Toronto Nathan Phillips Square + Spirit Garden | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto

raptor said:
I don't understand why we need the TORONTO sign. Do people not know which city they're in?!
If any of you respond with the word Instagram, I swear my head will explode.
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What it really is about is FREE ADVERTISING! Millions of pics get shared with family, friends and complete strangers, some of whom might become curious and check Toronto out. I have had many people ask me questions about that sign, through my Torontopia channel, on Youtube, so obviously, that sign gets lots of traction. Nobody can argue with free promotion of the city!
 
Torontovibe said:
What it really is about is FREE ADVERTISING! Millions of pics get shared with family, friends and complete strangers, some of whom might become curious and check Toronto out. I have had many people ask me questions about that sign, through my Torontopia channel, on Youtube, so obviously, that sign gets lots of traction. Nobody can argue with free promotion of the city!
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It's rather indicative of the relative dearth of legitimate tourist attractions.

"Hey! Let's go to Windswept Square and get a picture in front of that sign thing before the bus leaves for Niagara Falls!"
 
I loved the Toronto sign when it first appeared. Then city hall decided to add a deformed maple leaf (yes, we know we’re in Canada) at the tail end of “Toronto”. Then, not to leave bad enough alone, they cluttered it up even more by adding a circular pseudo aboriginal symbol at the front end of “Toronto”. What is that thing? I know I keep harping about this but where does it end? I’v written letters to councillors imploring them to return to the original TORONTO sign. It’s simple and direct and has great rhythm. It sits in front of city hall, an internationally recognized structure. Stop messing with success! Perhaps a plaque somewhere along the base of the sign could mention Toronto is an aboriginal name and include some brief history of the aboriginals that first lived here. If you agree, please let city hall know.
 
Agree 100%. When that maple leaf was added it was deflating. After so many years of tinkering they finally got it right.... only to mess it up again. I suppose it might not be over. They haven't added an 'Ontario' sign, 'Canada', sign, a giant beaver and 8 foot tall bottle of maple syrup yet.

Then they can add a 'Nathan Phillips Square' sign and right above it a larger sign saying the same thing so people who are further away can read it.
 
Ok, the harsh reality is that people consider it art. The dumber we make our art the better, I guess. I didn't think our city needs "advertising", I think it's pretty amazing without the stupid sign. Instead of dumbing art down, maybe the city should invest in quality public art (no turtles if you do know what I mean), or even better, public spaces (looking at you - half finished Nathan Phillips Square).
 
kotsy said:
Again, it may not NEED advertising but it certainly helps. It would help ANY city.
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You'd think they'd be going up all over the world if that were the case.

I'm back in Berlin later this year, maybe I'll mention it to them.

Anything that'll make a Berliner laugh is a good thing!
 
CityStay said:
It's rather indicative of the relative dearth of legitimate tourist attractions.

"Hey! Let's go to Windswept Square and get a picture in front of that sign thing before the bus leaves for Niagara Falls!"
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Yes I guess other cities like Amsterdam which have signs like this all over the city must have a "relative dearth of legitimate tourist attractions"...
 
Adjei said:
Yes I guess other cities like Amsterdam which have signs like this all over the city must have a "relative dearth of legitimate tourist attractions"...
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I amsterdam is a complete branding exercise and not just a sign. It predates the Toronto sign by 11 years and isn't only the city name, it's "I amsterdam".

I don't know what "other" cities you're talking about. There's Hollywood and I suppose there's Hamilton, Ottawa and the soon to be tourist deluged Orono!

And there's no dearth of attractions in Amsterdam. If you purchase an I amsterdam tourist card (60-115 euro depending on duration) you get free entrance to over 70 museums and attractions plus unlimited transit.

On the other hand, if you purchase a Toronto City Pass (from what is actually an American coupon company) for $105 you get free entrance to 5 attractions and no transit. And one of those 'attractions' is Casa Loma so.. 4 attractions. But you can either/or the Science Centre and zoo so.. 4/5 possible attractions..

