News   Nov 14, 2024
Galleria 01 & 02 Welcome First Occupants at Galleria on the Park
 284     0 
News   Nov 14, 2024
News Roundup for November 14, 2024
 254     0 
News   Nov 14, 2024
Daniels Presides Over Its Neighbours
 530     1 

The Tenor (10 Dundas St E, Ent Prop Trust, 10s, Baldwin & Franklin)

  • Thread starter billy corgan19982
  • Start date
Today.
B04DEDFB-581D-4AB6-A1E7-F1B385C3726F.jpeg
 
As for Little Canada setting up here - I wish them the best. It's nice to get another easily accessible tourist attraction downtown in a city that's sorely lacking them, instead of yet another soulless corporate retail chain.

I'm genuinely surprised however that a miniature model park has any kind of pull here. That always seemed to me to be something Europeans are more into (as evidenced by the one in Hamburg being Germany's top tourist attraction). I still have fond memories of visiting the epic Minimundus park at Klagenfurt, Austria.

Just last month I also discovered the model railway in St. Jacob's, which was quite impressive.
 
I think the video screen should have lined up to the sign beside it. That way the HVAC units on the roof would have been covered and the lines would have been cleaner. It just makes sense but the owners of this building don't do anything that makes sense, so no surprise there.

And why is this screen taking so long to go up?
 
I loved going to Miniature World as a kid, and they've been in business for 48 years (!), so maybe there is a market for miniature landscapes in Canada. I'll definitely be checking out Little Canada once it opens.
 
any new screens added to the building since the last row was finished? And does Little Canada have an opening date/month/year?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I was curious why this is taking so long so I asked around and while I didn't find a concrete answer, it appears as though the screen is custom made for that specific curvature and they're probably getting about a row of LED modules every few weeks. This is going to take some time.
 
MetroMan said:
I was curious why this is taking so long so I asked around and while I didn't find a concrete answer, it appears as though the screen is custom made for that specific curvature and they're probably getting about a row of LED modules every few weeks. This is going to take some time.
Click to expand...

Make sense and it's good to hear that's the reason because when they replace the other signs, it should go a lot quicker since they have no curvature and are just flat rectangles.
 
Richard White said:
Sex dungeon?
Click to expand...
Sex cauldron? I thought they closed that place down!

TheTigerMaster said:
I'm hoping the increased intensification on Dundas east of Yonge will give pedestrians more reasons to walk through the square, and drive away some of the seedyness.

Alas, Dundas Square would still have a ton of other problems
Click to expand...
Whenever I go by Dundas Square and it's not being actively programmed it seems that the edges of the square are full of people but the centre is mostly empty. I've long maintained that the fundamental problem with the square is that there's no centrepiece. Almost all great squares have a statue or fountain with informal seating that acts as a place to gather and loiter. This is especially important if the surrounding architecture isn't so great. NPS for example has the reflecting pool surrounded by seating that turns into a skating rink in the winter. Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Plaza Mayor, Old Town Square - none of these have the "blank slate" design that Dundas Square is saddled with. Some squares have become so famous and overrun with tourists that the monuments are fenced off to protect them, but they still act as centrepieces.

Yes I know that Dundas Square was designed as a blank slate so events could use the space efficiently. But public squares are supposed to work as informal gathering spaces, which is their state most of the time. When the design concept compromises informal gathering for the sake of active programming, the concept itself is flawed. New-ish squares in smaller Ontario cities like Kingston and Waterloo suffer from similarly flawed designs and are also strangely desolate as a result.

Sadly, no amount of development around the square will fix this.
 
"all great squares have a statue or fountain with informal seating that acts as a place to gather"

Bingo - not rocket science but a magnet to gather. Totally agree. Worked in Europe for hundreds of years.

Note: the charming sprays of water are enjoyed by kids for a few months a year.
 
MisterF said:
Sex cauldron? I thought they closed that place down!


