Toronto Ryerson Student Learning Centre | 50.59m | 8s | Ryerson University | Zeidler

TOfan696 said:
I met with the planner from the city who informed me that the problem is that the world of book store is actually being help up by the buildings ryerson wants to demolish - that's y demolition has halted - they actually need to acquire the world of books store or figure something else out before they can continue
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You mean, World of Posters store property?
 
"World Posters Store now is moving out" I passed today there and I noticed there was a sign at the front store saying the store is moving to Queen street West. I think they are going to resume demolitioin soon after the store close.
 
First day back at school and had two classes. Both profs for both classes brought up this building and some more information. We should be seeing what exactly this building will look like this fall, and construction should begin before the end of the year. There was also word that an international architect will most likely be partnered with a local architect for the design.

I have high hopes!
 
^ The initial design for the Engineering building extended the full block south the Dundas and Church Street. The current site of the gas station was the feature a significant point tower with a cork-screw rotating shape. The plan was far beyond the fiscal means of the University and eventually fell through.
 
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PETER KENTER
Pedestrian traffic and proximity to other buildings made demolition of the old Sam the Record Man building a challenge.​

Iconic Sam the Record Man signage to live on after demo
Will be preserved in new Ryerson University building

PETER KENTER
correspondent

A Toronto landmark is being preserved in an unusual way. While there are still a couple of record stores bearing the name of Sam the Record Man, the chain itself declared bankruptcy in 2001.

The flagship store, located in Toronto near the Yonge Street and Dundas Street intersection, followed suit in February 2007.

Encouraged by the public, Toronto city council quickly designated the property a heritage site, not to protect the building itself, but as the only mechanism available to protect the two huge iconic neon records that made up part of the storefront — themselves a throwback to the days before CDs.

Ryerson University bought the building in January 2008 with an eye to demolishing Sam’s and several other properties to the north as part of a plan to create a gateway to the university on Yonge Street.

The neon signs were fired up one last time as part of a Nuit Blanche celebration in October of that year, before Quantum Murray carefully removed them as part of a $350,000 demolition contract.

“We honoured the agreement with the City to preserve the signs and later re-install the two discs in the proposed Ryerson Learning Centre,” says Domenic Magnone, Project Co-ordinator with Ryerson. The signs are currently in storage at Gregory Signs in Concord.

The contents of the building — including celebrity-autographed photos and numerous gold and platinum records — were already auctioned off.

“But there was still a large framed picture of Elvis on one of the walls,” says Magnone.

The demolition of Sam’s was fairly straightforward, he says, despite the fact that the storefront is located on one of the busiest stretch of Canada’s longest street. “It was a tight job, considering the proximity to pedestrian and vehicle traffic, and to the access to the Dundas Street subway,” says Magnone. “When Sam’s expanded, it had also incorporated a bank building at the corner of Yonge and Gould Streets, so we had to remove a number of safes and one full-sized vault.”

The demolition of the existing building and the construction of the new Student Learning Centre are LEED registered, so much of the debris has been recycled.

Magnone says, however, that taking down the Sam’s building was a bittersweet experience

“Back in the 1970s, I spent a fortune on records there,” he recalls. “It was kind of weird revisiting the same building we’d spent so much time in.”

Work continues on demolishing the remaining buildings north of Sam’s. An issue with the tenants of one of the buildings is expected to be resolved by Jan. 1st, after which demolition will continue under the existing contract. The facade of the former Future Shop has already been removed to reveal the signage of Sam’s former competitor, A&A Records.

“It was fascinating to see the old technology,” says Magnone. “The lights that spelled out A&A were like Christmas tree lights fitted with old fashioned relays to make them flash.”

Ryerson is currently selecting an architect to design the new Student Learning Centre, so the final location of Sam’s neon records hasn’t yet been chosen.

“Our agreement is that the signs will be incorporated into the complex somewhere,” says Magnone. “It will be a challenge, but they’ll live on as a cool reminder to some of us who grew up with them.”
 
This "Daily Commercial News" site consistently provides inaccurate information and this piece is no different, I don't think we should be linking to it anymore.

Domenic Magnone is either really dumb about what has really happened to this site so far (and he's the Project Co-ordinator?!) or Daily Commercial News got some wires crossed. The main vault still remains in the ground where the bank used to be, the original Sam's building (where Mr. Magnone allegedly bought his records in the 70's) is still there, as is the addition to the north. Why so sentimental, it's not demolished yet but he seems to think it is. Sam's Yonge Street did not go bankrupt in 2007 (they saw the writing on the wall) and the former Future Shop sign has not been removed, only RU signs & banners have been added.
 
I was going to say, the former A&A sign is nowhere to be seen in either that photo or when you walk by...
 
Towered said:
I was going to say, the former A&A sign is nowhere to be seen in either that photo or when you walk by...
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I'm sure that A&A's signs were taken down, what I recall was a big mess up there before Future Shop put up the new face on the building which included a video screen that worked properly for about 1 year. That is what remains today with RU banners and signs posted & hung over top. I'm also pretty sure that the A&A sign was considerably higher than the roof of the building behind it, the Future Shop sign is just a little above the roofline.
 
When is this thing gonna get going? It's been in limbo, half demolished forever...

I hope to see them re-install the SAM signs in their original position, even if inside a glassed lobby. As long as they're lit up and visible at night from Yonge St., then their heritage status will have been respected.
 
Demolishing should start shortly now that the store is close. Crews were working inside stripping it on Jan 20th.
 
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