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The Shell Oil Tower

Nowadays, had it survived, Gehry would've probably been obliged to incorporate the small bank building that stood on the south west corner of Dundas/McCaul into his reno; I remember it being razed, when I was an OCA student, to make way for the Parkin addition.
 
Mystery White Boy said:
Why would anyone want to rebuild this? If anything rebuild something like The Temple Building.
Click to expand...

who mentioned rebuilding it? i believe the word that was used was 'incorporate'.

also, why do always have such a boneheaded aggressive tone to your posts?

"One thing I really hate is the TD Centre. 4 identical black towers. Such a waste. They would have been better off with 2 tall towers or 4 distinct buildings. The downtown skyline has too many twin towers."

"I wouldn't weep a tear if any one of those towers was knocked down or destroyed. I'd leave the tallest one standing. 1 is enough. 4 is way too much. If anything he should have just built two large towers. 4 towers of the same design just shows a lack of creativity. Even one tower of that design is boring as hell."

and of course my favourite:

"On paper I could design something much more exciting than TD. I don't have the engineering skills to become an architect. And that's not what I want to do for a living. I don't need to understand the fundamentals and history behind an architect or style to appreciate or hate. Seeing with my own eyes is enough to make me like a building or dislike it. Who cares if I have a deep understanding of architecture or not."
 
At one time I lived in one of those Victorian houses on the north side of Dundas. They have fallen into a state of disrepair because most of them are owned by overseas businessmen, and operated as student apartments.

AS for VIP, it was one of my favourite pubs when I lived in the area.
 
Urban Shocker said:
Nowadays, had it survived, Gehry would've probably been obliged to incorporate the small bank building that stood on the south west corner of Dundas/McCaul into his reno; I remember it being razed, when I was an OCA student, to make way for the Parkin addition.
Click to expand...

What did it look like?

Hard to think, from today's perspective, that the AGO once upon a time *didn't* occupy the whole Dundas blockfront...
 
the only one i could find
dundasmccaul.jpg
 
thedeepend said:
who mentioned rebuilding it? i believe the word that was used was 'incorporate'.

also, why do always have such a boneheaded aggressive tone to your posts?

"One thing I really hate is the TD Centre. 4 identical black towers. Such a waste. They would have been better off with 2 tall towers or 4 distinct buildings. The downtown skyline has too many twin towers."

"I wouldn't weep a tear if any one of those towers was knocked down or destroyed. I'd leave the tallest one standing. 1 is enough. 4 is way too much. If anything he should have just built two large towers. 4 towers of the same design just shows a lack of creativity. Even one tower of that design is boring as hell."

and of course my favourite:

"On paper I could design something much more exciting than TD. I don't have the engineering skills to become an architect. And that's not what I want to do for a living. I don't need to understand the fundamentals and history behind an architect or style to appreciate or hate. Seeing with my own eyes is enough to make me like a building or dislike it. Who cares if I have a deep understanding of architecture or not."
Click to expand...

Thanks for flaunting my genius on your behalf.
 
When I was at OCA in the mid-'70s, some student friends rented the second floor of that big red brick house ( with the balcony ) that's roughly mid-block. Quite nice inside.

Yes adma, there was a generous forecourt to the old AGO in those days, with the Rodin Adam out front of the entrance.

Then we got Parkin enforcement.
 
The forecourt I know about. I was referring to "the whole Dundas blockfront" in terms of AGO property, as opposed to simple buildings along the streetline; that is, it's hard to believe that it was once a "midblock" institution...
 
Shell Tower at CNE - c.1960
Finally found this, my 54-year-old photo, after searching for months.
The 2014 CNE starts tomorrow!

ShellTowerCNE_zpsf872ed9c.jpg
 
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