Recent content by Townie

The London Heathrow Express is 15 minutes nonstop from Heathrow Airport to Paddington Station. It's not cheap. The new Elizabeth Line trains, at less than half the cost, make same trip in 27 minutes with stops in between. The Elizabeth Line trains also serve more terminals within Heathrow and...

Why can't one have both? Podium, the developer of 396 Church, consulted regularly and worked closely with neighbours and the local Residents' Association on the street-level aspects of their development. They were extremely responsive and collaborative, and have made a concerted effort to...

The houses on McGill were vacant, occupied by squatters building open fires, presenting a fire risk to the neighbourhood. Neighbours and the local Residents' Association requested the developer expedite their demolition and the City agreed and issued the permits.

I'm anxious to see the final look of the first mechanical level, without the netting at the corners. I'm heartened by the installation of the louvres; but with the window-washing stages parked at the bottom and the ropes hanging in front, they look like giant venetian blinds!

11 trees are being removed and only 3 are being replaced. The local RA (Residents' Association), though otherwise supportive of the application, asked for more trees. Sadly, the City ignored this request. The 3 replacement trees are all on the Granby St frontage (north side), with none on the...

Good catch indeed -- and easy to miss. It's a nice detail -- a classical, even "Vitruvian" reference. If you think of the tower as five shorter, identical towers stacked on top of each other, with the mechanical levels forming the "ground floor" of each of the upper sections, then the protruding...

Any less relevant then the ancient lakeshore? Just commenting on the comment re heights along Yonge and their impact on city building and observed tower peaks. Cloverhill is just a few blocks from The One, which sits on top of the same rise along Yonge St. I just wanted to give some historical...

When Bishop de Charbonnel (2nd Catholic bishop of Toronto, 1850-1860) invited the Basilan Fathers to come from France and establish a college and seminary in Toronto, they acquired a property on Clover Hill (Bay & St Joseph) to build St Basil's Church (1856) and what would eventually grow into...

Can someone tell me: What is that giant slab-like thing -- it looks like the flatbed of an enormous pickup truck, separated from its cab -- projecting from the fifth floor (last double-height floor) on the east side of the building and cantilevered over the street? What is it and what is for...

The Empire State Building has 102 storeys. (One World Trade Centre has 94, and none of the recent supertalls in NYC, despite their crazy heights, has more than 98.)

My only regret is that we've lost the iconic view of the CN Tower viewed between the two towers of the TD Centre. It's now blocked by 160 Front.

Really terrific photos. I don't know about others, but for the first time, I'm getting a clear and precise overview of the works as a whole and how everything comes together. Previously, it was just a new bridge here, a berm there, a new riverbed, the new Cherry St -- all very impressive and...

Very nice building. In addition to its design, I like the way it addresses a difficult space, straddling the block, and handles the heritage buildings (features that make Lombard such a pleasant downtown street). I guess calling the tower "The Morgue" would be a non-starter for condo sales?

Apologies if this is a stupid question: Why aren't the Crosstown trains red & white, like other public transit vehicles in Toronto? And why are the Crosstown stations marked with a giant, black & white "T" sign, instead of the well-known identifier of the TTC logo? What does the "T" stand for...

Some wonderful photos here. In the third photo, you actually managed to catch The Canadian (VIA's transcontinental train) and its tail-end dome car as it was passing by. Amazing documentation!