One detail I’ve always liked about the New York City streetscape are the canopies that lead from building entrances to the edge of the sidewalk. Admittedly they are car (or perhaps, historically, horse and buggy) oriented, but they seem at once a sophisticated and practical kind of urbanism. This past Sunday I went for a great walk from midtown up to the Guggenheim and back through the Upper East Side. It was pouring the entire time, and the canopies provided a number of opportunities to take cover, clean off my glasses, and get ready for more. In Toronto we have bylaws preventing this kind of encroachment, and theater marquees like those on the Eglin & Winter Garden or Royal — the closest we come — are grandfathered in.
Of course, they all don’t look like Fifth Avenue canopies like the ones in these pictures (1040 5th Ave, above, is famously Jackie O’s former building). In many places around NYC, the adjacent business uses the canopies as an opportunity to advertise in the same way as many Toronto businesses use A-Frame signs (aka sandwich boards) on the sidewalk. Keeping the signage above our heads doesn’t block the sidewalk the way A-Frames do, and provides that interstitial shelter when moving around the city on foot. In Toronto we are sensitive to the well documented and pervasive bad practices of the billboard industry, but in NYC the canopies are not 3rd-party adverts, but rather relate directly to the adjacent establishment. What I didn’t manage to take a picture of are the miles of sidewalks in Brooklyn, Queens and other less gentrified sections of NYC where canopies are often cheap and garish, advertising fried chicken joints or Dominoes Pizza. Not pretty, but they aspire — in their tacky, vernacular kind of way — to a Jackie O kind of urbanity. I wonder if they mean “New York” to New Yorkers the way both the tasteful and tacky ones mean “New York” to me. Also, what do Torontonians think of these canopies: encroachment or nice additions to the sidewalk?
20 comments
Good writeup, I wish you had pictures of the advertising signs you write of in the latter paragraphs.
There is a particular A-frame sign at King & Victoria (a high traffic zone at 6pm) that makes be want to flip each and every time I see it. I think it’s for an optometrist.
In Sydney, Australia, most commercial buildings have canopies that cover the entire sidewalk and are continuous from building to building. They provide great cover from the hot southern sun and the rain. Most stores also have signs that hand from the canopies that make it easy to find stores.
I bunked with a friend in Balmain and all the shops are Darling Street have fantastic overhangs, typical of inner-Sydney suburbs.
This site has some good pictures:
http://www.midnitelily.com/photogallery/main.php/v/drlg_st/?g2_page=2
I really miss the canopies in Australia in New Zealand and think they are an attractive and practical solution. Back here in Canada I don’t like being left out in the weather and shopping downtown I find it hard to find stores that don’t have hanging signs I can easily see from the sidewalk.
Toronto and other Canadian cities should definitely allow more canopies and awnings!
You mention encroachment and that reminds me of the statue of St. Michael over the Bond St. entrance to the hospital.
His sandal encroached onto city property and the hospital was apparently taxed because of the encroachment.
The offending foot and sandal have been trimmed back
to the base and there is no overhang.
Petty on the part of the city particularly in view of the wonderful works of St. Michael’s Hospital.
I think canopies are a wonderful addition to any sidewalk. They really bring a sense of humanity to your path and offer another layer of visual stimulation to a sidewalk stroll.
I’ve always thought the New York canopies were ingenious and wondered why no Torontonian had emulated one. Thanks for the clarification.
What I find interesting is just how bare those wide sidewalks are. No benches, no garbage cans, no bike racks, only a couple trees, and, most of all, no people!
As in Aaron’s example, to have a continuous canopy like that to me takes away from the streetscape, at least from the pedestrian point of view. I don’t see them as really being “visual stimulation”, because apart from the signs you’re really just staring at a blank ceiling or support structure. That being said, to have decent canopies every once in a while to provide respite from sun, snow, whatever, as well as more pedestrian-oriented signage, I can see as a benefit.
Canvas awnings on both residential and commercial buildings were much more commonplace decades ago, before the advent of air conditioning. You mostly just see them used at fruit stands or green grocers or whatever in T.O. nowadays.
This low-tech option could lower AC bills while offering shelter to pedestrians/shoppers. I’ve hung curtain panels on my (blazing hot in the summer) balcony and it works great. Simple is good.
Chris> It was pouring in the pictures above — but — except for a few places (5th ave in the 50s, midtown by day, Soho shopping areas) NYC’s streets have less people on them than Toronto or Montreal. Also, very few bike racks.
