Toronto Freed Hotel & Residences | 219m | 63s | Freed | AS + GG

UrbanAffair said:
There were almost equal sized house and drum n bass rooms at certain big (10,000+ sized) jams when some of us were going in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Oh, sweet memories of large rave pants. So, so, comfy.
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This happened even into the late 2000s. My first long weekend at The Guvernment (May 2007) had drum n' bass in the Kool Haus, which is larger than the main room featuring trance.
 
Amare said:
The area is literally soul-suckingly dead in the evenings now even when comparing things to 5-10 years ago. It's been pretty astonishing to witness the change.

Got to give some thanks to some of our lovely developers for a devoid lack of any variation when it comes to retail spaces in the area.
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5-10? It's easily 10-20 now, man...
 
ProjectEnd said:
5-10? It's easily 10-20 now, man...
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I remember pre-Covid there was at least some signs of life in the area after let's say 8pm. Jack Astor's, The Office Pub, Crocodile Rock, Bar 244 and a couple other spots in the area were bringing people into the area. Now it's just devoid of life in the evenings/night.

The area was pretty much bustling in the evening/night time about 15-20 years ago.
 
Nightlife is absolutely not dead in the city - as Project End points out, it's now spread across the entire city vs concentrated in one area. People's tastes and idea of entertainment have also changed. Younger people are drinking way less. People are craving smaller venues with interesting decor, live music and innovative beverage / food offerings.

There will always be the leftover club dudes who peaked in the early 2000s who lament the loss of the entertainment district, but when I walk around the city at night I see people of all ages enjoying themselves on patios, inside bistros and small venues, local pubs and music venues.

Also, let's be real - who has the cash to pay for a whole night of Toronto priced drinks at the bar these days? We're pre drinking at our friends places and going to a local haunt for some laid back inexpensive fun.
 
Amare said:
I remember pre-Covid there was at least some signs of life in the area after let's say 8pm. Jack Astor's, The Office Pub, Crocodile Rock, Bar 244 and a couple other spots in the area were bringing people into the area. Now it's just devoid of life in the evenings/night.

The area was pretty much bustling in the evening/night time about 15-20 years ago.
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I have to say, I find the area quite alive around Richmond/John in the evening. Scotiabank cinema does a decent trade these days; there are a still a smattering of clubs/live music venues, the theatres down on King draw; lots of normal restos etc. Not including floods of folks after Jays games and concerts to the south.

Really, the demise of this area is rather over-sold.

Granted, I was never a huge club person, I think I went twice in my life (other than for concerts), largely to see what the fuss was about. Tended not to care for them. I get they were some people's thing.

But even in HS, I was more about lining up a good date for Saturday night and getting a table for dinner then hitting the town.
 
DavidCapizzano said:
Nightlife is absolutely not dead in the city - as Project End points out, it's now spread across the entire city vs concentrated in one area. People's tastes and idea of entertainment have also changed. Younger people are drinking way less. People are craving smaller venues with interesting decor, live music and innovative beverage / food offerings.

There will always be the leftover club dudes who peaked in the early 2000s who lament the loss of the entertainment district, but when I walk around the city at night I see people of all ages enjoying themselves on patios, inside bistros and small venues, local pubs and music venues.

Also, let's be real - who has the cash to pay for a whole night of Toronto priced drinks at the bar these days? We're pre drinking at our friends places and going to a local haunt for some laid back inexpensive fun.
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I wasnt implying that nightlife in the city was dead because by no means is it, I was just referring to this area in specific which has really quieted out over the years. Certainly there are other areas in the city (quite a few that come to my mind actually) where the activity has really picked up compared to here.

Northern Light said:
I have to say, I find the area quite alive around Richmond/John in the evening. Scotiabank cinema does a decent trade these days; there are a still a smattering of clubs/live music venues, the theatres down on King draw; lots of normal restos etc. Not including floods of folks after Jays games and concerts to the south.

Really, the demise of this area is rather over-sold.

Granted, I was never a huge club person, I think I went twice in my life (other than for concerts), largely to see what the fuss was about. Tended not to care for them. I get they were some people's thing.

