Toronto Eaton Centre (Ongoing Renewal) | ?m | ?s | Cadillac Fairview | Zeidler

Were there ever arcade versions of Crystal Quest? (Which we used to call Quithtal Quetht?) I loved the rudder approach to driving the ship, learning to finesse it properly provided a real sense of accomplishment…

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I'm not sure this is the place to mention it, but there has been talk for years about the need for a 'Museum of Toronto'. Old City Hall has been proposed as a potential location for this museum in light of the transfer of the Ontario Courts of Justice to their new home on Armoury St., but I wonder if there might not be a better location for this museum? The recently vacated Nordstrom department store at the north end of the Eaton Center comes to mind, and there are several reasons why I think this might be a better choice. For one thing, though Old City Hall is an exceptional specimen of late 19th-century Romanesque Revival architecture, its interior may not be best suited to the needs of a modern museum which requires large open gallery spaces that can also direct visitor flow and be easily reconfigured for changing exhibits. Old City Hall, with its fixed interior walls and architectural elements, may be more constraining than a newer, large, multi-floor building whose vast interior spaces are much more amenable to change and that can also amply accommodate a modern museum's needs for theatrical, curatorial and storage space, as well as room for a potential restaurant, cafe, and book/gift shop. The site is also large enough that it would be able to meet the museum's future growth well into this century. Though both locales are well-positioned in terms of public access and prominence, the Nordstrom site, with its direct access to the Eaton Centre's throngs of visitors as well as the Dundas subway station and its prime location overlooking the often frenetic Dundas Square, comes out ahead IMO. Yes, the site would certainly require modification, both inside and out, but I believe this would still be less costly(and less destructive) than converting Old City Hall, and I'm certain that if the city played its cards right, it could negotiate a favourable long-term leasing arrangement with CF. There is also precedent with similar conversions of commercial to institutional buildings, including Ottawa's much out-of-the-way 'National Museum of Science and Technology', which occupies a building that was once a food processing plant(bakery), as well as a recent proposal by the city of Berlin to establish a central public library in the soon-to-be-vacated 'Galeries Lafayette' department store on Friedrichstrasse, in that city's Mitte district. I know there have been proposals for a waterpark or some other transient type attraction for the Nordstrom site, but at a time when the city is experiencing such unprecedented growth and change, a 'Museum of Toronto' here would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something really big, in a space large and prominent enough to enable it to tell its ongoing story to the world.
 
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Doppleganger said:
I'm not sure this is the place to mention it, but there has been talk for years about the need for a 'Museum of Toronto'. Old City Hall has been proposed as a potential location for this museum in light of the transfer of the Ontario Courts of Justice to their new home on Armoury St., but I wonder if there might not be a better location for this museum? The recently vacated Nordstrom department store at the north end of the Eaton Center comes to mind, and there are several reasons why I think this might be a better choice. For one thing, though Old City Hall is an exceptional specimen of late 19th-century Romanesque Revival architecture, its interior may not be best suited to the needs of a modern museum which requires large open gallery spaces that can also direct visitor flow and be easily reconfigured for changing exhibits. Old City Hall, with its fixed interior walls and architectural elements, may be more constraining than a newer, large, multi-floor building whose vast interior spaces are much more amenable to change and that can also amply accommodate a modern museum's needs for theatrical, curatorial and storage space, as well as room for a potential restaurant, cafe, and book/gift shop. The site is also large enough that it would be able to meet the museum's future growth well into this century. Though both locales are well-positioned in terms of public access and prominence, the Nordstrom site, with its direct access to the Eaton Centre's throngs of visitors as well as the Dundas subway station and its prime location overlooking the often frenetic Dundas Square, comes out ahead IMO. Yes, the site would certainly require modification, both inside and out, but I believe this would still be less costly(and less destructive) than converting Old City Hall, and I'm certain that if the city played its cards right, it could negotiate a favourable long-term leasing arrangement with CF. There is also precedent with similar conversions of commercial to institutional buildings, including Ottawa's much out-of-the-way 'National Museum of Science and Technology', which occupies a building that was once a food processing plant(bakery), as well as a recent proposal by the city of Berlin to establish a central public library in the soon-to-be-vacated 'Galeries Lafayette' department store on Friedrichstrasse, in that city's Mitte district. I know there have been proposals for a waterpark or some other transient type attraction for the Nordstrom site, but at a time when the city is experiencing such unprecedented growth and change, a 'Museum of Toronto' here would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something really big, in a space large and prominent enough to enable it to tell its ongoing story to the world.
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To my understanding, the Nordstrom box is spoken for; or at least most of it. It will not be available for a City museum anytime soon.
 
Northern Light said:
To my understanding, the Nordstrom box is spoken for; or at least most of it. It will not be available for a City museum anytime soon.
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... and the Old City Hall location would make a FAR better City of Toronto museum location (and give a purpose to that beautiful building once the Courts move out. (Of course, all this will take money....and we have none!)
 
LUVIT! said:
Perhaps it mentioned somewhere here but what's going into the Nordstom location at the Eaton Centre?
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I guess the ground level will be divided into several shops focusing on cosmetics, such as Dior, Estee Lauder, Chanel Beauty and Lancome etc. It will have an individual store, not only a small counter. The upper level may have more restaurants or some home furniture.
 
materverse said:
I guess the ground level will be divided into several shops focusing on cosmetics, such as Dior, Estee Lauder, Chanel Beauty and Lancome etc. It will have an individual store, not only a small counter. The upper level may have more restaurants or some home furniture.
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Not what I'm hearing; but we shall see.
 
Lower floors could be extension of mall. I would expect to see some form of entertainment (Cineplex) in the upper levels and a tall residential tower on top.
 
Midtown Hank said:
Lower floors could be extension of mall. I would expect to see some form of entertainment (Cineplex) in the upper levels and a tall residential tower on top.
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The upper levels are a bmo office branch. I hope to see some entertainment in the mall as well, as the mall severely lacks this.
 
Midtown Hank said:
Lower floors could be extension of mall. I would expect to see some form of entertainment (Cineplex) in the upper levels and a tall residential tower on top.
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I could assure you that Cineplex is not looking into anything here. Neither will there be a residential build over this as well.

CF is also not looking into having an entertainment venue of any sorts in Nordstroms' former space.
 
Lots of signage up in the windows of the old Samsung store for the coming BMO branch.

Something is definitely happening where Nordstrom was, as the previous walkway through it to the main mall has been drywalled over and from what I could see in a quick glance, something is "coming soon" according to the signage.
I've heard a Columbus Cafe is opening somewhere in the Eaton Centre but not sure on where
 
Speaking of Old City Hall and the Toronto Museum (I know it's off topic but I couldn't find a thread) are there any updates as to what that building is going to be used for? Last I heard, talks were stalled around creating a Toronto Museum but I haven't seen any updates since. The new courthouse is open now so I assume they are moving the courts out of the building these days, but is it just going to sit empty for a while?
 
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