Monday’s headlines

14 comments

1. –Recently, Citytv announced it will take over the former Olympic Torch building on the east side of the square, a move that will generate activity.

   “Citytv could be adventurous in its use of the square,” notes its co-designer, architect James Brown. “They could appropriate it so the square would become a studio.”–

   Isn’t that just turning “sort of-public” space even more “sort of-private”?

2. Dundas Square…the horror, the horror …

3. Dundas Square is nothing compared to the hideousness of “Toronto Life Square”. That must be the ugliest building I’ve ever seen.

4. I’m normally a fan of Toronto’s more out-there architecture (OCAD, ROM, etc) but I have to agree with Hume on this one.

   My office overlooks Toronto Life square, so I’ve watched it go up from nothing, and I just kept wondering when they’d add an external skin over that ugly grey frame. Then to my total perplexment they started installing video screens right on.

   I don’t mind the billboards and video screens, they are appropriate for that spot, but man, what an ugly POS that building is.

5. I only go to Yonge and Dundas when I want being shot.

6. Aidan: What?

7. It looks like they’ve dug out the old “classic, NYC style” sidewalk subway entrance at the northeast corner in front of that new, ugly building. There is a newer entrance across Dundas, in the square itself but it’s not much used, probably due to the precipitously, steep steps.

   We should have more of those direct subway entries, not fewer. Nothing against direct access to buildings but there was no need to remove the existing option, except to shunt more people directly into stores. Let’s have a moratorium on demolition of the old-style entries. They are pretty unique.

8. “Dundas Square is nothing compared to the hideousness of “Toronto Life Square”. ”

   I thought they were the same thing and I was refusing to use a product name in mentioning it….

9. Scott, Toronto Life Square is the building (formerly Metropolis) on the northeast corner of Yonge and Dundas; Dundas Square is the city-owned square on the southeast corner. Naming the building a “Square” seems like a sad, crass ploy to confuse people into using that name for the whole area.

   Daemon, the Dundas Square entrance may also get less use because there’s no streetcar stop on that corner. That NE corner stairway was pretty narrow, and there are advantages to being able to use the escalators and elevators in the building to reach the subway station. (Perhaps there isn’t the space underground to fit both?)

10. CFRB 1010 this morning “if they can afford to build a garage they can afford to pay $300 for a cut tree permit” joe pantalone.

    Hey using that logic, if you can afford too………..

11. Sure it was narrow, but now it’s nonexistent. You seem to be straining to concoct an either/or argument without any evidence to back it up, Matt. If the stores want a direct connection to the subway they can damn well put the escalators within their property line. And will people be able to access the subway when the building is closed?

    By all rights there should be PATH running through the lower level of the new building to hook up to the Ryerson Campus but it doesn’t look like there’s anything like that (i.e. a public entrance at the north end of the building).

    It seems to me that there’s a heritage case to be made here too. If we can get worked up about old fonts and signs why not the classic portals?

12. Re: Studio in the Square — if they did some of their reports in the square, like the weather-personality does now on Queen Street, it might be neat. As long as it wasn’t cordoned off, but sort of out there with everything else. Dunno though, this kind of innovation was a Znaimer thing — the new owners are more like old media than ever before.

13. Daemon, I don’t know how the decision was made so I can’t defend it. I was just pointing out some possibilities why it may not have been a case of simply “shunting more people directly into stores”. I’d say my lack of evidence roughly matched yours. 🙂

    If you want the other staircases to stay as-is you may need to get worked up soon, given the TTC plans to “retrofit” them.

14. Thing is, Matt, my post just said what happened, i.e. the demolition of the existing sidewalk subway entrance. You’re trying to imagine some good reason for it.

    But ta for the link. Still, “retrofit” is better than demolish. But my stance is why not leave well enough alone and put the money toward more important things.