Canadian skylines of the past

[MolsonExport]

^such a vibrant corner back in the day. Was possibly the most forlorn major corner in downtown Montreal for much of the 2000s.

[Rico Rommheim]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I wonder if there's anything left under that siding.

Interestingly, if you look at the forum from above, you'll notice that the triangular sloped roof still exists:


Screen Shot 2022-01-07 at 2.49.29 PM by Foofoo MacShoe, on Flickr

[esquire]

^ What was the purpose of those trusses? Were they added in the 1968 renovation?

For what it's worth I think I was a teenager before I learned that The Forum used to look different. The classic 70s/80s look is basically what I associate with The Forum. I like how it looked through those years even though I can appreciate the design probably had a street-deadening effect compared how it was before.

[Coldrsx]

All from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex59...ture=emb_title

[craner]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ What was the purpose of those trusses? Were they added in the 1968 renovation?

For what it's worth I think I was a teenager before I learned that The Forum used to look different. The classic 70s/80s look is basically what I associate with The Forum. I like how it looked through those years even though I can appreciate the design probably had a street-deadening effect compared how it was before.

Yeah me too. I like the 70s/80s Forum better than the old peaked roof version.

[J.OT13]

Ottawa mid to late 80s. The parking lot is now the World Exchange Plaza.


http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2021/10/...s-new-era.html

[J.OT13]

Toronto, I'm guessing 1930s or 40s.

Originally Posted by acottawa

I think in a lot of cases you’re looking at very recent developments, industrial wasteland would have described the area around most downtown stations 50 years ago (including Ottawa’s, but I pasted a photo of the Union Station area in Toronto below)). The current aesthetic has a lot to do with decisions made by the city and NCC about land use around the station. Trainyards, for example could have had a much more urban aesthetic and more mixed use.

[Innsertnamehere]

The Bank of Nova Scotia building looks brand new, so I would say 1951-1953ish.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

The Bank of Nova Scotia building looks brand new, so I would say 1951-1953ish.

That makes more sense. I guess I imagine the 50s as being the start of the International style, but plenty of more traditional masonry buildings were also built at that time.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

The Bank of Nova Scotia building looks brand new, so I would say 1951-1953ish.

It's crazy how bright it looks compared to the surrounding, soot-covered buildings - really shows you how filthy the air was back then!

Today (now that they've been cleaned), they're the same colour: https://goo.gl/maps/8CPD1zhGMs4DJAMN7

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

That makes more sense. I guess I imagine the 50s as being the start of the International style, but plenty of more traditional masonry buildings were also built at that time.

The Bank of Nova Scotia was a 1930s design that was delayed by the Depression and World War II.

Toronto would not see modern design until Toronto City Hall in 1965 and TD Bank tower in 1967.

[hipster duck]

Originally Posted by thewave46

The Bank of Nova Scotia was a 1930s design that was delayed by the Depression and World War II.

Toronto would not see modern design until Toronto City Hall in 1965 and TD Bank tower in 1967.

I don't know if that's true. A lot of early modernist designs were built in the 1950s, incorporating some throwbacks from the Deco/Streamline moderne era, like bas reliefs, limestone cladding and heroic murals but with cleaner lines than those pre-war styles. Some of them were pretty prominent highrises, like the Imperial Oil tower at St. Clair and Avenue Road, and 505 University Ave.

Here's a good essay on this style, citing examples across Canada.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by thewave46

The Bank of Nova Scotia was a 1930s design that was delayed by the Depression and World War II.

Toronto would not see modern design until Toronto City Hall in 1965 and TD Bank tower in 1967.

I wasn't aware. Thanks for the info.

Ottawa's first modern building was completed in 1952; the Metcalfe Building. Demolished sometime in the 90s and replaced with a surface parking lot. Not sure why.


http://urbsite.blogspot.com/2021/10/...s-new-era.html

[niwell]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

I don't know if that's true. A lot of early modernist designs were built in the 1950s, incorporating some throwbacks from the Deco/Streamline moderne era, like bas reliefs, limestone cladding and heroic murals but with cleaner lines than those pre-war styles. Some of them were pretty prominent highrises, like the Imperial Oil tower at St. Clair and Avenue Road, and 505 University Ave.

Here's a good essay on this style, citing examples across Canada.

Thanks for the link! I've always been interested in that style, which to me has always seemed like an interstitial period between Decot stylings and the more austere Modern designs. It seems like it was relatively popular in Toronto - a city that otherwise lacks Deco buildings compared to many of it's peers.

I haven't noticed much of it in American cities, so not sure if it's more of a Canadian or even Greater Commonwealth thing. Lots of examples in South Africa built in the decade after WWII as well, though they tend to be more on the Deco side of the equation.

[Innsertnamehere]

Bank Of Nova Scotia building was originally planned to be built prior to the great recession, was put on hold for a decade, finally started construction IIRC just before the war and was put on hold again until 1949 due to material shortages. So you basically get a 1929 design not opening until 1951. I believe when it was revived in the 40's the design was updated and refreshed a bit though.

Toronto has plenty of pre-1967 modernist buildings, but they are mostly smaller buildings. TD Centre was the first large office block, and by large I mean it was 3x the size of anything else in the city at the time. The reason the Scotia Bank building is more of an art-deco style is because it's design is a holdover from before the war.

The City Park apartments, completed in 1955, were the first of what would become thousands of tower in the park, modernist apartment blocks, for example:

http://spacing.ca/toronto/2017/08/26...mplex-toronto/

[Rico Rommheim]

https://images.radio-canada.ca/q_aut...hives-1964.jpg


https://nck.ca/wp-content/uploads/20...-2000x1315.jpg


http://archivesdemontreal.com/docume...4-B032-002.jpg


https://www.canadianarchitect.com/bo...o-the-present/


https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a8/8a...af45a77ecb.jpg


https://64.media.tumblr.com/ae72fd90...lyyo1_1280.jpg

[IMG]
Construction de la Place Bonaventure, 1966 by Archives de la Ville de Montréal, on Flickr[/IMG]


https://64.media.tumblr.com/e2681cb9...lyyo1_1280.jpg


https://i.pinimg.com/736x/3d/9d/b5/3...sm-the-map.jpg


https://64.media.tumblr.com/030fee06...lyyo1_1280.jpg


http://cdnarchitect.s3.ca-central-1....1003673719.jpg


https://64.media.tumblr.com/ece36ee8...lyyo1_1280.jpg


https://img.banq.qc.ca/iiif/2/gczufG.../0/default.jpg

[Coldrsx]

Absolutely amazing photos/renderings/construction shots.

Brutalist is best!

[esquire]

I have always loved how Place Bonaventure looks but I don't really "get" its function.

I know there is a hotel in there, but what is its real raison d'etre? It seems to have a convention function, but it isn't a convention centre? Who developed it? Could someone please explain?

[MolsonExport]

Amazing finds on Place Bonaventure. Brings back memories. I recall what it was like in the early 70s.

Montreal was wootsville back in the 1960s

[Coldrsx]

1977 Edmonton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFSA5QS3cPo