Jonny5
Senior Member
Maybe sufficient heating and cooling from the buildings on either side of the moat bleeds into that space to make it work without independent HVAC systems?
Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR
Maybe sufficient heating and cooling from the buildings on either side of the moat bleeds into that space to make it work without independent HVAC systems?
Richard White
Senior Member
Actually no. In 1954 a ramp was installed from the subway station all the way to where the leather shop was. You would have gone down and back up to get into the station. It went from the staircase heading up towards York Street from the station.
In the 70s when the former Bay Concourse opened it was sealed off and access was granted via the moat into the concourse.
In the early 2000s the ramp was obliterated in favor of lowering the moat.
See here: http://www.infiltration.org/utility-union.html
Rascacielo
Senior Member
The new western ‘moat’ today
Leo_Chan
Senior Member
If it’s no longer a moat, then what are they called? A covered moat? ?
robmausser
Senior Member
Its a coat!
DSC
Superstar
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Covered moat = Coat?
Richard White
Senior Member
Technically a moat is a trench filled with water. If we were to fill this up with water it would be called a fish tank.
nfitz
Superstar
While a moat can be filled with water, it isn't required. Historically hill forts had moats (or motes) long before anyone ever thought of putting water in them. I think I've seen more moats that were dry than filled with water.
Richard White
Senior Member
A dry and empty moat is a trench.
nfitz
Superstar
It can also be called a moat. Historically moats (or motes) were always dry.
Richard White
Senior Member
Nooo.. it is a trench.
As per OSHA in the US I quote:
"OSHA defines an excavation as any man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the earth’s surface formed by earth removal. A trench is defined as a narrow underground excavation that is deeper than it is wide, and is no wider than 15 feet (4.5 meters)."
Oxford defines a moat as follows: A deep, wide ditch surrounding a castle, fort, or town, typically filled with water and intended as a defence against attack.
nfitz
Superstar
I really don't see what a foreign government who can't even spell "metre" correctly, has to do with the definition of the word moat! If they want to call the ditches around the concentration camps where they put children in, "trenches" that doesn't have any impact on the English-language word "moat".
There is absolutely no requirement that a moat have water in it! I'm really surprised you think that the moat at Union Station ever was supposed to have water in it!
Northern Light
Superstar
44 North
Senior Member
Possibly the sites you've seen are hundreds of years old and any depression or ditch surrounding them has slowly been overlain with sediment and organic matter. Not saying while new these sites had constant standing water in them, but possibly seasonal or intermittent water. They also must've doubled as sewers.
nfitz
Superstar
I'm pretty sure that Union Station never had water around it (outside of a big rainstorm at least!)
I can't offhand say I've ever heard of the Cambridge English Dictionary before (apparently it dates back to 1995!) ... but that sounds right. I never said they didn't have ever, or even usually, has water ... simply that it wasn't a requirement ... which is what that definition would also concur.