The top 10 unbuilt projects in Toronto

[Travis007]

The "Toronto Towers" development was a proposal in 1927 for three towers (from 280-530 feet) between King and Adelaide, east of Bay. The entire project would have cost $30 million (1927 value), and would have been a forerunner to the PATH system.

image hosted on flickr






The Canada Life Insurance Company planned this tower for the NE corner of King and Bay in 1920. Before the decade was over, it would sell the land to Scotia Bank.

image hosted on flickr

[Travis007]

Here's the original proposal for the Bay Adelaide Centre. I'm not too particularly fond of pomo architecture but (IMO) it's a shame BAC wasn't built in this form. The building we have today is decent, but it would be nice to have some variance in the skyline. It reminds me of One Liberty Place in Philadelphia, which I quite like.
image hosted on flickr

[BrandonK]

Toronto could have used those bad boys from the 1920's. I guess prior to WWII, Toronto's skyline was comparable to Buffalo's.

I think the pomo Bay-Adelaide would look dated now, but some variety in the skyline would be nice.

[Izzy Hungwell]

I guess there's not a lot of love for Stinson's proposed Sapphire Tower.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire_Tower

[allurban]

Originally Posted by mborrett

Yeah the depression really messed things up. Not to mention the general deterioration of much of the city's buildings - all those grand old homes converted into rooming houses. And then along came WWII for another 6+ years of hard times. I sometimes fantasize about how the city could have turned out without all that awful monkey business.

I have to wonder tho - how will the march of gentrification change the way these buildings are being used.

If you just follow along Queen:

Queen West - University to Spadina - (1970s-late 1990s),
West Queen West - Spadina west of Bathurst - (late 1990s to present - maybe the late 2010s)
The Asylum - West of Bathurst to Gladstone (present to mid 2020s?)

Then you get to Parkdale. Parkdale becomes gentrified again - from the late 2010s to the 2030s.

Cheers, m

[allurban]

Originally Posted by Izzy Hungwell

I guess there's not a lot of love for Stinson's proposed Sapphire Tower.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapphire_Tower

"I'm just (not) wild about Harry."

Had to say it, sorry. The design was certainly interesting - especially the 'sapphire' mass damper sphere visible at the top.

Cheers, m

ps. I have seen mass damper at Taipei 101 - it was massive - and interestingly enough, they used it for their mascot(s) - "Damper Baby".

[Taller, Better]

I'm not weeping buckets over Harry's big ball not having been propped up on the cylinder. Or the PoMo Bay Adelaide, either. The spire would have added nice skyline touch, but the building is too PoMoey for my taste. I liked it back when it was a proposal, but it looks so dated now.

[MattToronto]

It looks too Dubai for me I'm afraid.

[Travis007]

Design wise, IMO Stinson's cylindrical tower (minus the ball) wasn't necessarily so bad. The eventual proposal that pleased city hall (at 643 ft, with sloped-terrace roof) would have looked nice if executed properly. However, I had the gut feeling from the beginning that it'll never get built because Stinson was an ambitious amateur who never secured solid investment or sufficient sales. The 1000 ft.+ proposal was rejected numerous times because of shadowing issues and by the time the last incarnation was released, the proposal had filed for bankruptcy.

[manila_playa87]

Wow some of those 1920s buildings wouldve been unreal and given Toronto a NYC feel with the architecture blending in with the modern high rises. Project Toronto absolutely sucked ballbags and u guys should be glad that it was never built. Vimy Circle is just boston like in terms of architecture. Ballet opera is the equivalent of our Parliament House in Melbourne with the dome never having being built on top of it LOL

[Izzy Hungwell]

Originally Posted by allurban

"I'm just (not) wild about Harry."

lol

well on that note, gotta say, given his antics lately... I can't say I'm too excited to see a tower with Trump-the-human-comb-over's name on it in T.O. either.

[allurban]

Originally Posted by Izzy Hungwell

lol

well on that note, gotta say, given his antics lately... I can't say I'm too excited to see a tower with Trump-the-human-comb-over's name on it in T.O. either.

well, look at it this way ...

either he goes up in a bid for President or Vice President of the United States and loses (I can see the headline: Mr. Trump ... you're fired!) - and has to sell the Trump tower in Toronto to pay of his debts.

Or he (technically, one of his companies) goes bankrupt for the gagillionth time and decides to sell the Trump tower in Toronto during the restructuring.

I'm happy either way. And hey, if he keeps the tower in his own hands and visits occasionally - he'd be good for a laugh.

~m!

[COTO]

That Vimy Circle rendering makes me depressed, along with the Eatons building proposal from the 1920's...

Can someone post something happy please?

[Taller, Better]

Sure!!


http://turtlepondtoys.squarespace.co...n-in-1974.html


Welcome to the group!!

[Paul29]

Originally Posted by COTO

That Vimy Circle rendering makes me depressed, along with the Eatons building proposal from the 1920's...

My only concern with the Vimy rendering, (which does look awesome by the way), is the round about. We have a couple here in Newmarket, and we're moving into a new area which uses them pretty frequently also.
Drivers here are fu**ing clueless about how to use them.

[Taller, Better]

And I am a bit confused by the Vimy rendering, too. How could people get to the inside of the Roundabout circle? They would have to cross against traffic.

[Paul29]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

And I am a bit confused by the Vimy rendering, too. How could people get to the inside of the Roundabout circle? They would have to cross against traffic.

It seems like a typical roundabout to me, just on a larger scale than we've had in Canada.

[Taller, Better]

Originally Posted by Paul29

It seems like a typical roundabout to me, just on a larger scale than we've had in Canada.

Looks that way to me too, but how do pedestrians get into the centre circle? The idea of a roundabout is continuous traffic circulation, is it not?

[Paul29]

Ah, I see your point now.
When you said people, I didn't know you meant people. But you meant people.

[isaidso]

I've never understood people's confusion with roundabouts. I suppose they're not for the timid.