Architecture
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The oddities of the Dundas Street Extension
In December 1954, the railway tracks near Logan Avenue presented the final obstacle in one of Toronto’s first major post-war road building...
By Chris Bateman -
The demise of the first “air rights” project in Toronto
When Toronto’s first subway line opened in 1954, much of track north of Bloor Street was located in a shallow, open trench. The money-saving open cut...
By Chris Bateman -
PODCAST: Spacing Radio 007 – PopCanCrit: Crisis in Criticism
In part two, of our PopCanCrit special, we look at the role of the architecture critic, in a changing media landscape. Our experts discuss who gets to be...
By Spacing Radio -
The Shell Oil Tower is a lost 1950s masterpiece
A little over 30 years ago this winter, one of Toronto’s earliest Modern buildings was pulled to the ground. When the Shell Oil Tower at Exhibition...
By Chris Bateman -
The rise and fall and rise of St. Lawrence Hall
In 1966, Toronto’s St. Lawrence Hall was in terrible shape. The venerable old neoclassical building at the southwest corner of King and Jarvis...
By Chris Bateman -
PODCAST: Spacing Radio 006 – PopCanCrit: Meet the Critic
This October, some of the foremost authorities in Canadian architecture criticism convened in Ottawa for PopCanCrit, to discuss the future of popular...
By Spacing Radio -
Last chance to see After Utopia: an Exhibition Expressing the Beauty of a Neighbourhood
After Utopia is on at the Urbanspace Gallery at 401 Richmond Street W until Saturday, November 19. The gallery is open from 9:00am – 7:00pm...
By Sheraz Khan -
When will Toronto love its Modern architecture?
What do you picture when you read the words “heritage building.”? It probably isn’t the Carlton Tower at Yonge and Carlton streets. The...
By Chris Bateman -
Heritage conservation districts are long overdue
This is a guest post by Mary L. MacDonald (Senior Manager, Heritage Preservation Services, City Planning) in response to Spacing’s article by...
By Spacing -
The space age Parkway Plaza, Toronto’s first heritage supermarket
It was only a shopping mall, but when the Parkway Plaza opened at Ellesmere Road and Victoria Park Avenue in 1958, it signalled the arrival of space age...
By Chris Bateman -
Misuse of Heritage Conservation Districts can deaden both past and future
The City of Toronto believes it has found a silver bullet to control development pressure in the downtown core through the use of a tool known as a...
By Michael McClelland -
Book Review: Toronto Then and Now
Toronto Then and Now is an elegant, large-format coffee table book that highlights the past and present of some of Toronto’s most interesting...
By Dylan Reid