[UtakataNoAnnex]

I would imagine that turning this into a podium for some condo tower is the last thing anyone wants here outside of it being fully demolished...

 

[Richard White]

I would imagine that turning this into a podium for some condo tower is the last thing anyone wants here outside of it being fully demolished...

For those thinking of turning this into a "Museum of Toronto", London UK has something similar called the Museum of London.

Essentially, it showcases the City of London from Roman times through to the current day. It is among the lease visited museums and actually ended up closing recently for "relocation".

My point is that Toronto is not nearly as exciting as London and any museum dedicated to its history would be geared toward a very niche market. Tourists may want to hear about the War of 1812 (which they can learn about at Fort York) but I doubt they want to hear about the Stockyards, Abattoirs or the Portlands.

You may get some people interested in such a museum for things like sports history or World War II but those people are few and far apart.

 

[Doppleganger]

At the risk of being accused an ambulance chaser, I hear that the downtown HBC building may soon become vacant(or at least the western half). This might make an excellent location for a Museum of Toronto.and/or Canadian History.

 

[jje1000]

My opinion is that with any sort of repurposing of Old City Hall, there's an equally great opportunity to finally rework and stitch together the Old City Hall and Nathan Philip Square forecourts.

Bay Street between the two buildings needs to be transformed away from its current status as a car gutter, and the awful muddy lawn around New City Hall needs to go as well, fulfilling the original intent of the square's redesign and perhaps acting as a less formal space compared to the main square within the colonnade.

Finally, my personal opinion is that the area in front of Old City Hall should be entirely transformed into a large shallow staircase and plaza where people can sit, gather, and people-watch, especially considering its position between the Eaton Centre and New City Hall.

Imagine if we had our own small version of the Spanish Steps or the staircase in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art? Maybe not as dramatic and atmospheric, but the opportunity is there.

 

[Doppleganger]

For those thinking of turning this into a "Museum of Toronto", London UK has something similar called the Museum of London.

Essentially, it showcases the City of London from Roman times through to the current day. It is among the lease visited museums and actually ended up closing recently for "relocation".

My point is that Toronto is not nearly as exciting as London and any museum dedicated to its history would be geared toward a very niche market. Tourists may want to hear about the War of 1812 (which they can learn about at Fort York) but I doubt they want to hear about the Stockyards, Abattoirs or the Portlands.

You may get some people interested in such a museum for things like sports history or World War II but those people are few and far apart.

I wonder how much of that is due to the Museum of London's longtime location at the Barbican, a relatively non-descript(and some might say that's being generous) post-war urban development that has relatively serpentine access points. Its shuttering is in preparation for its move to a much more pedestrian and tourist-friendly Smithfield Market.

 

[Doppleganger]

My opinion is that with any sort of repurposing of Old City Hall, there's an equally great opportunity to finally rework and stitch together the Old City Hall and Nathan Philip Square forecourts.

Bay Street between the two buildings needs to be transformed away from its current status as a car gutter, and the awful muddy lawn around New City Hall needs to go as well, fulfilling the original intent of the square's redesign and perhaps acting as a less formal space compared to the main square within the colonnade.

Finally, my personal opinion is that the area in front of Old City Hall should be entirely transformed into a large shallow staircase and plaza where people can sit, gather, and people-watch, especially considering its position between the Eaton Centre and New City Hall.

Imagine if we had our own small version of the Spanish Steps or the staircase in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art? Maybe not as dramatic and atmospheric, but the opportunity is there.

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Excellent suggestions. I'm not sure what the solution to the Bay St. 'gutter' is. Perhaps some sort of turning restrictions or even some wider congestion pricing scheme to decrease the overall downtown traffic volume...I just don't know. It is a shame that some, if not most of your ideas weren't incorporated into the redevelopment of Nathan Phillips Square a few years back. This was a lost opportunity at best, and at worst, as evidenced by the Union Station 'bollard' debacle, signals that there is an alarming amount of unaspirational, one-dimensional thinking going on in the nooks and crannies of City Hall.