Whenever I go by Dundas Square and it's not being actively programmed it seems that the edges of the square are full of people but the centre is mostly empty. I've long maintained that the fundamental problem with the square is that there's no centrepiece. Almost all great squares have a statue or fountain with informal seating that acts as a place to gather and loiter. This is especially important if the surrounding architecture isn't so great. NPS for example has the reflecting pool surrounded by seating that turns into a skating rink in the winter. Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Plaza Mayor, Old Town Square - none of these have the "blank slate" design that Dundas Square is saddled with. Some squares have become so famous and overrun with tourists that the monuments are fenced off to protect them, but they still act as centrepieces.

Yes I know that Dundas Square was designed as a blank slate so events could use the space efficiently. But public squares are supposed to work as informal gathering spaces, which is their state most of the time. When the design concept compromises informal gathering for the sake of active programming, the concept itself is flawed. New-ish squares in smaller Ontario cities like Kingston and Waterloo suffer from similarly flawed designs and are also strangely desolate as a result.

Sadly, no amount of development around the square will fix this.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, the stage was supposed to play that role. But when the city took it over from the architects, they completely bastardized the intended vision by building that shipping yard canopy and almost always closing the stage off, even when there's no event. The stage was built with stairs for people to sit on and congregate as an amphitheatre from which to watch the city and bright lights.

Secondly, the tables and chairs were supposed to be a permanent fixture and the fountain was supposed to be on when the square isn't in use by an event, getting people to the scatter around the centre of the square. Whoever is managing the square no longer bothers to put out the seating and chairs and the fountain is often off even when there's no event.
 
MetroMan said:
Believe it or not, the stage was supposed to play that role. But when the city took it over from the architects, they completely bastardized the intended vision by building that shipping yard canopy and almost always closing the stage off, even when there's no event. The stage was built with stairs for people to sit on and congregate as an amphitheatre from which to watch the city and bright lights.

Secondly, the tables and chairs were supposed to be a permanent fixture and the fountain was supposed to be on when the square isn't in use by an event, getting people to the scatter around the centre of the square. Whoever is managing the square no longer bothers to put out the seating and chairs and the fountain is often off even when there's no event.
Click to expand...

It may be that this is being done to deter people from taking up residency. Give people tables and chairs, they will sleep. If you give them a water fountain they will bathe if no other option is available. The city closing the stage off may have been because of their lawyers screaming about liability issues.
 
3Dementia said:
"all great squares have a statue or fountain with informal seating that acts as a place to gather"

Bingo - not rocket science but a magnet to gather. Totally agree. Worked in Europe for hundreds of years.

Note: the charming sprays of water are enjoyed by kids for a few months a year.
Click to expand...
MetroMan said:
Believe it or not, the stage was supposed to play that role. But when the city took it over from the architects, they completely bastardized the intended vision by building that shipping yard canopy and almost always closing the stage off, even when there's no event. The stage was built with stairs for people to sit on and congregate as an amphitheatre from which to watch the city and bright lights.

Secondly, the tables and chairs were supposed to be a permanent fixture and the fountain was supposed to be on when the square isn't in use by an event, getting people to the scatter around the centre of the square. Whoever is managing the square no longer bothers to put out the seating and chairs and the fountain is often off even when there's no event.
Click to expand...
Yeah I can see that in the design of the stage now that you mention it. I'm not sure that I'm sold on the stage as a centrepiece though. It's over on one side of the square, and the structure gives the square a "back", closing it off from the east. Good squares tend not to have a front and back. Agreed that the fountains are a fun, whimsical element, but that's why I mentioned that they work as a secondary element like they do at NPS. Both it and the tables and chairs are temporary and easily removed/turned off, making the pair an ineffective centrepiece. What's needed is something permanent, solid, prominent. Again, I realize that something like that would compromise the original vision of the square, but I don't think that vision was very good to begin with. Like 3Dmentia said, it's not rocket science.

I think too many designers and architects look down on tried and tested design principles and are always trying to do something new, even if that new thing is inferior.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top