Your analysis and comparisons of iconic retail spaces does show examples of how we stop going. I know an architect who works for the Ontario Association of Architects. He knew Moriyama and suggested that I read up on the controversy. I have been hearing about the upheaval that FORD’s spa resort idea which includes the ON Science Centre at ON Place in downtown Toronto will cause. I got the chance to be on air on CTV news just as a general caller when they asked what the viewers thought of the Maple Leaf Loblaw’s. My observation was that it helped maintain the former venue as a public and accessible memory for residents and tourists. But it was heart breaking to hear about the seats being sold off. A cold reality is that Toronto is the NYC of Canada where the fight for preservation and gentrification is real (in both cities).
One place that you didn’t mention is the Planetarium.
The retail spaces that closed helped shape the consumer experience of a generation. And the those fun experiences are missed. The environments that have honed and nurtured science, culture, astronomy & gave families unending bonding time & fed our minds and our curiosity are contributions to the mosaic that is the fabric of Canadian identity which should not be trodded on or diminished just for the “biggest deal ever”. No doubt the glimmer in FORD’s eye is fed by the scope of the deal that he made with Thermaë Spa for $1 BIL that will take them 100 years to repay. I am a sauna person but moving the ON Science Centre to justify the convienence of value added underground parking is just selfish.
When you talk about Toronto being the NYC of Canada. There's a number of Saturday Night Live 50 celebrations and docs and TV specials. When you see SNL from the 70s into the 80s it's so NYC. Rough, "sketchy" and why venues like CBGBs existed.
As SNL (and NYC) ease into the 90s to today...you can see parallel gentrifications.
The city and the comedy got safe.
Maybe that's just the way things go. For NYC and for Toronto.
Your analysis and comparisons of iconic retail spaces does show examples of how we stop going. I know an architect who works for the Ontario Association of Architects. He knew Moriyama and suggested that I read up on the controversy. I have been hearing about the upheaval that FORD’s spa resort idea which includes the ON Science Centre at ON Place in downtown Toronto will cause. I got the chance to be on air on CTV news just as a general caller when they asked what the viewers thought of the Maple Leaf Loblaw’s. My observation was that it helped maintain the former venue as a public and accessible memory for residents and tourists. But it was heart breaking to hear about the seats being sold off. A cold reality is that Toronto is the NYC of Canada where the fight for preservation and gentrification is real (in both cities).
One place that you didn’t mention is the Planetarium.
The retail spaces that closed helped shape the consumer experience of a generation. And the those fun experiences are missed. The environments that have honed and nurtured science, culture, astronomy & gave families unending bonding time & fed our minds and our curiosity are contributions to the mosaic that is the fabric of Canadian identity which should not be trodded on or diminished just for the “biggest deal ever”. No doubt the glimmer in FORD’s eye is fed by the scope of the deal that he made with Thermaë Spa for $1 BIL that will take them 100 years to repay. I am a sauna person but moving the ON Science Centre to justify the convienence of value added underground parking is just selfish.
When you talk about Toronto being the NYC of Canada. There's a number of Saturday Night Live 50 celebrations and docs and TV specials. When you see SNL from the 70s into the 80s it's so NYC. Rough, "sketchy" and why venues like CBGBs existed.
As SNL (and NYC) ease into the 90s to today...you can see parallel gentrifications.
The city and the comedy got safe.
Maybe that's just the way things go. For NYC and for Toronto.