Sheraton Centre (123 Queen West, new windows & exterior repairs)

[Torontovibe]

They really do need to rethink the whole Queen Street facade. It's dreadful right now and could be so much more attractive and profitable, lined with stores and restaurants that meet the sidewalk better. It really is a missed opportunity for both the hotel and the city.

 

[DSC]

I know a lot of people find this building ghastly, but i like it! I agree with barit and davejohnson, hopefully they will install opening windows and fix up the old rusty "Sheraton Centre " sign.

Yes! The signage is ghastly and really does not give one a very good impression of what the hotel is actually like inside.

 

[rpeters]

This- the tower is fine, the area fronting Queen needs to be blown apart and rebuilt with a more inviting colonade and more retail, greenery and windows. The parking entrance should be spruced up with planters, seating and maybe interesting sculpture, and areas like the little courtyard beside the Thompson buildings need to be activated or filled in. The roofline of the podium needs to be softened with some vegetation as per Brutalist ideals, and some color wouldn't be a bad thing either.

It's surprising that the Richmond facade looks more urban than the one facing Queen!

All those ideas sounded perfect, I wish you were in charge of this renovation.

 

[gabe]

Too bad the Club Lounge on the top floor of the hotel isn't open to the public. My Dad had a club room on his last visit there. What an incredible view of the city!! Of course i had to forget my camera that day.

 

[SP!RE]

@jje1000

Several good ideas mentioned, but you don't just add seating somewhere for the hell of it. People won't just sit anywhere, and a parking entrance doesn't sound to me like an ideal place to put much seating.

 

[pw20]

@jje1000

Several good ideas mentioned, but you don't just add seating somewhere for the hell of it. People won't just sit anywhere, and a parking entrance doesn't sound to me like an ideal place to put much seating.

I'd really like to see that entire section of Queen undergo a sort of Bloor Street makeover. It contains some of our most amazing pieces of architecture (old city hall, osgoode hall, Bay Queen Street, Four Seasons Centre) as well as modern architecture (the Eaton Centre, New City Hall).

The Eaton Centre is also our number one tourist attraction. That being said the 2 or 3 blocks are terrible. The walkway between the Bay and the Eaton Centre looks tired, the south entrance of the Eaton Centre (by town shoes) needs to be power-washed, and the unpleasant Sheraton Centre frontage sucks.

I actually don't think this would be a major job - but unified lighting, fresh sidewalks and a bit of attention paid to the Sheraton Centre would go A LONG WAY. As our major tourist artery it would nice to show some attention to our city.

 

[k10ery]

Yeah, but what's the incentive to the hotelier to open up their courtyard into essentially being public space? I remain skeptical that this is going to happen anytime soon.

It IS public space - part of the original deal for planning permissions I think. They should simply be forced to open those doors.

 

[khris]

Then just take down the walkway over Queen if it's not going to be used.

 

[SP!RE]

Then just take down the walkway over Queen if it's not going to be used.

Why would anyone want to demolish the bridge just because it's not currently being used? Not only is that short-sighted, but it's a waste of money, manpower and materials/ embodied energy.

 

[adma]

Yes! The signage is ghastly and really does not give one a very good impression of what the hotel is actually like inside.

Though on its behalf, I'd offer that the signage has (albeit originally as "Four Seasons Sheraton") always been part of the building, to the point where it's a comfy old skyline shoe at this point, much like the 390 atop 390 Bay. (And hey; it's fashionably Helveticesque: how early 70s can you get. To say nothing of the narrow-end Sheraton logo)

 

[SP!RE]

I was going to say, though the signage itself could use a good fixing-up, I would hate for that (almost-)Helvetica font to disappear.

 

[androiduk]

A couple of pics from the archives. The interior courtyard and the neon sign on the west facade.

 

[gabe]

Beautiful!! Hopefully they will refurbish that old sign.

 

[adHominem]

The grotto is one of that area's great hidden gems. I eat my lunch there regularly when the weather permits. And there was a family of ducks living in the pond last year, which was delightful.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

SPIRE:

Why would anyone want to demolish the bridge just because it's not currently being used? Not only is that short-sighted, but it's a waste of money, manpower and materials/ embodied energy.

Well, maintenance and safety are two issues that come to mind. Keeping something usable (but underutilized) also require all the resources you have listed. There is also aesthetics to consider as well - personally I find the Eaton Centre/Bay and City Hall/Sheraton bridges problematic from that front.

AoD