299 Queen Street West, as it appeared back in 1919. (82/96)
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Why can’t we build like this today?
Material costs, and fashion
Today’s rule of thumb for Toronto city planners and builders is simple: cheap and ugly, and never allow good taste or imagination to get in the way.
City Planners have no say in the architectural style of buildings as a matter of provincial law. No laying this at their feet. Planners may have an effect on some other choices including building massing (shape) and height; though developers have a much or more effect there too.
But they can pinpoint what areas should be set aside for development, and then open the floodgates and moats to the vandals.
high cost of labour today. If you want to see stuff as detail as this you have to go to Asia or Latin America.
Actually, they have started building like this again in Europe. Holland, Poland, and Hungary are building them. Probably other places as well.
because this building is completely in adequate for modern usage. There’s a great book called “how buildings learn” that looks at architecture as a function of how the buildings are used, and it answers the exact question that you asked.
different priorities. Now is more about large scale snd efficiency. Fantastically ornate architecture is not financially efficient.
Still miss Speaker’s Corner!
The five-storey building was originally constructed as the headquarters of the Methodist Church of Canada in 1913 by Burke, Horwood and White. The Methodists joined with two other denominations to form the United Church of Canada in 1925, for which the building served as the headquarters until 1959.
It was also the home of the Ryerson Press, the general publishing arm of the Church. Moses Znaimer bought the building to move CITY-TV from tiny 99 Queen E to these much larger quarters. Years after CHUM bought CITY-TV and its specialty channels, the building and channels were sold to Bell Media which moved in (though kept CFTO/CTV up in Agencourt) but CITY-TV went to Rogers, moving its operations across from Dundas Square.
What is is now? Remember Speakers Corner?
Bell Media Headquarters where cp24 and CTV have offices and studios. The studios formerly used for MuchMusic are now used for The Social, and the studio used for CityLine and Breakfast Television on Citytv,
99 queen west
*299 Queen Street West.