Hyatt Regency Toronto Airport (Regal Constellation site)

[adma]

The sign isn't exactly vintage or original--it used to be a scripted "Constellation".

And all in all--even though I, too, wish it were otherwise--why *would* it be surprising that there's no historical designation or even listing? "Modern" heritage listing and designation is still a bit of a novelty and hard sell, you know; other than North York, none of the former municipalities had any systematic policy for recognizing "modern heritage". And even if the pendulum's slowly swinging the modern way, remember who the local councillor is: Rob Ford...

 

[junctionist]

Speaking of the original scripted sign, there's an old photo of that in this link, along with photos of the hotel's construction.

 

[Andrew3D]

I wonder if those were taken by an urban geek like us many many years ago.

 

[taal]

Is this in Toronto or Missy?

 

[junctionist]

It's in Toronto (Etobicoke, to be precise). The address is 900 Dixon Road, and the phone numbers had the 416 area code.

 

[adma]

I wonder if those were taken by an urban geek like us many many years ago.

I think there was once a fan site dedicated to the Constellation, believe it or not...maybe that's its cyber-debris...

 

[alklay]

junctionist, thanks for the photos. I am working hard to like this building or even find it significant, but the photos go a long way in helping.

 

[adma]

The clue is to concentrate on the cheese-grater. Everything else is secondary...

 

[Redroom Studios]

The Constellation is featured in one of the opening scenes of the documentary "Gambling, Gods and LSD" by Swiss-Canadian film maker Peter Mettler. There are some nice night shots of the building and then they watch planes landing from the top floor ball room. Atleast it will forever be preserved on film...

http://www.gambling-gods-and-lsd.ch/

 

[ShonTron]

Demolition photos from today:

I do wish the "cheese grater" west tower and its sign could be saved. I think it is as significant as the old Four Seasons at Leslie and Eglinton.

 

[slickpete83]

Nice Photos Sean , its great, brings back some memories , i used to work at the Regal Constellation hotel before it closed down : ( , i found the articheture of the hotel to be very interesting , on the slow days we used to walk around the hotel looking for interesting things and secret path ways. i only wish i had a camera back then .....

 

[interchange42]

Ever find anything on your explorations worth noting here? Write it out before you forget it - or little pieces of Toronto history will pass into pre-history.

42

 

[Bogtrotter]

I suppose it's one of those buildings that is nearly-historical but didn't quite make the grade. For me it did seem to have notable value in terms of recent history and, from my pov, also some architectural appeal- um especially for that area of the city.

 

[slickpete83]

Ever find anything on your explorations worth noting here? Write it out before you forget it - or little pieces of Toronto history will pass into pre-history.

42

-only reason regal was not saved = lack of interest and location , had this hotel been located downtown Toronto it would have been a totally different story

-explorations = there is an entire network of paths in the ceilings , including many storage rooms and mechanical rooms , many of the paths include some awesome short cuts through out the hotel of which were unknown to regular guests. The same could be said for the basement part of the hotel , where the staff cafeteria and patio ballroom were located

just the design of hotel was awesome , all the skylights with the different angles specially the lobby with the pryamid skylights , the walls were 100 % brick inside ( in the banquet section ) you don't see that now a days , its all drywall now

-the Hotel was first called the "Constellation Hotel" and was 5 star !!!
then the owner sold it to the Chinese ( http://www.regalhotel.com)
and it became the "Regal Constellation Hotel" then over the years the new Chinese owners did a very poor job with maintaining the hotel and it started to fall apart : ( = resulting in big loss of business contracts, mainly big convention contracts. so then they try to sell it , but all the same time Scars hit Toronto hahaha.... , so later that summer it closed down, i remember my boss telling us " boys its time to find a new job , were closing in 1 week !!!! "

- we discoved lots of vintage hotel items , like really old photos , lamps and hotel signs etc....

there was a Guy named "Guru" he apparentally visited the hotel many times during that star trek convention , i personally have never met him , but he once had an entire website about the Regal hotel , it was very interesting and included many historical photos , i contributed a few photos to him which i lost , hopefully he still has them , i will try to contact him through email

I'm getting zzzzzzz.... its late will try to post more stuff tomorrow

 

[JasonParis]

Thanks Slick!

And yes, contact Guru and get him on here!