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Canadian Walk of Fame to Put Its Feet Up

A

AlvinofDiaspar

Guest
From the Star:

Walk of Fame to put its feet up
City to share costs of new Metro Square site
Canada's stars will get seen even in winter
Sep. 13, 2006. 01:00 AM
BRUCE DEMARA
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER

Canada's Walk of Fame has found a permanent all-weather home and chosen a multi-disciplinary Toronto consulting firm to design and build it.

After 14 firms were short-listed, pgm Design Associates was chosen as designer of the new site, to be located in Metro Square on King St. W., between Roy Thomson Hall and Metro Hall. The site has been tentatively dubbed Celebration Square.

Board members decided three years ago that the Walk of Fame, which was begun in 1998, needed a permanent site that was accessible to the public year-round, and the search for a location has been ongoing since then, said president and CEO Peter Soumalias.

"We're very happy. This is Canada's Walk of Fame mandate ... to find ways to celebrate Canadian achievement in a meaningful way (via) a permanent place of tribute," Soumalias said.

Toronto City Council, which leases Metro Square, has given its approval to the project and Mayor David Miller said in a statement that the council has committed to sharing the costs. No budget estimate was given based on the preliminary design.

Miller said he expects the site will become "a significant tourist attraction for the city."

Patrick Morello, spokesman for pgm Design, said many details remain to be decided as the design is taken to a pre-construction phase, but he promised to deliver "a space that is inspiring" and a worthy destination for visitors "from all around Canada and the world."

"The scheme has been designed for four seasons, for day and night, and to operate on many different levels (to make) a very visual, very bold statement about Canadian stars," Morello said.

The plan is to relocate the existing 101 star plaques to the new site, which will be kept free of snow for all-year viewing. The site design features "a forest of light" meant to invoke Canada's Northern Lights. The light columns will begin in the theatre district on the north side of King St. W., where many of the existing stars are now imbedded in the sidewalk. The light columns will show the way across King St. to the installation in Metro Square.

Some of those panels may also be heated to ensure visibility during winter conditions, he said.

The walk will also feature interactive video screens providing information on the stars and comments from previous visitors, he added.

Construction of the site is expected to begin a year from now and possibly extend through the spring of 2008.

AoD
 
I just noticed how beautiful Metro Square is during the Taste of Toronto Festival last weekend.

Enhancing and Programming the square year round is fantastic. I like the idea of having it remain in the Entertainment District, right beside Roy Thompson Hall with all the starts during the International Film Festival, with the CN Tower in the background and right across the street from the new Ritz Carleton! How can you beat that location?

Too bad there aren't any renderings, and thankfully the city of Toronto isn't the lead partner in the project so I have greater faith it will happen.


Louroz
 
There was a rendering in today's 24 hours. I'm sure it will appear online soon enough.
 
That looks interesting. Much more of a destination than the current setup and certainly more unique.
 
Taken from the Walk of Fame site:

WoFRendering.jpg


WoFSitePlan.jpg


I am not sure if putting the stars into the roadway is a wise move, considering our need for snow plowing and road salt use.

AoD
 
This little piece of urban planning will be a nice touch to the area. The trees along King West alone will be a welcomed addition. More of this kind of thing please!
 
Looks pretty first-rate, although I’m not sure if the insertion of stars in the actual street is such a good idea.
 
I am not sure if putting the stars into the roadway is a wise move, considering our need for snow plowing and road salt use.
Click to expand...
Maybe not. Especially when the police mounted unit, which is in the area frequently, refuses to clean up after itself.

Hmmm. That gives me an idea. What Canadian celebrity should be on the road but near the curb to get covered with horsesh*t? (plus sand after the winter thaw) Céline Dion?
 
Agreed. A few more (healthy) trees, decent landscaping and interesting sculptural florishes will do wonders for the area.

And yes, I cannot see stars (with actual names) being placed on the road, for both practical and safety reasons (a pretty silly idea). I like though how the network of the 'walk' flows from and to different areas.
 
"The walk will also feature interactive video screens providing information on the stars and comments from previous visitors, he added."

I hope the video screens do not happen. I can only imagine the look of the all-weather housings. They will probably look like something inside the downtown subway stations however being outside will make it hard to keep them clean and functioning properly.
Also, I'm sure the programming that will be on the screens featuring "comments from previous visitors" will be a nice loop that is created when the screens are installed and then never updated.

The only way this portion of the project will work is if Toronto gets a major media sponsor to provide the content and ensure the screens are maintained to a level that the sponsor would be proud of.
 
I noticed that there were stars on the road when I read this story on the Metro paper.. but the rendering was tiny so I reserved judgement.

Now that I'm seeing full sized renderings... Stars in the road? What the hell are they sniffing? Tourists are going to wander on to the road and bend over to read stars, all the while a Hummer comes along and mows them over. Smart.... duh!

EDIT: Not to mention that the path of stars across the street is not on a crosswalk. People will definitely want to follow the path and ignore the crosswalk 50ft to the East.
 
^Just create a crosswalk there. Drivers can slow down a little.
 
^Just create a crosswalk there. Drivers can slow down a little.
Click to expand...

I don't think a crosswalk will help. You want people to be able to look at the stars for as long as they'd like in a leisurely setting. The sidewalk works because you can always stand to the side if people are walking by.

Standing in the middle of the road isn't a very pleasant experience, even if it's a crosswalk; drivers expect you to cross as quickly as possible, and the road isn't a place pedestrians care to loiter.

I actually didn't even realize they'd be on the road after a first glance at the rendering. If they really want something to start on the north side of King, perhaps a pedestrian bridge with all the plaques would be better. I'm not sure if that would violate any safety codes, but it would be an interesting and safer alternative.

I also thought this was being done to avoid wear and tear on the plaques, along with the realities of winter; how well will they do on the road, exposed to far more wear and tear, along with the salt, etc. they routinely put on the road during the winter months?
 
In the rendering above the stars seem to stop at the road crossing, which is good because I just can't imagine it being much of an honour to be given a comemorative star that traffic can drive over.
 
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