picard102
Senior Member
Ya, if all of them could be made into one continuous screen that would look really cool, have them wrap around and up Yonge as well.
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Yonge-Dundas Square/Sankofa Square (Brown + Storey Architects)
- Thread starter MetroMan
- Start date
Ya, if all of them could be made into one continuous screen that would look really cool, have them wrap around and up Yonge as well.
C-mac
Senior Member
I can see something like that happening at some point. I don't know about going up Yonge (personally I would love it), but that whole building is billboards so why not make them electronic. They already did it on the portion of the building that's right on the corner, might as make rest like that.
dodgeram
Active Member
I'm not sure why striving for a knock-off Times Square is a good thing. There's nothing redeeming about Times Square. Ask anyone from NYC.
Tunafish13
Active Member
Except for the millions it adds in property value and tourism...
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
Our city's identity should be not be tied to being like NYC. Just saying.
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
Except there's enough places here that already does that. Let's start with Lake Ontario...
picard102
Senior Member
Okay, we can go with Piccadilly Circus, or Dotonbori, or Ximending, or Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. Take your pick.
The reason people in NYC hate times square is because people in NYC hate tourists.
Any plans on bringing Lake Ontario to Yonge and Dundas?
C-mac
Senior Member
Why not??? It's the envy of almost the whole world. That's why people love it. Being like NYC is a great thing.
Northern Light
Superstar
I don't believe most people who go to NYC as tourists do so for the express purpose of standing in, or looking at Times Square.
It's rather unremarkable, except to say it's crowded and gaudy.
Doubtless, many who are tourists to NYC may stop by the area, either on purpose or incidentally (it's right next to Broadway and all the musicals etc, and near many major hotels)
But unto itself, I don't think it brings in any material dollars to the City or the economy.
Northern Light
Superstar
I would disagree, as would many others.
If you meant we should add another art deco skyscraper or two......I'm interested; though I don't know many developers willing to shell out of that.
But elsewise, how about we celebrate what makes each place unique.
I prefer Venice to NYC; and I would be horrified if they installed anything like Times Square there.
For those who like NYC, they may not feel the need to tear out their roads to build canals like Venice.
Let places be what they are; but the best of that.
Toronto is a lakefront, Great Lakes City, with a breathtaking ravine system, relatively recent development and architecture, with very multi-cultural/ethnic vibe that exudes a flavour all its own.
Northern Light
Superstar
Why should we emulate anywhere else at all?
Tourists flock to Paris which has no 'Times Square'; they likewise enjoy Venice and Vienna.
Tourists don't want to see copies of the same place everywhere they go.
At least no self-respecting ones. If one is touring the world to eat at every McDonalds I think that's beyond sad.
Likewise, let each city/region have its unique expression.
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I'll add, I realize I may be the outlier on UT on this, but I don't like Shibuya either.
picard102
Senior Member
15% of New York City’s economic output
Northern Light
Superstar
That's grossly misleading.
Yes, there are Broadway theatres, hotels and office blocks all within the immediate area.
They would all be there if the billboards were not. Those workers generating dollars are not tourists.
The tourists are there for Broadway, Central Park, Little Italy, Chinatown, The ESB, Grand Central Station, Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Bridge etc etc.
They did not fly/drive several hours, for the most part, for some banal, tree-less pavement with a bunch of mediocre, over-sized billboards.
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Lets further add; Toronto needs to draw tourists from NYC (as in their residents); from Tokyo etc.
Why would they come to Toronto to see a scaled-down version of what they have at home?
Answer, they aren't, and they won't. They will come here for a different experience.
Likewise, for those who truly crave Shibuya............there's already a spot for that............its called Shibuya.
UrbanOzz
Active Member
i worked in an office in Times Square (1500 Broadway) and it was TERRIBLE. you can't even get a coffee without waiting in line for 30 mins. you need to walk with your elbows out to protect you as everyone bumps into you. Whenever i flew in (weekly), a cab wouldn't take me to the office, it would just take me as close as it can get. Wheeling a carry on through there is a nightmare as well. When i first started having to travel there, i thought it was super cool but learned to hate it so fast. I found out that office rent there is actually cheaper than everywhere else because of how much of a pain it is. Inside the office, the colours just kept rotating between pink, purple, blue, white yellow because of all the bright lights shining in.
LOVE New York. HATE Times Square.
LOVE New York. HATE Times Square.
C-mac
Senior Member
We're entitled to our personal opinions and preferences, but there's a reason why NYC has the allure it does, and the more like NYC we are, those same people who love that city end up liking ours. Watch youtube videos of americans that visit Toronto, they all end up saying "It's like New York but cleaner' and smile while they're saying it.
To be honest, I'm a little surprised that in a discussion forum filled with Urban enthusiast, more people here don't want to be like NYC. Toronto will always be compared to NYC because of its diversity, soaring skyscrapers and both cities are the financial engines of their countries. If we're going to be this urban paradise, the more like NYC we are the better.