But even in HS, I was more about lining up a good date for Saturday night and getting a table for dinner then hitting the town.
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Dont you worry it's only going to get more devoid once the Ballroom, Grace O'Malley's, Scotiabank Theatre, and those last strips of bars/restaurants on King @Simcoe all shut down ;)

By then it will only be the Princess of Wales and Roy Thompson Hall being the draws for the area, everything else will be west of Spadina. But that's just how i've observed things over the years with the entertainment options being drawn out from the immediate area.
 
Amare said:
I wasnt implying that nightlife in the city was dead because by no means is it, I was just referring to this area in specific which has really quieted out over the years. Certainly there are other areas in the city (quite a few that come to my mind actually) where the activity has really picked up compared to here.


Dont you worry it's only going to get more devoid once the Ballroom, Grace O'Malley's, Scotiabank Theatre, and those last strips of bars/restaurants on King @Simcoe all shut down ;)

By then it will only be the Princess of Wales and Roy Thompson Hall being the draws for the area, everything else will be west of Spadina. But that's just how i've observed things over the years with the entertainment options being drawn out from the immediate area.
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Feels like the district will be in name only once most of these are closed and condo'd up.
King W still has a lot of bar/clubs west of Spadina.

Plus the existing ones will probably gain the issue of "Too Loud" past 11pm from the people that move into these condos and don't realize the area has things go late into the night. History, Silver Dollar, Rebel/Cabana (outdoor events) and a few on King have had issues with residents.

As a DJ (mostly electronic genres), I do wish this area stayed. Good sized dancefloors are hard to come by now. The few that are left make it hard to break into as they have established resident DJ's.
 
tstormers said:
Feels like the district will be in name only once most of these are closed and condo'd up.
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The district, insofar as its BIA is concerned, is now 'West Downtown', not 'The Entertainment District'. That change is a couple of years old now.


tstormers said:
Plus the existing ones will probably gain the issue of "Too Loud" past 11pm from the people that move into these condos and don't realize the area has things go late into the night. History, Silver Dollar, Rebel/Cabana (outdoor events) and a few on King have had issues with residents.
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The City could have provided for replacement space for the clubs in some of the new buildings.

Since most clubs prefer not to have windows, these could go underground, and would be a much better use of space than the 4th and 5th levels of underground parking.

With proper sound insulation, the noise of the club itself should be a non-issue in these types of scenarios.

There is the issue of line-ups; but again, with purpose built space, a meaningful part of any line could be migrated inside.

For those venues wanting outdoor space, using a podium terrace, but doing so with a design that would provide a roof of some description, and solid windows that could close after 11pm or 12am to keep the ambient noise down would have seemed a great winner.

Neither the City, nor most developers are particularly creative or forward looking. Too bad.
 
Northern Light said:
The district, insofar as its BIA is concerned, is now 'West Downtown', not 'The Entertainment District'. That change is a couple of years old now.




The City could have provided for replacement space for the clubs in some of the new buildings.

Since most clubs prefer not to have windows, these could go underground, and would be a much better use of space than the 4th and 5th levels of underground parking.

With proper sound insulation, the noise of the club itself should be a non-issue in these types of scenarios.

There is the issue of line-ups; but again, with purpose built space, a meaningful part of any line could be migrated inside.

For those venues wanting outdoor space, using a podium terrace, but doing so with a design that would provide a roof of some description, and solid windows that could close after 11pm or 12am to keep the ambient noise down would have seemed a great winner.

Neither the City, nor most developers are particularly creative or forward looking. Too bad.
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I didn't know about the BIA name change. Thank you.

Agreed on the rest. I think Silver Dollar was the only purpose build redo of a venue in a condo. There are a few Roof Top ones but not many.
 
tstormers said:
Feels like the district will be in name only once most of these are closed and condo'd up.
King W still has a lot of bar/clubs west of Spadina.

Plus the existing ones will probably gain the issue of "Too Loud" past 11pm from the people that move into these condos and don't realize the area has things go late into the night. History, Silver Dollar, Rebel/Cabana (outdoor events) and a few on King have had issues with residents.

As a DJ (mostly electronic genres), I do wish this area stayed. Good sized dancefloors are hard to come by now. The few that are left make it hard to break into as they have established resident DJ's.
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King st west is also a pale shadow of its former self. Many places shut down, loss of venues on Bathurst, it's basically from Portland to Spadina now and there is more development on the way.
 
Another one bites the dust:
IMG_8337.jpeg
 
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