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Renewal of the TORONTO sign

afransen said:
Maybe a hot take, but I'm not a fan of the indigenous people symbol. It's just not very visually appealing, and I'm not sure they really need to be specifically called out in that particular location.
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Both the symbol and the maple leaf are subtraction by addition, but probably too risky politically for anyone to propose they be removed.
 
Johnny Au said:
Oh, and Toronto needs canals. Ontario Place, the Toronto Islands, and Villiers Island aren't enough.
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We’ve got the Keating Channel, which will be really cool and have a canal-type vibe if developed as proposed. Theres also that proposal for wooden footbridges over the slips, which would connect disparate boardwalks to each other and transform them into one cohesive promenade — if they ever get built, that is. Those two things alone would make our waterfront an incredibly cool destination
 
Yeah, I guess I should clarify that my comment was motivated by the visual clutter and the goal of the sign to be a tourism icon. It shouldn't be imbued with political iconography which will be lost on 95% of visitors. I would be happy with artwork acknowledging local indigenous people in the square somewhere rather an obscure symbol that most Canadians don't understand, much less visitors.
 
afransen said:
Yeah, I guess I should clarify that my comment was motivated by the visual clutter and the goal of the sign to be a tourism icon. It shouldn't be imbued with political iconography which will be lost on 95% of visitors. I would be happy with artwork acknowledging local indigenous people in the square somewhere rather an obscure symbol that most Canadians don't understand, much less visitors.
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What a disappointing perspective. The medicine wheel isn't obscure, but an important and iconic Indigenous and Canadian symbol. I can think of no better stage to celebrate Indigenous symbolism as NPS, standing equally alongside 'Toronto' - a name owed to the region's Indigenous past. Besides, for those unfamiliar with the symbol, it provides a great opportunity to engage people in a new dialogue and expand latent Indigenous narratives to an important public place.
 
afransen said:
Yeah, I guess I should clarify that my comment was motivated by the visual clutter and the goal of the sign to be a tourism icon. It shouldn't be imbued with political iconography which will be lost on 95% of visitors. I would be happy with artwork acknowledging local indigenous people in the square somewhere rather an obscure symbol that most Canadians don't understand, much less visitors.
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It isn't.

Edit/Update: Oh, I'm here now... :(
 
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Johnny Au said:
I would like to know what is happening to the old sign.
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If they sold old Toronto street signs, surely they can sell the old Toronto sign. (Install it next to the old CLRV streetcar?)

toronto_street_signs.jpg

From link.

a08bd282219b25c0c6ccaccfef47cc7d.jpeg

From link.
 
^ Indeed. What percentage of people do you think could successfully identify it: a) among general Canadian population and b) among international visitors.
 
TheTigerMaster said:
We spent a lot of money on the NPS revitalization, and ultimately the only thing people really cared about was the $50-ish thousand dollar accidental sign 😄
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People are really quite simple sometimes. And yet, the disproportionate attention the sign gets compared to the rest of Toronto's tourist attractions generates so much ire on public forums like /r/Toronto and here.
 
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