By James Rayner
I find it interesting every once in a while to take a stroll through parts of the downtown area to see what has changed and what has remained in this constantly evolving city. This walk started at the intersection of Bloor Street and Yonge Street, heading south to Queen St. and then back up by Bay St. to Bloor and the subway.
When you emerge from the Bloor-Danforth subway at Yonge St., the walker is greeted by huge condo developments. On the east side of Yonge is 1 Bloor East with its modern artwork to admire.
Across Yonge is The One, a financially troubled project (now building again) that is intended to be even higher than its neighbour, about 85 storeys.
Walking south on Yonge, notice that the city is wisely permitting canopies over the sidewalks to protect citizens from the weather.
Some heritage buildings are being retained (at least the façades) as the rebuilding mania continues to threaten our architectural heritage. In this photograph, to the left is the entrance to what once was Loewe’s Uptown theatre.
Below is a photograph of Yonge Street showing the evolution of the street from the past to the present.
There are some quirky shops that give the street its flavour.
The Church of Scientology building has stood vacant for years with no sign of redevelopment, just vandalism.
The old fire hall that was the St. Charles tavern has been memorialized as condominium developments surround it.
The old Eaton’s College St. store is still a beautiful example of Mercantile architecture. Once intended to be Eaton’s main store housed in a block-long skyscraper, it now houses various shops and courtrooms as well as the beautiful Carlu lounge. The rest of the property houses a park and condos.
Just south of College St. is the arch from the now-demolished St. Andrew’s United Church on Bloor Street.
This is the modern student centre for Toronto Metropolitan University (a.k.a. Ryerson)
The impressive bank buildings that stand across from the Albert Street part of the Eaton Centre have finally been given a new life, one as part of the Massey Hall expansion and the other as the entrance to a condominium building.
At Queen St. a beautiful bank building has been retained and integrated into the subway station and office building.
At Queen Street, we walked over to Bay Street and headed north past Nathan Phillips Square. The now closed Bus Terminal is going to be redeveloped as condos (surprise?). When it was built, the old Toronto Transportation Commission wanted it to impress travellers, so they made a grand two-story waiting room and clad the building in Indiana limestone.
For years, the Church of the Holy Trinity was surrounded by Eaton’s factories and warehouses. It has emerged from those shadows only to be dwarfed by the Eaton Centre but there is a clear view of it from Bay Street.
Further north, on the west side of Bay is St. Basil’s church where this statue was found.
The area was beautiful with its spring plantings.
After crossing Bloor Street, we walked one block north to Cumberland and Hemmingway’s restaurant for a refreshing lunch on their enclosed terrace.
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 