 

[rdaner]

And since we are day-dreaming i have always liked the idea of covering over the north and east spaces between Old City Hall and the TEC/Bell similar to what has been done at The Well.

 

[Doppleganger]

And since we are day-dreaming i have always liked the idea of covering over the north and east spaces between Old City Hall and the TEC/Bell similar to what has been done at The Well.

This is a terrific idea that was similarly done quite nicely with the western courtyard of Dresden's City Castle, another building successfully repurposed as a museum.

 

[Doppleganger]

And since we are day-dreaming i have always liked the idea of covering over the north and east spaces between Old City Hall and the TEC/Bell similar to what has been done at The Well.

Sorry, my bad! I thought you meant covering the inner courtyards of Old City Hall, but covering the spaces north and east of the building also has great merit. We certainly need to explore all options to make this area a more pedestrian, tourist-friendly realm.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

At the risk of being accused an ambulance chaser, I hear that the downtown HBC building may soon become vacant(or at least the western half). This might make an excellent location for a Museum of Toronto.and/or Canadian History.

In 1869, Timothy Eaton sold his interest in a small dry-goods store in the market town of St. Marys, Ontario, and he bought a dry-goods and haberdashery business at 178 Yonge Street in the city of Toronto.

The business prospered, and Eaton moved the store one block north in August 1883 into much larger premises at 190 Yonge Street.

The current 178 Yonge Street is the location of the "former" Simpsons/Bay store.

 

[jje1000]

I think the entire Bell site should be redeveloped, though there are plans to add a tower to it at the moment.

I think a larger westward opening on the Eaton Centre + a covered outdoor mall would really help bring some life to Trinity Square (which has unfortunately never been all that busy).

 

[Doppleganger]

I think the entire Bell site should be redeveloped, though there are plans to add a tower to it at the moment.

I think a larger westward opening on the Eaton Centre + a covered outdoor mall would really help bring some life to Trinity Square (which has unfortunately never been all that busy).

Or maybe even turning those covered outdoor spaces into a marketplace for crafts, antiques and similar type vendors. With the little-known gems of the Church and Scadding House at the epicentre of a reimagined square, and with a ready-made pool of shoppers and tourists at the Eaton Centre, this could potentially become one of the city's 'must-see' attractions.

 

[Midtown Hank]

I'd argue that New City Hall is at least as iconic as the old version, if not more so. I recall an image of it even appearing in a Star Trek episode(maybe 'City on the Edge of Forever' from the original series or perhaps The Next Generation). Both buildings are wonderful representations of the eras in which they were built, and I'd equally protest any significant exterior alteration or demolition of either building. As for Nathan Phillips Square, granted it has issues which the redevelopment a few years back never fully addressed, but it is an integral element of Revell's original design and in a city with few large open urban spaces, remains an important one with great potential. Erecting any significant structure on it would destroy that space and permanently mar Revell's intended sightlines of City Hall.

Fair enough. Good to get different perspective and I know many here would agree with you. I don't. Nathan Phillips' City Hall was certainly architecturally significant when it opened and touted as a modern wonder, but not sure it's going to age well. 100 years from now Old City Hall will still be iconic, with the red sandstone exterior mined from nearby quarries (same as Queens Park).

Anyway, while stuctures like Revell's City Hall, Zeidler's Ontario Place or Moriyama's Science Centre, were all architecturally and creatively and important when they opened, I think they have a shelf life and their replacements one day will allow for new creative renewals.

 

[Midtown Hank]

Would be good to understand the challenges behind re-establishing Old City Hall back to being the existing city hall.

 

[PL1]

Would be good to understand the challenges behind re-establishing Old City Hall back to being the existing city hall.

I rather suspect size is one issue. Accessibility. Air-conditioning.

Likely not insurmountable, but at what price?