AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
The forum didn't exist in 99 - it might have been SkyscraperPage but I am not sure. Anyways, I don't think anyone got *excited* about University Plaza...
GB/AoD
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UrbanToronto is Celebrating 20 Years
- Thread starter Edward Skira
- Start date
The forum didn't exist in 99 - it might have been SkyscraperPage but I am not sure. Anyways, I don't think anyone got *excited* about University Plaza...
GB/AoD
whatever
Senior Member
I remember French Quarter, Spire, and Radio City being actively followed on the forum, back before we had threads per project and the updates were a bit more scattered. I'd also think the forum is more than 20 years old.
Something I used to wonder about and sort of put out of mind was Billy Corgan. Obvious pseudonym, don't think I ever saw his real name, but were his real initials possibly AP? A bunch of details lined up that made me think I knew him (or of him) from elsewhere
Something I used to wonder about and sort of put out of mind was Billy Corgan. Obvious pseudonym, don't think I ever saw his real name, but were his real initials possibly AP? A bunch of details lined up that made me think I knew him (or of him) from elsewhere
Billy Corgan wasn't AP.
whatever
Senior Member
Ha. And like that, the question is solved!
I think I liked my head canon that he was AP. I may stick with that, seeing that it's really inconsequential
I think I liked my head canon that he was AP. I may stick with that, seeing that it's really inconsequential
Parkdalian
Senior Member
My join date says I started in 2009, but I lurked for years before officially joining. I probably found the site in 2006 or so.
The vibe was very different on the forum in the 2000s - Toronto's building boom was just starting, and people seemed concerned that it could end at any moment (no doubt due to the precedent of the "stump.") There was also a worry that Toronto was not "world-class" enough - every development seemed to be proof one way or the other. Toronto got its trifecta of starchitect cultural building additions - the AGO renovations, the ROM crystal, Will Alsop's OCAD tabletop - and people fretted about each of them in different ways. We also got a new opera house in grey brick, which unknown to us at the time would start a trend for grey brick which has yet to die down. Aside from the outside starchitects, it felt like aA vs the young crowd (Teeple, Saucier and Perrotte, Quadrangle, etc.), with a few people still stanning Diamond and Schmitt and KPMB.
And then we got Rob Ford and the Great Recession.
Looking back, so many of the worries and concerns seemed so quaint - people were afraid that too much development would "kill" the life in the various neighbourhoods in Toronto, and that the low-rise character of these neighbourhoods was important to retain. And now, I think, many people would be happy if a neighbourhood was "killed" a little because it would hopefully mean its property values would sink.
The vibe was very different on the forum in the 2000s - Toronto's building boom was just starting, and people seemed concerned that it could end at any moment (no doubt due to the precedent of the "stump.") There was also a worry that Toronto was not "world-class" enough - every development seemed to be proof one way or the other. Toronto got its trifecta of starchitect cultural building additions - the AGO renovations, the ROM crystal, Will Alsop's OCAD tabletop - and people fretted about each of them in different ways. We also got a new opera house in grey brick, which unknown to us at the time would start a trend for grey brick which has yet to die down. Aside from the outside starchitects, it felt like aA vs the young crowd (Teeple, Saucier and Perrotte, Quadrangle, etc.), with a few people still stanning Diamond and Schmitt and KPMB.
And then we got Rob Ford and the Great Recession.
Looking back, so many of the worries and concerns seemed so quaint - people were afraid that too much development would "kill" the life in the various neighbourhoods in Toronto, and that the low-rise character of these neighbourhoods was important to retain. And now, I think, many people would be happy if a neighbourhood was "killed" a little because it would hopefully mean its property values would sink.
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AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Billy Corgan definitely isn't AP - his real name is on the UT Wiki entry and a quick search revealed he is around and enjoying life in a very different direction! For the record I don't know AP in person either.
Speaking of SP!RE - we really need a page/thread dedicated to the memories of forumers that have passed. We have been around long enough to get a number of them now.
