Toronto The Berczy | 41.76m | 13s | Concert | Arcadis

I haven't tried many chain pizza's but Pizza Pizza are definitely among the worst, Pizzaiolo is probably second worst and its not cheap either

So is The Works already completely opened? I haven't walked by there in a few weeks, I could go for a gourmet burger about now
 
The place is terribly expensive. I don't quite understand this burger craze. Who wants to pay $15 for a burger?
 
Those photos of this area from the past are fascinating. They reveal the contempt that Torontonians have had for the downtown. I can understand the desire to flee from crowding and industrial filth, but it is a travesty that the heritage cityscape has been decimated. I had no idea that there was a St. Lawrence Market Building on the north side of Front. And tellingly, replaced with absolute rubbish (and while there is the opportunity now to build something unique and engaging, based on the discussion in the thread I gather there is some banality coming back into the proposal). I suppose all we can do now is to advocate for the best integration of new and old as possible. This is certainly a demonstration of the principle that change all too often comes with collateral damage.

And I couldn't agree more re the comment about Pizza Pizza's signs - the colour scheme is an offence to the streetscape.
 
Last edited:
agoraflaneur said:
Those photos of this area from the past are fascinating. They reveal the contempt that Torontonians have had for the downtown.
Click to expand...

It's not so much a Torontonians thing, as it was a phenomenon throughout North America. Surface parking lots proliferate in cities across the continent and represent a time when cars became king: many businesses moved out to the suburbs, leaving much downtown space unwanted and therefore too expensive to maintain. At the same time, for those businesses which stayed downtown, many who worked at them now lived further out and were now wealthy enough to afford cars… and lots to store them in became economically attractive to those with empty buildings… so those buildings came down.

Cities with few or no surface parking lots downtown, or those where the parking lots are now disappearing for new development, have a combination of good transit and a strong economy.

42
 
Too right Interchange - of course this was a widespread phenomenon in North America, it was simply a very regrettable one in my view.

However, coming from Vancouver, I can tell you that the extent of the phenomenon varied, and its effects over time are quite different. Vancouverites love downtown - love Stanley park, love our English Bay beaches. Vancouver would have never built an expressway that demolished and cut off a cherished park neighbourhood like Parkdale and Sunnyside (of course famously the plans were canceled after protest in Vancouver, much like what happened in Toronto on the east side of downtown in the Beaches).

One pervasive thing I have noticed since moving to Toronto is the lingering mistrust many Torontonians have for their water: it is seen as tarnished, dirty, merely a pale version of what is, after all, only a few hours drive - Muskoka. This feeling is declining I hope, but I still encounter the stock joke of the lake at parties - "you swam in it! Notice any mutations yet?" - and I am in my 20s so it is not like I am dealing with entrenched opinion.

Do long-time residents of Toronto disagree with my observation? It isn't that I don't understand this feeling, as Toronto was clearly very industrial and the lake wasn't as inviting as Muskoka, but it isn't 1970 anymore, and a lot of progress has been made to make the environment cleaner.

For me, places like Sunnyside are absolute gems, with fantastic locations and historic architecture. Sadly, the water there is dirtier than elsewhere in Toronto - I recall the fabulous plan to make islands on the mouth of the Humber in order to divert the contaminated water that flows into the lake, this would be wonderful. The transition from mistrusting downtown as a dirty, crowded (and poor) place to a vibrant, desireable (fashionable) place has taken years, and it will continue to be a difficult and lengthy process. But move forward it does. Mindscapes shift in step with cityscapes.
 
Last edited:
agoraflaneur said:
Too right Interchange - of course this was a widespread phenomenon in North America, it was simply a very regrettable one in my view.

One pervasive thing I have noticed since moving to Toronto is the lingering mistrust many Torontonians have for their water: it is seen as tarnished, dirty, merely a pale version of what is, after all, only a few hours drive - Muskoka. This feeling is declining I hope, but I still encounter the stock joke of the lake at parties - "you swam in it! Notice any mutations yet?" - and I am in my 20s so it is not like I am dealing with entrenched opinion.

Do long-time residents of Toronto disagree with my observation?
Click to expand...

Your observation is absolutely dead-on. It's one symptom of a general vague dislike many people still have of cities versus the rural idyll, but this one is a bit justified because in recent history (even well into the 1990's as I recall) there *were* definite problems with polluted beaches in Toronto and acid rain coming up from the US cities to the south. The way our waterfront has traditionally been cut off from the city by rail yards, an expressway and industrial factories (later industrial wasteland) doesn't help. Those who grew up associating Toronto beaches with pollution and industry will probably always think of it that way to some extent. Newer residents or future generations may not hold the same prejudices.

I think the Toronto Islands and the Beaches neighbourhoods have always had an good waterfront reputation, but it will take many more years or decades before the entire downtown shoreline is seen as a desirable place to swim. Sugar Beach and HT0 are helping to renew the waterfront as a "fun" place to visit on a hot day, but their non-swimmability (due to practical safely concerns, not pollution) doesn't really help the impression that the waterfront is not safe to interact with.
 
Picture taken 5 January 2013

IMG_2196_1-X2.jpg
 
Really loving this building, is there only 2 floors left? Is the entire bottom stretch along Front St going to be commercial space?
 
One of the problems with this building is how the setback doesn't address the corner like the podium does. A "soft" corner retains the historic feel of the area while the awkward top looks cheap.

Also a pitched roof/angled wall similar to my Queen West condo proposal would've matched the neighbouring historic buildings much better.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top