Don Jail, the construction site....

Don Jail
Originally uploaded by gorbould

So the work began on the Don Jail. A house was moved last summer (to make way for a wonderful temporary (I hope!) parking lot, while right in front of the jail facade, a crew started digging the dirt...

I passed in front of it last week and back then I wondered: is there anyone carrying about what they might dig out?!?!?!? After all, the land in front of the jail was not moved for a very long time.... One angry archeologist in the crowd, anyone???? For some obvious reasons, it made me think of the novel "Consolation" - a must read by the way if you live in Toronto!

To make me feel better about the entire thing, I decided to read the Bridgepoint planning for the jail once again. Some good things....

- Consume less energy;
- Use 20 per cent less potable water;
- Use storm-water runoff from the roof for landscape irrigation;
- Maximize the use of natural light; and,
- Divert at least 75 per cent of construction waste away from landfill
by recycling or salvaging construction materials.

But then the report made me angry for using this sentence:

"The main entrance will be publicly accessible, the Rotunda will be restored to its original beauty, and some cells and the gallows will be preserved for historical purposes."

I mean WOW, really? Preserved for historical purposes!?!?!? The ENTIRE THING should be preserved for "historical purposes"!!! Oh and P.S. When do you think they will tear down the 2 remaining houses "in the way" on their land??

Tall-Tower-Mania

What is it with Toronto and tall tower projects?

Why this city is sooo thristy for high structures?

Ok. There is the fact that it's a "big city", with a lot of people living in it per square meters. I get that - tall projects can "parked" more people within the boundaries of the GTA. But do we want "this" at any price? Do we need to build "whatever" as long as it's tall and profitable? And why it seams like there is no vision, no urban planning behind all this tall-tower-mania?

Take the project at 2055-2057 Danforth Avenue. A lovely panel is telling us right now that they are trying to change the by-law application for this zone to build a 12-14 storey multi-something there. That portion of our city allows 5 storeys right now. 5 storeys.... Isn't that zoning there for something?

See, I may be a purist in terms of urban planning, but I like when streets are forming a nice visual ensemble. You know - when it looks good all together. What I don't like is when there is a giant thing in the middle of dwarfed buildings. It's just that it look.... well... It's ugly, that's what.

Call me negative and against the futur if you want. but there is nobody that will convince me that these projects were successful in that genre:

- St-James Town

- Most of Jarvis Street...

- Main Square Towers

- The towers at Gerrard East and River Street

- Victoria Park

... and many other ones.

If only they were pretty. If only that.

The Playter Farmhouse

Take the house of an old family of Toronto settlers (the Playters - famously known for being successful dairy farmers and what's not), put it into one of the best 'hood in town (Playter Estate, right there in the Greek/Danforth area), what do you get????

Well, first you get a very impressive historical house. Nice enough to get "the plaque treatment and all. This red-brick, rectangular house, sitting at 28 Playter Cres is decorated with a white brick pattern. A "grande dame" who was built in the mid 1870's by John Lea Playter.

You can't really miss it right now... It's under a masive reno.

Actually, at this point I will call this an overhaul. I don't know who is the owner(s), but they have a vision, that's for sure. But is it the right one? Restaurating an historical structure is very noble, but changing it into a massive multi-something? Is that keeping the spirit of the place?

When you look at it from the front, not much has changed. They bricked the gables on the roof, but the house still has the same proportions. It's when you look on the sides that you discover this:

It's like if 2 houses were growing back there! Call me a purist if you want, but what is the point exactly? My first guest is to split it into many households. I see $$$ here. Very mad to see this "protected house" going down this route (thanks again Toronto to have such an eye for heritage). And I am not the only one to think so: while taking the above pictures a cyclist stopped to tell me how sad he is that they are doing that to the house.

Sadness... And nostalgia when you compare the now with the then, before the early 1900's alterations.

Yes or No to a Bloor-Yonge Square?

Well, once again, another condo project that won't make it in Toronto. This time, it's the "fabulous" 80-storey deluxe project at the corner of Yonge and Bloor.... Buyers must be furious, people were in a crazy line-up to get their spot in that building...

