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Yonge Street Revitalization (Downtown Yonge BIA/City of Toronto)

"I'm afraid I have to agree with jaborandi on this one. Some of your generalizations are confusing. I walk Yonge street to and from work everyday and have no sense of the above. I see drag queens in yorkville and yuppies on Yonge street. I see professionals of all types and ages on Yonge street. I firmly believe that Yonge - from St. Clair to the waterfront is one of the most diverse streets in Canada (positively and negatively).

Yonge street has limited potential as a viable retail strip? Yonge street is one of the oldest and most vibrant, multicultural, various and well know retail strips in Canada - quite possibly even in North America.

Did I miss a subtext in your message?"

Just one observation regarding drag queens. Honestly, do you see drag queens with whiskers and pot bellies in Yorkville? I don't think so. Not that I would object, but it does not happen because the snobbish, Eurotrash denizens of Yorkville are unwelcoming.

I think I would find the city boring if each strip was as egalitarian as you suggest. Its not just architecture, its people who constitute a strip. I'd agree that there's a broader demographic around 8am or 6pm - maybe...

But the strip between Dundas and Bloor, for example, is definately populated by a different crowd. I enjoy the walk, its interesting but I'm feeling less comfortable doing the stroll in a business suit.

Yonge is diverse, but certain demographics are starting to either vanish or "dress down" for the stroll IMO.
 
I like the first photo better. Great find, thanks!
 
It amazes me that those old bank buildings have sat derelict for so long, good god how old are those pictures???
 
Tewder said:
It amazes me that those old bank buildings have sat derelict for so long, good god how old are those pictures???
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It's really is a shame that they've been in disuse for so long.

The pictures I just posted pictures are somewhere in the 1966 - 1972 range, according to the Archives. You can see the now old Loews sign to the right of the Heintzman building. I like that they still had highway 11 signs up.

This one is circa 1949 I believe:

 
I think the parkette is owned by the city along with the northernmost bank. If I remember correctly the parkette was the site of the Colonial Tavern. The southernmost bank was owned by the Montreal company that makes Parasuco jeans and they were supposed to turn it into a boutique hotel but, well you know.
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The bank on the north end is owned by an Irish fellow. Hence the Irish flag hanging from it.
 
clash said:
The pictures I just posted pictures are somewhere in the 1966 - 1972 range, according to the Archives. You can see the now old Loews sign to the right of the Heintzman building. I like that they still had highway 11 signs up.
Click to expand...

20th Century Theatres changed the name of the cinema from "Lowes" to "Yonge" (same number of letters) in the late 1960's. It was again changed from Yonge to Elgin around 1977-78 after a renovation & decision to change the cinema from a grindhouse operation to a legitimate house by opening with "Abba: The Movie". It failed. With a few exceptions (a long run of The Band's "The Last Waltz" & a re-release of "Fantasia") sex, violence and gore is what put butts into the seats at this cinema.
 
Yonge Street Needs Help.

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I hate Yonge Street south of Bloor and north of Queen. I find it unfriendly, ugly, run down and sleazy. I'd much rather stroll down Queen Street, Danforth, College, Yokville, Bloor, Spadina, just about any where but Yonge.
I often wonder if tourists get stuck on Yonge thinking it's "the" Street that defines Toronto. Ugh!
I think the city should offer a carrot and stick approach to improving the street. Tax breaks or deferrals can be offered to property owners that renovate and clean up. Those that don't get a tax increase. I wouldn't care if it became a predominantly tourist area either. Wider sidewalks, restaurants, cafes, etc. I think it's horrible as it is. I wish we had someone at city Hall devoted solely to developing this street.
Hey Mayor Miller, how about trying to scoop some of that $400 million in infrastructure money the Feds are waving at us to fix up this street?
 
jozl said:
I hate Yonge Street south of Bloor and north of Queen. I find it unfriendly, ugly, run down and sleazy. I'd much rather stroll down Queen Street, Danforth, College, Yokville, Bloor, Spadina, just about any where but Yonge.
I often wonder if tourists get stuck on Yonge thinking it's "the" Street that defines Toronto. Ugh!
I think the city should offer a carrot and stick approach to improving the street. Tax breaks or deferrals can be offered to property owners that renovate and clean up. Those that don't get a tax increase. I wouldn't care if it became a predominantly tourist area either. Wider sidewalks, restaurants, cafes, etc. I think it's horrible as it is. I wish we had someone at city Hall devoted solely to developing this street.
Hey Mayor Miller, how about trying to scoop some of that $400 million in infrastructure money the Feds are waving at us to fix up this street?
Click to expand...

Isn't that a little harsh? As you'll find if you've read back on this thread there is a general agreement that there are indeed some rundown buildings and a few nondescript buildings but it's not as bad as you make it out to be. I'm pretty sure that there was a tax incentive by the City not so long ago to encourage building owners to clean up their frontages on Yonge Street by offering a tax credit or something of the sort.
 
For me it's not so much the buildings but the actual street itself which is horribly rundown with gum stains, crumbling curbs and broken asphalt-patched scars everywhere. With friends from out of town last weekend we walked up Yonge to Bloor where the scene wasn't at all better, and even worse with all the construction and the empty lot on the southeast side. Happily there are at least signs of improvement along Bloor with the streetscaping that is coming. Still, from Queen to Bloor and Yonge to Avenue Road the whole place seemed like a bit of a war zone and it was a little hard to overlook. I felt a bit like an embarrassed parent showing friends through the house and having to rush ahead to shut the door to the messy teenager's room...
 
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