/2007/10/vintage_toronto_37/

A little more history:

http://torontoplaques.com/Pages/Labor_Lyceum.html

The Labour Lyceum used to be on this site. It was an important location in the early Toronto labour movement and central to Spadina's Jewish community.

It is also where a service for the famous anarchist Emma Goldman was held when she died of a stroke in Toronto.

http://spacing.ca/toronto/2016/01/12/53895/

Unfortunately there don't appear to be any photos taken of the original building, though I think I read somewhere that the Hsin Kuang Building is the same building but so significantly renovated that the original could never be restored.

 

[jje1000]

Unfortunately there don't appear to be any photos taken of the original building, though I think I read somewhere that the Hsin Kuang Building is the same building but so significantly renovated that the original could never be restored.

I'd check the sides and back of the building for hints of earlier construction since reclads usually don't reach back that far.

Edit: Definitely the same building- especially if you look at the window placements (hard to change in old buildings). I wonder if the big arched window is still there in some form, since the promotional images showed it.

From here: (https://oldto.sidewalklabs.com/#607419)

In any case, it's a bit of a shame that the reclad is going to take away from the whole 'Chinatown'-ess of Chinatown, no matter how stereotypically outdated that view is.

 

[ProjectEnd]

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I'd check the sides and back of the building for hints of earlier construction since reclads usually don't reach back that far.

Edit: Definitely the same building- especially if you look at the window placements (hard to change in old buildings). I wonder if the big arched window is still there in some form, since the promotional images showed it.

From here: (https://oldto.sidewalklabs.com/#607419)

In any case, it's a bit of a shame that the reclad is going to take away from the whole 'Chinatown'-ess of Chinatown, no matter how stereotypically outdated that view is.

Honestly, I found the existing facade awfully tacky - it's about as Chinese as Moo Shu Pork - and I wouldn't be sad to see it go, just not to what's being proposed. Can we have the old Labor Lyceum back, faux or no?

AoD

 

[AlbertC]

Metropolitan Commercial's other property along that stretch, 310 Spadina Ave appears to be experiencing difficulty securing major tenants after their recent restoration. Especially at the ground level, which used to be the Oriental Harvest grocery store.

 

[ProjectEnd]

Metropolitan claims that the lower front space is leased but the lower rear remains vacant.

 

[neuhaus]

https://www.blogto.com/city/2018/10/iconic-chinatown-building-gets-ghastly-makeover/