Dearth!

And btw, they removed the sign last year as it was attracting too many braindead selfie zombies, few of whom presumably knew or cared that the exquisite Rijksmuseum was located in the building behind the sign.
 
CityStay said:
I amsterdam is a complete branding exercise and not just a sign. It predates the Toronto sign by 11 years and isn't only the city name, it's "I amsterdam".

I don't know what "other" cities you're talking about. There's Hollywood and I suppose there's Hamilton, Ottawa and the soon to be tourist deluged Orono!

And there's no dearth of attractions in Amsterdam. If you purchase an I amsterdam tourist card (60-115 euro depending on duration) you get free entrance to over 70 museums and attractions plus unlimited transit.

On the other hand, if you purchase a Toronto City Pass (from what is actually an American coupon company) for $105 you get free entrance to 5 attractions and no transit. And one of those 'attractions' is Casa Loma so.. 4 attractions. But you can either/or the Science Centre and zoo so.. 4/5 possible attractions..

Dearth

And btw, they removed the sign last year as it was attracting too many braindead selfie zombies, few of whom presumably knew or cared that the exquisite Rijksmuseum was located in the building behind the sign.
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You tried to correlate Toronto having this sign with a lack of tourist attractions. When I brought of an example of Amsterdam who also has this sign, you have gone off on some nonsensical tangent..

Yes Amsterdam removed the sign from in front of the museum but they still have it at the airport so no they still see a need for the sign...

I'm talking about other cities like Brisbane, Budapest, Guadlajara. Are you also on their city forums telling them about their lack of tourist attractions

I find it funny that you dislike Toronto but you have so much time to be here taking cheap shots. You don't contribute anything constructive here on how to improve the city just a whole bunch of foolishness.

Grow up and find something positive to do.
 
^^^ Here are a few constructive suggestions to improve the city:

-- Have more museums and high-quality attractions, like Amsterdam

-- Include unlimited transit in the tourist pass, like Amsterdam

-- Lower the price of the tourist pass, to match Amsterdam's

-- Move the Toronto sign to the airport, like Amsterdam

-- Don't have a Toronto sign at all, like Berlin

Also:

-- Foster excellent architecture and design, like Amsterdam / Berlin

-- Encourage cycling and have a complete system of bike lanes, like Amsterdam...and so on...
 
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Adjei said:
You tried to correlate Toronto having this sign with a lack of tourist attractions. When I brought of an example of Amsterdam who also has this sign, you have gone off on some nonsensical tangent..

Yes Amsterdam removed the sign from in front of the museum but they still have it at the airport so no they still see a need for the sign...

I'm talking about other cities like Brisbane, Budapest, Guadlajara. Are you also on their city forums telling them about their lack of tourist attractions

I find it funny that you dislike Toronto but you have so much time to be here taking cheap shots. You don't contribute anything constructive here on how to improve the city just a whole bunch of foolishness.

Grow up and find something positive to do.
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No, I posited that Amsterdam had a sign as a coordinated effort in city branding (the sign was just minor offshoot that happened to become popular) just like the Toronto sign was a one-off that happened to coincide with the popularity of the selfie crowd.

My point is that nobody goes to a city based on a big letter sign (at least I hope not) and that the Toronto sign was something you would see after seeing the 4-5 viable attractions available downtown.

The sign has no effect on tourism whether or not a city has heaps of attractions (Amsterdam) or few (Toronto). It's just a f*cking sign!

I don't know WTF you're talking about with the cities you mentioned.. not at all clear in your initial post..

I left Toronto because I saw what was coming: it was becoming a city of douchebags, unaffordable, and 10 -20 years behind on everything that makes a city liveable - things that most other cities take for granted.

And I'll try not to "spend so much time" here by reducing my 18 posts per month, just to please you!
 
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