Toronto Hullmark Centre | 167.94m | 45s | Tridel | Kirkor Architects

[Ryan_T]

Maybe something to hang banners/decorations with?

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

Was walking by the other day and saw the following and could not figure out what they are? Any ideas/explanations? On the Yonge street side just outside the Whole Foods.

View attachment 51683 View attachment 51684

They're just above those glass canopy lip,.... they're safety anchors to attach safety harness for workers whenever they need to service (clean-replace) the those horizontal glass canopy.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

Late last week, these funky new retro-style TTC signage started popping up in front of the two TTC subway entrances at HullmarkCentre. I've never seen these at any other TTC subway station entrances. First 2 photo is the one on south entrance at Yonge-Anndale/Poyntz which is not wheelchair accessible. The last one is a night shot of the one for North Tower on Sheppard which is handicap accessible and hence the blue wheelchair accessible signage.

 

[Benito]

Love those TTC signs!

 

[Marcanadian]

From the Parade skybridge:

Toronto by Marcus Mitanis, on Flickr

 

[Skeezix]

Late last week, these funky new retro-style TTC signage started popping up in front of the two TTC subway entrances at HullmarkCentre.

That's fantastic. I've often wondered why the TTC abandoned its old signage in favour of dull backlit rectangles, so this is a nice thing.

 

[interchange42]

There were three of these signs installed at Dufferin station as part of its makeover. I hope they pop up at every station, sooner as opposed to later, but there's slim to no chance they'll find the budget to do that. I love the curve built into the sign.

42

 

[Bogtrotter]

This is a nice addition to sheppard/yonge, sharp looking building adds to an otherwise bland cluster of buildings around that intersection. Not a big fan of the ttc logo, always thought it looked dated and would rather see a more simple symbol of some kind. This new signage has a bit of flare though

 

[Skeezix]

I love the logo. There's some class and history to it. A lot of things don't need to be significantly updated.

 

[interchange42]

I know this is veering off topic here, and meanders a bit, but…

Yes, Bog, it does look dated, and yes, the logo is tough to use in certain applications (on its own it's fine, but in text it's too wide, where conversely the squarish Montréal Metro symbol fits so beautifully into the addresses for places in that city which include that simple logo along with the closest station name*), but I'm a TTC logo lover nevertheless as the design is unique, ubiquitous in this town, and now a classic… and yes, these new signs have flair!

While I acknowledge that many are not fans of the TTC logo, I contend it was a terrific design of its time. That it has escaped redesign and achieved its longevity can be attributed mostly to an historic dearth of design focus over intervening years at the transit agency, but that's a good thing in this case. Design trends head one way, then head another, and history for a whole populace can disappear at the whims of the few in charge, so I'm thrilled we have this recognizable emblem of our civic history still pretty much intact from its creation in the 1920s (the shade of red has changed, and the original yellow is long gone in place of white). While updated slightly to represent current sensibilities, the logo still represents civic tradition and municipal pride in a system that kept this city urban when so many burgs across North America began to hollow out starting in the 50s. I know that's reading a lot into it, but I say all that's in there…

…so I'm really glad to see this implementation of the logo in a cool, tailored sign that brings the shield with its wings into the modern age.

42

*When I was at MapArt, we always used local symbols on the maps, where we could, to aid in quick comprehension. Montréal's simple, modern Métro logo, as I noted, was easy to place on the map, but it was trickier here with the unique shape. We simplified the TTC logo slightly and stuck the station name in it, varying the width of the letters, keeping the wings a uniform length. Colour indicated the line.

We placed a value on that logo on our maps, and with these new signs at some of the stations, the value of that unique shape is now being recognized in the city at large.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

Thanks Interchange42!

Since Dufferin has the new TTC signage as well, I double checked at other recently renovated stations; both VictoriaPark and Pape has the retangular style which are more informative since it includes the name of the station, handicap accessible logo, subway and bus pictures,... also has green line for green line,... but they're moving to line number system so it should have line 2 on signage.
http://transit.toronto.on.ca/archives/weblog/2013/08/30-pape_stati.shtml

Pape does have a large TTC logo, but it's rather flat and not at all like these bubbly 3-d TTC signage at HullmarkCentre and Dufferin Station.

You took some good shots of the illuminated TTC signage at Dufferin station,... they look better when they hang down from something like at Dufferin Station.

BTW,.... with Bloor-Danforth line & Eglinton Crosstown as the wing,... if DownTownReliefLine or SmartTrack or whatever gets put in and extended northwest and northeast,... Toronto subway system map may start to resemble the retro TTC logo!!!

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

WholeFoodsMarket closes it`s doors at HullmarkCentre,... hmmm,... store isn`t closing - yet,.... just the main door! Looks like the two sets of sliding doors will be changed so outside door becomes revolving door. It took them a year to figure out all the heat they`re loosing in the winter and all the AirConditioning they`re loosing in the summer,.... HullmarkCentre supposed to be LEED certified and WholeFoodsMarket supposed to be organic and everything done with principles,.... like energy conservation,...

On the positive side, at least the temporary fencing provides some form of bike locking infrastructure in front of WholeFoodsMarket,.... which the store and area residents have been trying to get since the store opened a year ago,... because the underground P1 bike station with 132 bike parking spaces is hidden and relatively inaccessible as I`ve mentioned previously,...

 

[whatever]

Looks like a fall arrest system for the window cleaners. They could clip on their harness while cleaning the top side of the glass.

 

[sunnyraytoronto]

Revolving door all done,... one reason why they switched to revolving door is probably because customer service desk is inside just after the two sliding doors,.... thus, customer service staff are first to feel the cold air coming in the winter,.... it was interesting seeing them all bundled up in the winter months when they work indoors.

 

[kris]

Fun fact. The man who invented revolving doors did it because he said he was tired of holding the door for women.