But now that the entire block is demolished and that the tower won't happen, we have a problem: a big empty space in the middle of an incredible transit hub. Hum... empty space... in the heart of a growing city.... what should we do....

A PUBLIC SQUARE, isn't it the right answer?

Some people think so, and we are starting to hear them out there. Their message is clear: give Toronto a brand new showpiece-square. Cause let's be honest here: it's an opportunity of a lifetime! 

And I think the good people of Toronto deserve and desire a brand new square in their city!

If you are interested, there is a Facebook page called Bloor Yonge Square.

Also, there is a blog to inform the public.

Don Jail, or Dawn/Dusk Jail?

The Toronto Jail, known under the nickname "Don Jail", is in our city landscape since 1865. The site was already dedicated to this purpose since 1858, with the construction of another building there for offenders. Designed by architect William Thomas in 1852, this "modern jail" for its time has a distinctive façade in the Italianate style with a pedimented central pavilion and vermiculated columns flanking the main entrance portico. This gem is one of the architectural treasures of the city and one of very few pre-Confederation (1867) structures that remains intact in Toronto...

Well... intact for now...

After the jail closed in 1977, the building never got the care it should have got. It was used for many movies and TV shows, but beside that, not much happen in these walls since.

The bad news is that Bridgepoint is about to take over a massive project: integrating the old jail into their medical facilities. This means new buildings are planned for the surroundings of the jail AND the jail itself will be part of the grand picture.

The plan? Administrative offices and research centre. 

So good bye old original cells and other architectural features?

Well... some of it they will keep. The exterior will remain untouched (restauration perhaps would occur?), the rotunda will be restored to its former glory, and several of the prison cells will be kept as museum displays. But who will see that?

Cause let's be honest here! If the place will turn into an office building - do they really think it will become a public space? What about making it a cultural centre, or even better - A CITY MUSEUM! Instead of the City Hall, the people planning the City Museum could have shown interest in this beauty...

Wel... No.

More offices - THAT'S what we need in one of our great historical public building.

Great.

Wait a minute, is this old or new?

Since like "forever", architects take inspiration in old styles when it comes to creating the blueprints for new homes. Some major architectural movements are based on pure nostalgia of the past. There was (and still is) some good, and some very bad.

Don't get me wrong - when it is done well, a new built that is inspired by older homes is simply grandiose! And it's a pure success when it's matching the surrounding.

But sometimes it's just wrong, or simply weird. Like a full size scaled fisherprice home, the badly inspired "new comer" can look pretty hideous.

I don't know... do you really need:

- A garage door in front of the house?

- A facade made of stucco instead of brick, wood or stone?

- Cheap "off the shelves" windows and doors?

- Strange proportions?

The empty shell heritage

If you knew me, you would be aware that I HATE seeing the older buildings of Toronto going to the "other world" to lead place for taller/greater/cleaner structures (which most of the time happens to be a darn condo tower). Layers of older architectures and styles is what really defines a city - in my book at least.

But lately I've seen a new phenomenon: people buying old houses and... keeping them! At this point, I am happy and I may even jump of joy if it's a nice heritage house who needs only TLC to renew its former glory. Only there is a problem sometimes....... the house may "appear" to be preserved, but in fact it is not! Introducing the lovely example of this former corner store in Cabbagetown.

The architect who bought this saw the opportunity to put his stamp on it. Fine you will say, just a glance at the building before would make you happy with the gentrification. See below the "before":

Yes the outside is now clean - Yes the windows and doors are new and match with the style of the building - YES YES YES! But here's where I am not happy. The corner store is no more a store.... it a residential space now:

And NOTHING inside was salvage... And why is that? The architect would probably say that nothing was good inside. Or maybe everything was ripped off in the 1960s.... But why would you have to make the place look so sterile? So "2009"? This is a nice example of the Cabbagetown brick structure shaped to receive a CORNER STORE at the first floor... NOT A CONTEMPORARY GALLEY KITCHEN....

But I have to aggree: it's better than demolition. But still.

Still...