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Throughout October, UrbanToronto is celebrating 20 YEARS, with stories looking back over the last two decades. Each day we are also checking out our ever-changing street scenes, comparing an older "Then" shot with an up-to-date "Now" shot.
Today's 'Then & Now' takes us to Moss Park, looking southwest towards the Financial District. The 'Then' image, taken at dusk in 2005, shows the distinctive banking buildings that defined Toronto's skyline from the 1960s right through to the 2000s. Towers such as Scotia Plaza (1988) and TD Canada Trust Tower (1990) cannot be ignored and will never be replicated, however some of the more subtle buildings, such as the 223m-tall TD Bank Tower (the black building centre-image furthest away), was Canada's tallest building upon completion until being surpassed by First Canadian Place in 1975.
Flash-forward to the 2023 'Now' image below, and while these towers are still visible from this vantage point, the generally-taller built form somewhat minimizes their impact. Furthermore, this image shows an area of Toronto that is currently undergoing a huge transformation both in new buildings and new transit infrastructure. Projects such 88 Queen (163m), and The Elm & The Ledbury can be seen behind Moss Park, a portion of which is cleared for the construction of the Ontario Line 3 Moss Park station. You can just see the crane for Queen Central (106m) in front of 88 Queen, and The Saint (151m) can be seen rising in front of Scotia Plaza. This area is also home to a number of significant redevelopment applications, such as QueenChurch (186m), 100 Lombard (216m), 15 Toronto Street (205m), and 23 Toronto Street (258m) which would alter this view dramatically if all were approved - and built.
Come back tomorrow for the final 'Then and Now' from UrbanToronto's last two decades!
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Thank you to the companies joining UrbanToronto to celebrate our 20 years in business.
