Nighttime lighting of buildings never used to be something we thought much about in Toronto… or at least the developers around town here didn't think about it too much. Keener observers of the urban scene – which is exactly who UrbanToronto readers and members are – have been interested in seeing Toronto looking better after the sun goes down for years however, and anyone who has traveled to other world capitals knows that most have long put their grander structures and the peaks of their skyscrapers in the spotlight.

Beyond the lighting of Toronto City Hall's tower walls along with a few other select buildings in town, this kind of attention to nighttime detail finally started to spread through Toronto's core in the last decade, most notably at the CityPlace towers, each with a glow emaninating from their glassed-in mechanical penthouses, ever since Matrix was completed on Front Street in 2002. While the core now sports many buildings with a colourful top (not to mention the burgeoning stripes, which came in with the CN Tower and will soon be zooming up the side of Trump and others), South Beach condos in Etobicoke's Humber Bay Shores area has finally moved the light show beyond our inner cluster of towers and into the 'burbs.

South Beach condos with lanterns lit, image courtesy of Amexon

We have been promised the nightlighting at this Amexon development ever since the renderings debuted in 2008, and we have been wondering just how the reality would compare with the not exactly photo-realistic images. Well, the west tower, the one with the blue glow, is done now, and the answer is below.

South Beach condos' west tower lit up at night, image by Cruzin4U 2012.05.25

The image above, courtesy of UT Forum member Cruzin4U, and the ones below taken by me, show just how effective proper nighttime lighting can be. Cruzin4U's shot, taken from iLofts with still a little light left in the sky, gives you a good look at both towers at South Beach, and has the closest colour reproduction to the actual look (the shots below make it look lighter blue than it does in person). If you look carefully above, you will see that much of the green glass is still to be installed on the east tower's lantern.

South Beach condos' west tower lit up at night, image by Craig White 2012.05.22

These shots were taken from ground level further to the west. The colour of the light reflected in the east tower's top floors is closer to the actual than what the camera has picked up from the direct lighting.

South Beach condos' west tower lit up at night, image by Craig White 2012.05.22

A close-up shot gives you an idea of the texture of the mechanical penthouse walls behind the glass. (Click on the pics for a better view).

South Beach condos' west tower lit up at night, image by Craig White 2012.05.22

We're really looking forward to seeing the green lantern lit up too, and we are planning to bring you shots in the next few weeks of how the theming of this complex has turned out at ground level: Amexon has wanted make quite a splash in the residential market with this complex, so the name South Beach has not been laid on here lightly.

Meanwhile, we want to see more thoughtful rooftop lighting, and good mechanical penthouse cladding – like South Beach has ended up – with on projects throughout the city. Arsenault Architects and II By IV Design Associates have really delivered the goods here, and that ubiquitous Toronto-gray box covered with some cheap aluminum siding up top is not going to cut it in these parts anymore.

What's your take on our nighttime skyline? Have you seen South Beach's lantern in person yet? Comment here, or join in the conversation in the South Beach thread, linked below along with the UrbanToronto dataBase entry for the project.