Toronto Auto BLDG | 54.86m | 10s | Castlepoint Numa | a—A

I got a membership and tickets to their preview Friday night, but didn't pay enough attention to their location - I'm sure my opinion won't be very popular, and I understand that kind of building is very desirable, but it has to be the most ridiculous location possible for a prominent museum that would be expected to be a tourist draw. I don't own a car (besides they warn their parking is "very limited"). The closest transit station is UP Express Bloor, and then you have to walk 600 m on a residential-commercial street with narrow sidewalks, with nowhere to eat in the immediate area.
 
Bayer said:
I got a membership and tickets to their preview Friday night, but didn't pay enough attention to their location - I'm sure my opinion won't be very popular, and I understand that kind of building is very desirable, but it has to be the most ridiculous location possible for a prominent museum that would be expected to be a tourist draw. I don't own a car (besides they warn their parking is "very limited"). The closest transit station is UP Express Bloor, and then you have to walk 600 m on a residential-commercial street with narrow sidewalks, with nowhere to eat in the immediate area.
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You are right on most things, but just wanted to suggest walking along the railpath, much more pleasant than the 'residential-commercial' street.
 
raptor said:
You are right on most things, but just wanted to suggest walking along the railpath, much more pleasant than the 'residential-commercial' street.
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Thank you, I was completely unaware of that path.
 
Drake Commissary is right next door if you're looking for a place to eat. https://goo.gl/maps/pr7XYGNyVkH2

Nonna's Place at Sterling and Bloor is great for weekday lunch. Next to that is Noble Coffee, where you can get sandwiches and snacks.

As the former Tower Automotive site gets developed. I would expect more many food options to pop up around there.
 
It does feel fairly out-of-the way right now, but this is the kind of institution that has the potential to anchor a whole neighbourhood. There are already other galleries and artists' studios in the area, along with House of Anansi Press. Henderson Brewing and The Drake Commissary are right there. The Indie Alehouse, I think, also had plans to move into a new building next door, though I'm not sure if that's still happening or not. Transit isn't as good as it could be, but I think this will turn into a little cluster of things that people will be willing to make the 600-metre trek for, though it may take some time to develop.
 
The poor transportation connectivity may not scream "world class" but it's kind of reassuring in the sense that given the pace of development in this city it may at least have time to mature at this location without being driven out. Not a deep-pocketed institution if I understand correctly.
 
Visiblity shouldn't be too much of a problem given the Auto Building's visual prominence in the area, but they should toss a nice big MoCA sign on the roof and a few welcome signs on the Railpath and the ends of Sterling Road for safe measure.

I also think that Sterling Road presents a great opportunity to gradually create a second Kensington/Mirvish Village-style urbanism (renovated houses with alternative retail at the base), as the area matures. There's lots of potential in the area.
 
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As a city matures, higher, better uses gradually come to buildings, even if they are sometimes a little off the beaten path. New paths can be beaten though, and whereas nobody other than factory workers would have ventured down Sterling Avenue a decade ago, that's no longer the case now, and MOCA will only accelerate the discovery of this area by Torontonians at large. Here's hoping that by the time all of the approvals are in place for Choice Properties' Dundas and Bloor redevelopment across the tracks, that it would be unthinkable to not also have a pedestrian bridge in the works to connect that site (and its improved connections to Bloor GO/UPX and Dundas West subway) up to the MOCA/Lower JCT site.

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I forgot to mention about the Nestlé chocolate factory on Sterling south of Henderson/Family Service Toronto. Too bad, the chocolate factory isn't open to public factory tours (perhaps for safety reasons and/or to prevent corporate espionage from taking photos of the [proprietary] equipment). That would have been a great place for field trips.
 
I went to MOCA today and was pleasantly surprised at how lively the area was, considering how ‘isolated’ the location is. There was a block party at the lot next to the Drake Commissary / Henderson Brewing Co. The museum itself has several interesting exhibits, and killer views from the upper floors. Once it matures and when the surrounding developments are completed, it will be a nice artsy cluster - maybe they’ll call it the MOCA district.

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