GB/AoD
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Oh and here is the thread for the final signoff for ezboard:
urbantoronto.ca
re: Cultural staritecture - 6 projects actually:
ROM
AGO
Opera House
Royal Conservatory
National Ballet School
Gardiner Museum
GB/AoD
ezBoard: A farewell salute
Is this thread in the wrong forum entirely? Yes! Does it matter? No! Why not? Because this whole place is going to be toast! And because I wanted to put this in the forum that people actually, you know, read. Please bear with me, mods. I wanted to take a moment to pay tribute to ezBoard before...
re: Cultural staritecture - 6 projects actually:
ROM
AGO
Opera House
Royal Conservatory
National Ballet School
Gardiner Museum
GB/AoD
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Riseth
Senior Member
Started lurking here in August 2008 (15 years ago this month) and have been religiously checking this site regularly since then until I finally joined in 2020.
Back then, Bay-Adelaide Centre, RBC Centre and Success tower were rising and the classic skyline was just starting to change. While I don't love everything going up in the city, I've enjoyed all the updates and various discussions of developments over the years. This site has been a fantastic resource for me and I'm sure for many others as well.
Keep up the great work!
Back then, Bay-Adelaide Centre, RBC Centre and Success tower were rising and the classic skyline was just starting to change. While I don't love everything going up in the city, I've enjoyed all the updates and various discussions of developments over the years. This site has been a fantastic resource for me and I'm sure for many others as well.
Keep up the great work!
Parkdalian
Senior Member
I would argue that only the ROM, AGO and OCAD had starchitects: internationally known architects chosen for their "out of the box" designs - Libeskind, Gehry and Alsop. Four Seasons had Diamond Schmitt and the rest were done by KPMB - not starchitects by my estimation.
It was a big time for cultural developments, though!
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
I was thinking it more in the political/economic environment in which this happened.
GB/AoD
amh
Active Member
Visiting UrbanToronto has been very formative for me over the years. I lurked and checked it almost daily in various forms over the years, starting around age 16. Today I’m in my 30s and work at an architecture firm producing a large body of high rise work in Toronto. Thank you, UT, for helping feed my addiction and steering me in the direction of city building, urban design, and architecture. It wouldn’t have been the same without the daily dose of photos & commentary.
I should add, the number of people in our office who are aware of UrbanToronto or have it open on their screens from day to day is amazing to me because when I originally started looking at the message board here years ago, nobody was aware of what it was and the membership was quite small. Today the dialogue that happens here is on a lot of people’s radar.
Edit: I should add — I think the most gratifying and surreal moment for me as a UTer was when I first had one of my own designs go up in the boards here for the first time, renderings and all. It was surreal to think back on all the years of being the spectator, engaging in dialogue about designs I saw posted in the forums, and to now be on the other end of it, watching my design work be critiqued and discussed.
I should add, the number of people in our office who are aware of UrbanToronto or have it open on their screens from day to day is amazing to me because when I originally started looking at the message board here years ago, nobody was aware of what it was and the membership was quite small. Today the dialogue that happens here is on a lot of people’s radar.
Edit: I should add — I think the most gratifying and surreal moment for me as a UTer was when I first had one of my own designs go up in the boards here for the first time, renderings and all. It was surreal to think back on all the years of being the spectator, engaging in dialogue about designs I saw posted in the forums, and to now be on the other end of it, watching my design work be critiqued and discussed.
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Jayomatic
Active Member
Wow. I totally forgot about that. I should see if I can dig it up somewhere. Wow 20 years has gone by quickly. I remember how excited we all were at the prospect of a 30+ story building and desperately hoping for some commercial development. We're spoiled for choice these days.
Happy birthday UT! It's amazing to see how this community has grown over the years thanks to some of the great leadership running things. While I don't post or obsess as often as I used to, it always brings me joy to scroll through hundreds of posts every couple weeks.
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AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Remember when Pantages by Core was like the thing to talk about? Or the 20s Maritime Life building?
AoD
fiendishlibrarian
Active Member
I see that my infamous ROM rant still exists, and I wouldn't change a word. (I'm pretty certain I joined the original board around...2004-ish?)
fiendishlibrarian
Active Member
I definitely recall the Mike in TO and Mr. Man development scoops, some of those threads are still active.