Chinatown Spadina & Dundas

[flar]

 

[Venti de Milo]

Nice pix....you have excellent photo taking skill

 

[salvius]

I saw this thread on SSP and almost had an orgasm.

 

[Irishmonk]

Fantastic work. You really capture the neighbourhood's personality.

 

[Pep'rJack]

^ Yep, perfectly. These are really, really good, man(?) - nice variety of shots, too.

Hope you treat us to many more threads like this!

PS - Is your avatar Commerce Court, or something else?

 

[salvius]

^ nah, I think that's the Pigott Building in Hamilton he's got on there.

 

[JasonParis]

Great photothread indeed! Very Christopher de Wolfe-esque.

 

[urbandreamer]

It may not be a popular opinion...

...But: Spadina needs a facelift! It's looking increasingly rundown and dumpy. Ugh. Sure it has character, but come on, landlords and store keepers: show some pride in your nabe! While Bloor St W gets all the money for a redo, I'm thinking more people probably use Spadina than that tiny stretch of Bloor yet Spadina needs some TLC: somebody, quick! Donate some cash to get this street looking good. Spadina looks like that old lady you photographed--tons of character but undeniably elderly.

First get the streetscape upgraded, then give a bonus towards landlords (tax breaks?) that renovate/restore their facades, then maybe new development (condos, cleaner retail?) will occur creating a renewed, more viable small business community.

 

[salvius]

^ why do we need every street in Toronto gentrified and Disneyfied?

 

[flar]

Yep, avatar is the Pigott Building in Hamilton.

Chinatown is looking a bit shabby and dirty, but that's kind of what people expect. The more successful Asian businesses are up in the Pacific Mall. I guess this Chinatown's more of a tourist destination than a place where Chinese residents do business.

 

[Venti de Milo]

But don't you think a cleaner and nicer Chinatown will not only make a good impression to the tourists, it also gives a positive image about the Chinese people? I mean, every Chinatown I've been (NYC, London etc) they are all the same, dirty & rundown. Restaurants, grocery stores etc... As a Chinese myself, sometimes I feel embarassed to take friends/collegues there. A collegue (she's white) recently just asked me to bring her to Chinatown for some Chinese/Vietnamese food. I wasn't so sure about it and told her that it's quite dirty, so not sure if we will go one day... My Chinese friends and I don't even go there to eat much cause the restaurants are just too dirty...

I think if they clean up the Chinatown, more people will go there. But I don't think it will ever happen. The rich business people looking for investment will look for Scarb/Richmond/North York areas instead. That's why Chinatown's getting worse. Lots of stores closing, too many dollar stores selling cheap and tacky stuff (remember the 80s Yonge St?). I read it somewhere before and it's so true...when you see a store closing, and someone just takes its place by simply put up a new sign, that's a bad sign.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Some of the signs are fun though:

FAMOUS CANADA INC.

HAPPY MEAT MARKET LTD.

ORIENTAL ARTS & FORTUNE

East Giant Corporation

(H?)UNG WAN COMPANY

DUMPLING HOUSE RESTAURANT

PRECIOUS CREATIONS

Also, the typically redundant City signage:

TRANSIT SIGNAL ( above a transit signal ).

 

[indense]

Thanks for the photos. Great stuff.

I think that more than a facelift, China Town needs an odour overhaul.

 

[Ronald]

Fantastic pics, such a lively neighbourhood!
Looks like the neighbourhood in Utrecht I'll be moving to (that one is also looking a bit rundown )
Your pics also remind me of Christopher's pics of Montréal btw.

 

[salvius]

But don't you think a cleaner and nicer Chinatown will not only make a good impression to the tourists, it also gives a positive image about the Chinese people? I mean, every Chinatown I've been (NYC, London etc) they are all the same, dirty & rundown.

Nah, look at San Francisco. It's a complete urban Disneyland and boring as hell, IMHO.

Restaurants, grocery stores etc... As a Chinese myself, sometimes I feel embarassed to take friends/collegues there. A collegue (she's white) recently just asked me to bring her to Chinatown for some Chinese/Vietnamese food. I wasn't so sure about it and told her that it's quite dirty, so not sure if we will go one day... My Chinese friends and I don't even go there to eat much cause the restaurants are just too dirty...

Well, there are some awesome restaurants in Chinatown. You make it sound as if it is all shab, when it clearly isn't. Why would you feel embarrased? This place is ALIVE, full of life. It feels very much lived in and surprisingly ungentrified. That's an achievement in my books.

I think if they clean up the Chinatown, more people will go there. But I don't think it will ever happen. The rich business people looking for investment will look for Scarb/Richmond/North York areas instead. That's why Chinatown's getting worse. Lots of stores closing, too many dollar stores selling cheap and tacky stuff (remember the 80s Yonge St?). I read it somewhere before and it's so true...when you see a store closing, and someone just takes its place by simply put up a new sign, that's a bad sign.

Chinatown really hasn't changed that much over the years that it's now 'worse' than at any other time. If anything, I would say that it is a bit cleaner.