I wouldn’t mind canopies in Toronto if they were tall enough that I didn’t have to duck / hit my head. I am 6’1″ and I find myself having to duck under smaller awnings (think fruit stand) and other things (unpruned tress, those hanging flower baskets) all the time. I find that this, combined with the fact that Toronto sidewalks are all too narrow to even walk and talk with a friend without constantly dodging the oncoming pedestrian traffic, make for an annoying and actually somewhat degrading pedestrian experience. (Personally I am jealous of motorists for this reason — that they can chat with their travelling partner in peace.)
On Toronto’s sandwich boards: apt poster children for Toronto’s shoddy pedestrian situation in general, if you ask me. They unnecessarily [1] take up already-scarce sidewalk space for commercial purposes, half the time they’re illegal, and so many people are annoyed by them every day yet are too ‘polite’ to do anything about it (eg. harangue the proprietor, move the sign.)
“Toronto: Live with Advertising”
[1] unnecessary compared to, for example, the store signs of olde: http://www.canada-photos.com/data/media/8/store-signs_3909.jpg
rant over
Shawn, I don’t understand your comment above “NYC’s streets have less people on them than Toronto or Montreal. Also, very few bike racks.”?
I’ve lived in both Toronto and New York, and NYC streets are always very bust, whether in Brooklyn, The Bronx, Washington Heights, Downtown, Harlem. It’s just a much bigger city.
As for bike rakes, they are not hard to find. They are also all over the city, including the boroughs, with the Transit authority constantly adding new ones and building dedicated bike lanes.
ep> I observed this aloud to my walking companions in NYC a few times last week. Many large parts of the city seem dark and quiet, with “hotspots” of activity. Toronto, comparatively, has activity in much more continuous stretches. Think Bloor, or Queen, or College, or Spadina strips. Kilometers of activity — is there a NYC comparison?
Also, there are bike racks in NYC sure, but only in limited places. In Toronto you can count on one being near just about everywhere.
It is a much bigger city, so I expected much more street activity.
I was impressed with the amount of bike lanes going in — even down Broadway through Times Square.
…of course, you could try the bizarre St-Hubert street block-long awning idea. Not my cup of tea, but it does keep the snow off your head as you shop for bargains.
Before: https://spacing.ca/montreal/2007/12/10/plaza-saint-hubert-before-the-green-awning/
After: http://profmaudit.blogspot.com/2007/02/il-y-maintenant-tellement-longtemps-que.html
Streets that compare in NYC would be, Manhattan: Broadway, Lexington, Madison, 125th, 6th ave, 14th, Hudson, Fulton, 8th Street to name just a few are much busier than College or Queen or Bloor combined.
Plus New Yorks residential streets have far more activity as they are much denser and usually incorporate a good amount of retail. The metropolitan area of new york is between 4 to 5 times the population of metropolitan Toronto, it’s just going to be busier.
There is no real comparison between the cities.
I wish that canopies could be placed over the subway step entrances so that the snow would not accumulate so much.
In addition, the problem with the bus and streetcar shelters could be helped by expanding them into canopies so that it covers the entire sidewalk but leave room for pedestrians to walk through with shelter for transit users.
The photographed part of 5th Ave is one of the quietest, most upscale residential stretches in New York. No retail, no subways, no workplaces, and all the pedestrians are in lovely Central Park opposite. It’s like walking through Rosedale and noting the lack of pedestrians…
In general, Manhattan streets are very busy indeed. EP is correct — the major crosstown streets, and major commercial avenues, are flooded with people.
One last factor – New Yorkers are not as hardened as Canadians and hate cold weather. They hide on cold rainy days like during Shawn’s visit. Try spring or summer.
I didn’t mean to suggest there are “no people” on NYC’s streets — that would be silly. Just that there are more dark places in NYC than I thought there would be. Didn’t mean to articulate it so heavily.
Shawn, I think you had a article that led you down there, but Tribeca, near the tunnel entrance can be nice and empty. Also, Wall Street after trading and after the tourists leave is always empty. I def. recommend a trip to Inwood if you get a chance. Not only is there a virgin forest, but there are houses, in manhattan!
The New York canopy (which is only a feature in upper class neighbourhoods) is a concession for the car that somehow aids pedestrians. Toronto doesn’t have canopies for the simple reason that most upscale condos in Toronto are set behind the sidewalk and feature a very prominent and sheltered turning lane or access driveway for cars.
So, although I don’t like canopies (they ruin the stunning Manhattan vistas), I guess they’re the lesser of two evils when you’re in upper class residential neighbourhoods.
But there are canopies in non-upper-class hoods, as I mention.
new york’s streets have less people on them than toronto? c’mon shawn. i live in new york city and while toronto has many good points, the core downtown (say, bloor to queens quay, bounded by bathurst and church) is a few city blocks in brooklyn. nyc is by far more alive. improve toronto’s streetscape, develop more public spaces, and we’ll see what happens…