Toronto The Ivy | 110.33m | 34s | Tricon | Graziani + Corazza

mcornett said:
Nothing happened here in the historical sense. Fly was the city's largest gay nightclub for decades and was known as "Babylon" in the Queer as Folk series. There are really no large queer dance clubs left, so this is a loss of a community space. It coincides with the weakening of businesses in the gay village and the decline of Toronto's nighlife overall, but the impact is more acutely felt when there are fewer truly safe spaces available to the LGBTQ community.
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The loss of the last gay nightclub for this condo is the last straw for me. A city of this size should have several gay nightclubs/dance clubs, Toronto has none. Most cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Hong Kong, Paris, Lisbon, London, Cologne, Berlin have several. Even Warsaw has one! Toronto now has NONE. My gay friends are moving away, and won't come and visit me here because there is nothing to do in the evenings, at least at the standard they expect for a large city. I am afraid that I am going to have to apply at work for a transfer to a more global city and put my condo on the market. I do not pay big city real estate prices to have nothing but quaint suburban cultural and entertainment options. Much of the talent I work with in tech and media companies feel the same way, we are bored of Toronto and looking to move on. We need culture and fun, not another glass box and shopper's drug mart.
 
..adding insult to this injury, they don't even attempt to make it "worth while" design wise. /sigh
 
We've lost so many smaller queer venues, too – in the west end alone, in the last couple years The Steady, Henhouse, Holy Oak and now The Beaver have closed. It's a real loss.
 
adHominem said:
We've lost so many smaller queer venues, too – in the west end alone, in the last couple years The Steady, Henhouse, Holy Oak and now The Beaver have closed. It's a real loss.
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People from all walks of life can enjoy restaurants, bars, music venues like everyone else. No need to segregate.
 
Today.
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urbanyimby said:
A different opinion than yours doesn't mean I'm a troll
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I'm not sure exactly what your opinion is - that culturally specific places shouldn't exist? Gay bars are not segregated spaces. Anyone can go. I gather you have never been to one, which would explain your ignorance. Your statement is as logical as saying Japanese restaurants shouldn't exist because they only serve Japanese people.
 
urbanyimby said:
A different opinion than yours doesn't mean I'm a troll
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It's still pretty ignorant opinion even if the intention of posting it was entirely sincere...as it fails to address/dismisses the reasonable concerns raised about the diminishing LGBTQ scene.
 
Is it pressure from real estate investment or changes to the market ? The latter represents a nostalgic loss than a valid concern. I'm straight. I have partaking in that scene with my friends many years ago . They have moved away and started families living their dreams as everyday Torontonians. Emotion maybe seeing something in that post that isn't there.
 
maestro said:
Is it pressure from real estate investment or changes to the market ? The latter represents a nostalgic loss than a valid concern. I'm straight. I have partaking in that scene with my friends many years ago . They have moved away and started families living their dreams as everyday Torontonians. Emotion maybe seeing something in that post that isn't there.
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…because your gay friends moved away, there's no more need for gay clubs anymore? There is still a community in the area. People younger than your aging friends do exist.

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maestro said:
Is it pressure from real estate investment or changes to the market ? The latter represents a nostalgic loss than a valid concern. I'm straight. I have partaking in that scene with my friends many years ago . They have moved away and started families living their dreams as everyday Torontonians. Emotion maybe seeing something in that post that isn't there.
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This is some strange logic... Surely you realize there are still young people (gay and straight) who would like to go to clubs. And that fly was a very popular club. Your feigning insterest in clubs is not representative of "the market". Anyone in the promotion business will tell you its impossible to find venues in Toronto. Thank god for Geary Road. It's all we have left.
 
urbanyimby said:
People from all walks of life can enjoy restaurants, bars, music venues like everyone else. No need to segregate.
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We aren't quite talking about the same things.

If you're part of the dominant culture – that is, you're straight and/or cis and/or white and/or male – then going out to a bar or club is just that: you're going out to a bar for a good time. Awesome! Have fun.

If you're a member of a marginalized group who is at risk of aggression or violence simply by existing in public, then these spaces take on a much different meaning: you're still going out to a bar for a good time, yes, but also, these are often the only spaces where you can be unapologetically yourself, where you can express yourself freely – because you're surrounded by people like you, who are going through what you're going through. There's safety in numbers, there's artistic potential in numbers, there's community in numbers, there's political power in numbers. If you're not part of this community then it can be difficult to imagine the sheer psychological relief, the joy, of being in a space that's yours, where you can actually relax for once and not constantly police how you present yourself and how others perceive you.
 
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