Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Toronto: The death of a historic city block (Queen Street West)

fresnelly · 02-21-2008, 07:46 AM

I don't get down to that part of town much anymore but it's still pretty shocking. The first photos I saw with the National Sound sign being ingulfed were pretty hard to believe.

Gentrification on Queen street is a broad topic. On one hand by removing the grit, you remove a lot of the character. For example, Active Surplus just ain't the same anymore. On the other hand how much grit is good? What's the magical balance?

The Globe and Mail had an excellent article recently profiling the intersection and titled "At the Corner of Crack and Pizza". It covers the reasons that the intersection has resisted gentrification so far; notably the presence of the BigBop nightclub on one corner and The Meeting Place the on another.

You have to pay for the the online article but here it is
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...rce_login=true

Regardless, the momentum of gentrification of Queen St. is an insatiable force and I doubt hardly any of those businesses would have been here 10 years for now. CityTV is leaving it's iconic building and there's even going to be a Home Depot right on Queen!

So it goes...

02-21-2008, 07:46 AM	#3 (permalink)
fresnelly Functionally Appropriate Location: Toronto	I don't get down to that part of town much anymore but it's still pretty shocking. The first photos I saw with the National Sound sign being ingulfed were pretty hard to believe. Gentrification on Queen street is a broad topic. On one hand by removing the grit, you remove a lot of the character. For example, Active Surplus just ain't the same anymore. On the other hand how much grit is good? What's the magical balance? The Globe and Mail had an excellent article recently profiling the intersection and titled "At the Corner of Crack and Pizza". It covers the reasons that the intersection has resisted gentrification so far; notably the presence of the BigBop nightclub on one corner and The Meeting Place the on another. You have to pay for the the online article but here it is http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...rce_login=true Regardless, the momentum of gentrification of Queen St. is an insatiable force and I doubt hardly any of those businesses would have been here 10 years for now. CityTV is leaving it's iconic building and there's even going to be a Home Depot right on Queen! So it goes... __________________ Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life Last edited by fresnelly; 02-21-2008 at 07:51 AM..