[nightstreak]

Feels like the sweeping glass curves and rounded edges of this signature facility are slowly giving over to bunkerism through the years... >.<

How so? There is more glass on the Eaton Centre Yonge façade than ever. Let's not forget the yellow spandrel that gave the Eaton Centre a bunker appearance that turned its back on Yonge Street. It was there until fairly recently:

Those top levels have since been replaced by glass offices that look out onto Yonge.

Worthy mention: an additional section on Eataly's side has gone from wall to glazing. The highlighted area here:

Hard to see through the scaffolding but you can see it here:

If anything, the green tile section breaks up the "bunkerness" of the façade. I wasn't a fan of the colour at first, but as it came together, it began to make sense as a whole.

 

[bcmc]

Before Nordstrom opened it was even more bunkerish imo

 

[nightstreak]

Before Nordstrom opened it was even more bunkerish imo

View attachment 672417

Yup. Was looking for a pic from that era. I think people are wearing rose coloured glasses. The Yonge Street side of Eaton Centre has come a very long way since the early 2000s. The mall feels better connected to the street and the blank walls have virtually all be eliminated.

I'll mention the notable caveat of the reconfiguration of the glass Dundas atrium which is a tragedy I hope to live long enough to see reversed.

 

[bcmc]

Yup. Was looking for a pic from that era. I think people are wearing rose coloured glasses. The Yonge Street side of Eaton Centre has come a very long way since the early 2000s. The mall feels better connected to the street and the blank walls have virtually all be eliminated.

I'll mention the notable caveat of the reconfiguration of the glass Dundas atrium which is a tragedy I hope to live long enough to see reversed.

Agreed. One other small caveat is the old Starbucks space on Yonge. It’s too bad we lost a street facing cafe.

 

[nightstreak]

Agreed. One other small caveat is the old Starbucks space on Yonge. It’s too bad we lost a street facing cafe.

View attachment 672474

View attachment 672473

Yeah, I don't get what they were thinking. I have a feeling they're going to regret that as Yonge Street gets activated by the increasing hospitality services and later when the city rebuilds downtown Yonge with wider sidewalks and narrower roads.

Thankfully, it's not a complex renovation. Replace the panels with glass and you have a theatrical kitchen that'll entice passersby to get some of what they see coming out of ovens. This is the layout that appears in the most recent leasing plan (August 6, 2025). I recall the layout with the corner door as recently as the June leasing plan so perhaps they already regret their decision and are planning to change this.

 

[nightstreak]

Whoever guessed that Uniqlo was resizing the entrance to dissuade from shoplifting, wins a cookie.

A glass façade has been added to about 50% of the entrance with an opening on either side.

 

[zang]

Whoever guessed that Uniqlo was resizing the entrance to dissuade from shoplifting, wins a cookie.
View attachment 673089
A glass façade has been added to about 50% of the entrance with an opening on either side.

That was me. Where’s my cookie?!

 

[Towered]

Agreed. One other small caveat is the old Starbucks space on Yonge. It’s too bad we lost a street facing cafe.

View attachment 672474

View attachment 672473

A Starbucks disappearing is no loss...

 

[bcmc]

A Starbucks disappearing is no loss...

Agreed, though ideally future tenants would have continued to open up to the street the way the Starbucks used to.

 

[Rascacielo]

Whoever guessed that Uniqlo was resizing the entrance to dissuade from shoplifting, wins a cookie.
View attachment 673089
A glass façade has been added to about 50% of the entrance with an opening on either side.

The opening to the left of the glass wall (not shown) is still pretty wide, much wider than the opening on the left, which for some reason, was barred (just like in the picture)

 

[officedweller]

Those top levels have since been replaced by glass offices that look out onto Yonge.

Worthy mention: an additional section on Eataly's side has gone from wall to glazing. The highlighted area here:

View attachment 672415
If anything, the green tile section breaks up the "bunkerness" of the façade. I wasn't a fan of the colour at first, but as it came together, it began to make sense as a whole.

The dark green anchors the building to the ground more than the light beige of the Nordstrom facade.
Just curious what the at-grade level looks like.

 

[TossYourJacket]

The opening to the left of the glass wall (not shown) is still pretty wide, much wider than the opening on the left, which for some reason, was barred (just like in the picture)

The side on the left had been open during renovations so I'm guessing they've temporarily closed off that part of the store for whatever minor renovations they are doing there now that the bulk of the ground floor is open. Probably some floor restoration work, etc. since that will now be an entrance and not where a bunch of aisles are as it was before.

 

[TossYourJacket]

The dark green anchors the building to the ground more than the light beige of the Nordstrom facade.
Just curious what the at-grade level looks like.

When I walked by today it looked like work has finally started on the ground level (there was some sort of black material covering things that wasn't there before, not sure if it's going behind the cladding, or covering it), so maybe in a few weeks we'll know.

 

[nightstreak]

The side on the left had been open during renovations so I'm guessing they've temporarily closed off that part of the store for whatever minor renovations they are doing there now that the bulk of the ground floor is open. Probably some floor restoration work, etc. since that will now be an entrance and not where a bunch of aisles are as it was before.

The ground floor façade is largely glass. There’s more of it than there was with Nordstrom or Sears. Eataly’s corner door is a large glass expanse that extends farther to the left, closer to Eaton Centre’s doors.

Simons’ ground façade is also glass, surrounded by what looks like more green framing. Below the green band at the top, there’s a slatted wood-like material between windows.

 

[Rascacielo]

Once in a while, blogTO came up with some interesting tidbits. Most of us know the Eaton Centre's history, but photos during its construction were new to me.

What the Toronto Eaton Centre looked like when it was under construction

The CF Toronto Eaton Centre might be the place where you now shop for holiday gifts, back-to-school sales, and vacation outfits, but what many people…

www.blogto.com