Posts Tagged ‘Canada Square’

dense and denser

Posted: August 11, 2025 in construction, intersections, old buildings, public art, transportation
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…. another visit to Yonge and Eglinton

people crossing Eglinton Ave towards entrance to building on southwest corner of Yonge & Eglinton where there are images of people painted on the window

Of course, this is also the location of the Eglinton station on the mysterious Eglinton LRT.  The underground walkways between it and the Yonge – University subway line are complete, as is the entrance on the south side of Eglinton.   The latter is a large building and it will definitely help with the flow of traffic… but it sits idle.

northern new entrance to Eglinton station on LRT line, behind fence, no public access

new entrance to Eglinton station on LRT line, behind fence, no public access, on west side, with old Canada Square development behind

below: All of the old Eglinton station bus bays are long gone.

new Eglinton station Metrolinx entrance for LRT and subway, still closed to the public, with older Canada Square buildings around it

below: Canada Square, home to Canadian Tire head office for more than 50 years, was built in the 1960s and 70s.  It consists of two towers connected by a lower section – it is this middle connecting piece that has the vertical concrete slabs on the exterior. These verticals are on both the Yonge Street side (below) and this motif is repeated on the back of the building (see photo above, behind the new station entrance).   Earlier this year, Canadian Tire announced that they had renewed their lease for another 20 years and that the building was going to be redeveloped/upgraded/modernized in the near future.

a man walks down Yonge St., past vertical concrete slabs on canada square building, light and shadows

below: Northwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton

reflections in the glass on the northwest corner of yonge and Eglinton with Cineplex theatre, Winners store, Pickle barrel restaurant, and Rexall drug store, 2200 Yonge Street

people walking on the west side of Yonge, north of Eglinton

below: The Duke of York pub at Yonge and Roehampton

corner of Roehampton and Yonge, Duke of Kent pub on the corner, along with Chloes Nails, the Stag Shop

below: The old Postal Station K has been incorporated into a new condo development. The older building dates from 1936; it was built on the site of Montgomery’s Tavern (made famous in 1837 when it was the epicenter of William Lyon MacKenzie’s rebellion). It was a big square building but with Art Deco elements around the entrance. Because it was built in 1936, it actually featured (and still does) the Royal Insignia of King Edward VIII whose reign was very short-lived because he abdicated the throne only 11 months after being crowned.

old post office on Yonge street, is now the bottom part of a new condo development

below: North of Montgomery/Broadway more development.  More cranes.

looking north on Yonge street towards Montgomery, old brick and stone building on the corner, many cranes in the background

below:  About 15 years ago, North Toronto Collegiate  (NTCI) was rebuilt on Broadway.  The new school was incorporated into a condo development.  At the north entrance to the school is an artwork by Catherine Widgery’s called “Mindshadows”. It is a 20 foot high stainless steel cube on legs that is covered with numbers, letters, and words. Serene, provoke, laugh, loud, big, spirit, and up are some of the words.

entrance to North Toronto collegiate institute, with public art in front.

below:  View from Broadway of the North Toronto football field and track and some of the condos that surround it.

football field and track, par tof North Toronto Collegiate, surrounded by tall condos and apartment buildings

view west from football field and track, partof North Toronto Collegiate, many tall condos

below: Looking north from Roehampton

looking south from Broadway, football field and track, part of North Toronto Collegiate

below: At the south entrance to NTCI (on Roehampton) is another public art installation.  “What’s your name?” by Ilan Sandler (2011) contains the first names of all the NTCI students since the school opened in 1912.  Each name only appears once – but there are still 2053 different names such as Sven, Connie, Marlee, Janis, Lola, Ephraim, Bryan, and Snezana.

Part of What's your name, an art installation by Ilan Sandler, a list of over 2000 names, in concrete,

The neighbourhood that is north of Eglinton and east of Yonge has been the home of many apartment buildings for at least a few decades.  A growing number of them have been replaced by taller glass and steel condo developments, especially since the city has targeted the area for “… tall buildings and an intense concentration of office, retail, institutional and residential uses…” (quote comes from Yonge Eglinton Secondary Plan, 2018)

exterior staircase beside a building, narrow space between two older brick apartment buildings

older lowrise apartment building

below: Old style (1920s?) 4 storey walk-up apartments.  There was a time when this type of architecture was common and these apartment buildings are (were) scattered around the city.  There aren’t as many as there used to be although some, like this one, has been renovated and kept in good shape…. a testament to their good design.

4 storey brick apartment building

below: Concrete building from the 1970s at 2323 Yonge …

reflections in the windows of a 1970s concrete building, vertical windows with deeply recessed windows

below:  …   but it too has a blue and white development notice on the side of this building.  Fifty eight stories with 40 car parking spots but room for 350 bikes.

blue and white city of toronto development notice sign on yonge street

below: St. Monicas church, an A-frame structure built in 1959, is set well back from the street with a parking lot in front.

st monicas church, A frame building from 1959, and parish hall, with large parking lot in front

below: One of the many stained glass windows inside St. Monica’s church.  This image shows a window that features gold crossed keys which are a symbol associated with St. Peter.  These are the keys to the Gates of Heaven.  The church website describes this window as representing the (Catholic) Sacrament of Reconciliation (the pardoning of confessed sins).

stained glass window in St. Monicas church

 

below: Redesigned.   From the KPMB website, this is rendering of the proposed new St. Monica’s church.  It has been brought forward closer to the street which also allows for a new condo tower behind.  That’s the plan.

rendering of new redeveloped St. Monicas church on Broadway Ave., as proposed by KPMB, image taken from their website

below: Beside the church is St. Monica’s school.  The original brick building was built in 1916.  A few additions have been added over the years.

st Monicas school, brick building built 1917, with yellow brick addition from the 1960s

reflections of new glass and steel condos in the back window of a small white van or truck

red and black machine parked by hole at construction site

sidewalk closed in front of Akoya, new condo on Broadway, as they finish work on the front entrance and landscaping of the building

narrow walkway with wooden rail, above a large hole in the ground at a construction site

density of residences, highrise condos and apartments around Yonge and Eglinton, glass and steel towers, new developments

density of residences, highrise condos and apartments around Yonge and Eglinton, glass and steel towers, new developments

density of residences, highrise condos and apartments around Yonge and Eglinton, glass and steel towers, new developments

crane used in construction of new tall glass and steel condos, in front of other new high rise buildings near Yonge and Eglinton

below: Changes are also happening to the west of Yonge Street. For instance, this building on Eglinton between Duplex and Henning is coming down.

development notice signs beside a demolition site, partially demolished building, on henning ave,

multi level building in the process of being demolished, exterior walls all gone.

below: Old, new, and in between

Henning Ave., older single family homes with construction of new condos started beside them, crane,

below: Remnants of what used to be.

2 old sets of stairs, side by side, once lead to houses, houses now demolished, stairs now behind construction fence, diggers and other equipment in the background

demolition, debris hanging from ceiling

demolition site

yellow digger, at construction site where a building is being demolished, revealing older interior walls painted in bright colours

below: As I am sure you are aware, I have blogged about Eglinton Avenue before.  Back in 2015 (ten years ago!!) I posted this photo of Eglinton and Duplex.  Both glass buildings are now gone.  The Toronto Hydro Systems building (the short brick one) at the northwest corner of Duplex and Eglinton remains – it is the one with the coloured patches on the wall in the photo above.

looking east along Eglinton Avenue towards Yonge street with Duplex Ave in the foreground. The old Toronto Hydro-Electric building is in the picture, with a newer structure with a glass front beside it. New buildings between Duplex and Yonge on the north side of Eglinton are also in the picture.

below: Same corner, slightly different angle, taken this past week.

looking west along the north side of Eglinton, toronto hydro electric systems brick building on the corner, demolition of other buildings beside it

below: After the glass clad building on the northeast corner of Duplex and Eglinton came down, the backside of the Yonge Eglinton Center was exposed (on the right) as well as another tower (in an area that needs to be explored more!).

concrete tower

 

young woman with a pink ponytail, pink top, and pink backpack, walks a dog on a leash, crossing street on Yonge, dog is small and white with pink tail and pink ears.

sign that says slow, upside down and leaning against a fence, construction site in the background

below: With thanks to my mother who walked with me that day.

older woman standing in front a fence with two development notice signs

a woman holding a cup of coffee walks on sidewalk, along Eglinton, while a man sits of the steps of a building

defaced TTC bus stops sign on Eglinton, for routes 13, 32, and 61

downtown with no particular plan

Posted: June 14, 2017 in construction, general Toronto, reflections, transportation, windows and walls
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Monday’s walk was a meandering route downtown, once again going where my feet and eyes take me.  No particular plan in mind and no set destination…   just trying to explore where I haven’t been recently.   No theme jumped out and tapped me on the shoulder but a few “stories” emerged.

below: There is now a 3D sign between the CN Tower and the Aquarium that says Canada 150.

a young boy is leaping from the D of the 3D Canada 150 sign in front of the CN Tower, and is leaping onto the top of the A. His hands are on the top of the A, one foot is one the side of the A and the other foot is near the top of the D

below:  …and another 3D sign by the CN Tower (you can see part of the back of the Canada 150 sign through the tree). I wonder how many there are in this city now?   Another bit of information (trivia?) – this area is called Bobbie Rosenfeld Park and has been since 1991. Fanny (“Bobbie”) Rosenfeld was a Canadian athlete who won two track medals  in the 1928 Olympics.   She also played softball and hockey in the 1920s and 30s.  When arthritis force her to stop playing she turned to sports journalism, working for the ‘Globe and Mail’ until her retirement in 1955.

3D sign for the CN tower with tourists taking pictures in front of it. Canada 150 3D sign in the background as well as some people sitting around on benches

One of the routes from the CN Tower into the downtown core of the city is via the Skywalk, a glass enclosed elevated walkway over the railway tracks.  The next few photos were taken as I walked that route.

below: A Toronto species of woodpecker in its native habitat – a forest of glass and steel. This artwork was completed in 1997 and is the creation of Dai Skuse and Kim Kozzi who together are known as Fastwurms.

large sculpture of a woodpecker on a pole in the foreground, many glass skyscrapers condos in the background

below: The above photo was taken from a quiet little terrace that I accessed from the Skywalk. Now you can see just how big the woodpecker is!  The ‘tree trunk’ pole is 30m high.  What you can’t see is the second woodpecker who is on the other side of the pole and slightly farther down it.

a concrete terrace, with benches and planters with purple flowers, lots of condos in the background, one person standing there

below:  The glass of the Skywalk creates some interesting reflections and shadows.  The glass was fairly clean the other day when I walked through it.  I have seen it when it’s been quite dirty and it’s not a pretty sight.

reflections of a woman walking on the Skywalk between Union Station and the convention center, with views of the street below and buildings beyond also in the frame
reflected in the red glass of the entrance to the CN tower are two women walking

below: Union Station, looking east from the Skywalk.   The new roof over the station platforms is taking shape.  Someday soon I’m going to have to take a look at the insides of the station; I can’t wait for all the renovations to be completed.

union station as seen from the west, from the skywalk, with open air tracks as well as the covered platforms. New roof over the platforms, tall buildings in the background

below: Part of the south “wall” along the railway tracks.

buildings reflected in another glass building right beside the trains tracks south of Union Station

below: Looking east from lower Simcoe along the south edge of the Gardiner Expressway.   The podium of the new condo under construction at 10 York Street is quite the wedge!

construction of a tall condo beside the gardiner expressway. The bottom of the condo is a wedge shape to maximize the space available

below: I played a bit on google maps street view and this is what I found for the above scene (taken Nov 2016).  If you compare the photos (above & below), it’s obvious that one of the ramps for the Gardiner Expressway has been demolished.   The eastbound exit to Yonge/York/Bay was removed a couple of months ago.  If you are a regular user of the Gardiner, I’m sure you have already experienced the consequences of this!

screenshot of google maps street view of Lower Simoce stret just south of the Lakeshore, one of the offramps for the Gardiner, a new condo under construction

below: Standing on the same spot, but turning around 180 degrees – looking west from Lower Simcoe.  An old ramp in the foreground…. and what looks like new construction in the background.  Those are new bents (the structures that hold up the road).

under one of the Gardiner Expressway ramps, with new bents being built for a new ramp in the background.

below: To get a closer look at what was happening here, I ventured around to the other side .  This is the view from closer to Rees Street. There is car on the old ramp so it must still be open (onramps still functional, just the offramp was removed).

two "cherry pickers" parked in front of new bents being constructed for a new ramp for the Gardiner Expressway

below: The trees are growing at Canada Square (Harbourfront), but so are the condos.  Yes, this new building is the same one with the wedge shaped lower floors.

view from Canada Place (Queens Quay West) with a clump of birch trees in the foreground and 3 highrise buildings in the background - two older ones and one in the middle that is under construction.
below: Also at Canada Square, there are three large photographs by Johan Hallberg-Campbell, a series called “Coastal”.   This one of them:

a large photograph of a run down building, northern, on the side of a concrete structure that is an entrance to the underground parking

below: More of Hallberg-Campbell’s work can be seen inside in the Artport Gallery (Harbourfront building) – here, many photographs with simple wood frames are mounted on a wall that is covered with large images.  “Coastal” is the product of the artist’s travels to coastal areas of Canada, from Newfoundland to northern Manitoba to British Columbia and many places in between.   Life on the edge, so to speak.  (Note: gallery show ends 18th June)

three colour photos in simple light wood frames mounted on a wall that is covered with large images

below: It’s not art but sometimes the line between public art and advertising campaigns is fuzzy.

a man walks on the sidewalk below a largef ad for Apple watches. The photo is cropped so that the only part of the ad that shows is a hand on the handle bar of a bike. A bright turquoise watch is on the person's wrist

Not all is shiny and new.   And that’s the way it should be.

metal grille, part of a barricade along the side of a parking structure, rusted,

parking structure on the top, old door and wall on the bottom. A wood picnic table in disrepair is in front of the door