Most iconic building in your city

[J.OT13]

Obviously for Ottawa, Centre Block.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_Block

Number 2 might be the Château Laurier.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_Laurier

[Martin Mtl]

Maybe this one from Montreal, but there are others...


Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=...87095691473105

[Rico Rommheim]

One of the best shots of the stadium ever taken. Certainly one of the most comprehensive. It shows the scale of that entire complex.

[Rico Rommheim]

Honestly, the stadium should be an internationally famous landmark. If it were built in LA or London it certainly would have been.

For me though, the stadium's boldness and grandeur is betrayed by the underwhelming urban fabric surrounding it. The boulevard de Courbetin on its southern flank is one of the saddest streets I've ever seen. The small residential buildings lining it are simply not worthy. The entire surroundings of the stadium is an alienating and unpleasant experience actualy. There are no restaurants or bars or any place to generate neighbourhood or outside attraction. It's a strange place.

[esquire]

^ At least it was built in an urban setting with good transit service. In most North American cities, a huge 1970s stadium would have been far more likely to end up at a freeway junction somewhere way out on the edge of town.

[wave46]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ At least it was built in an urban setting with good transit service. In most North American cities, a huge 1970s stadium would have been far more likely to end up at a freeway junction somewhere way out on the edge of town.

In Canada's case, stadiums/arenas were constructed in cities mostly. I suspect it's been a factor in their relative longevity.

I can only think of a couple of cases of exceptions to the rule (maybe I'm missing some?):

Corel/Scotiabank/Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata.
Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.

Given that one of them is in a tortured process to move it back downtown (thanks Melnyk!) the suburban super-stadium just isn't a thing here. They're more a feature of NFL stadiums in which tailgating is a half the fun and only host a handful of games per year.

[Andy6]

I would think that in the US more stadiums and arenas are privately driven (even if funding ends up being partly public) and therefore less likely to have their locations influenced by politicians who see them as urban redevelopment tools (as with Drapeau's insistence that the Olympic Stadium had to be built in east-end Montreal).

[Martin Mtl]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

Honestly, the stadium should be an internationally famous landmark. If it were built in LA or London it certainly would have been.

For me though, the stadium's boldness and grandeur is betrayed by the underwhelming urban fabric surrounding it. The boulevard de Courbetin on its southern flank is one of the saddest streets I've ever seen. The small residential buildings lining it are simply not worthy. The entire surroundings of the stadium is an alienating and unpleasant experience actualy. There are no restaurants or bars or any place to generate neighbourhood or outside attraction. It's a strange place.

Well, except for the Botanical garden, the Planetarium, the Insectarium, the Biodome, the Château Dufresne, the StarCité cinemas... You can spend a whole day there without exhausting the attractions.

Coubertain will be completely redone in the coming years, which should help.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by wave46

I can only think of a couple of cases of exceptions to the rule (maybe I'm missing some?):

Corel/Scotiabank/Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata.
Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.

Even IGF is not really an 'edge of town' kind of facility... it's located on a university campus that's been there for over a century and is surrounded by 1970s suburbia with good transit (BRT) service. Not many would say it's the most convenient location that could have been found, but it's still at least reasonably urban... it isn't all that unlike Olympic Stadium in that regard, I suppose.

[WhipperSnapper]

Most stadiums are campus stadiums. IGF rates comparatively well and destroys a truly suburban location like Kanata. It's still pretty sucky without a car. Fortunately, Winnipeg doesn't have traffic like Toronto but, I've being the designated driver many times.

[megadude]

Been driving around a lot lately and passing by some places reminded me of this thread. The major cities have been covered so I was thinking about smaller places and suburbs.

We often shit on Milton. They have the housing boom but what are they building of interest? Well the velodrome, but it's not a standout building architecturally. It does stand out in the sense that it's in an open field off of Tremaine but if it were on the other side of the Tremaine where's there's actually developments, it wouldn't really stand out.

City Hall is gorgeous historic building, but the vast majority of Milton people don't hang out in DT Milton (same like Brampton). They hang out in their subdivision and go drive somewhere else.

So the most iconic building is the water tower off the 401 right next to a power centre, which pretty much sums up the perception of Milton. This is perhaps followed closely by the Cineplex Galaxy on the other side of the 401 because what else was there to do in town?


https://mapio.net/pic/p-80966162/


https://www.cineplex.com/Theatre/cin...-milton/Photos



Brampton I'd say doesn't have an iconic building. There's some gorgeous new churches like the Polish one or the Ukranian one and a beautiful Sikh temple, but those are geared towards a certain segment. The new Rose Theatre is nice but doesn't have heritage look like you would expect for an iconic theatre. So by default I'd say it's City Hall, but it's far from memorable.


https://www.masstransitmag.com/bus/a...earson-airport


https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attractio...n_Ontario.html



For Mississauga, upon completion, the Marilyn Towers surpassed City Hall, which I think someone may have mentioned. Of course, the most mentioned building is the mall, Square One. Iconic as a destination for locals but not iconic for its aesthetic.


https://allontario.ca/iconic-marilyn...n-mississauga/


https://torontostoreys.com/mississauga-rent-report/


https://www.retail-insider.com/retai.../square-one-3/



Vaughan to me is toss up between Colossus theatre and Canada's Wonderland (roller coasters and mountain). One you see of the busiest road (Hwy. 7), the other you see off the highway (400).


http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/7225


https://dailyhive.com/toronto/canada...bs-hiring-2020



For Oakville, no one structure in particular but in general it's the image of a mansion on Lakeshore. Even the most widely known private school, Appleby College, is basically a series of mansions on the lake.


https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real...ticle30899711/


https://paradise-education.com/count...pleby-college/



Pickering is the nuclear plant.


https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-ne...-alert-2015734

[Chadillaccc]

Oldest Icon - Calgary Tower


https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...tower-turns-50



Older Icon - Saddledome


https://hitmenhockey.com/article/par...isory-nov-8-10



Newer Icon - The Bow


https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/344525440214875313/



Newest (potential) Icon - Telus Sky


https://archello.com/news/telus-sky-...lgarys-skyline

[J.OT13]

The Mississauga City Hall kind of looks like a mid-century arena.

It will be sad to see the Saddledome demolished. Too bad they can't repurpose it somehow.

[Rico Rommheim]

Yes it's sad to see the saddledome go. I really like that building.

As far as I know, it's the most iconic building in all of Alberta. Meaning, if you ask a random non-SSP person in Quebec what building comes to mind when thinking about Calgary, or just Alberta, the saddle will be the first and maybe the only one to pop up.

They should preserve it.

[Zeej]

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

Yes it's sad to see the saddledome go. I really like that building.

As far as I know, it's the most iconic building in all of Alberta. Meaning, if you ask a random non-SSP person in Quebec what building comes to mind when thinking about Calgary, or just Alberta, the saddle will be the first and maybe the only one to pop up.

They should preserve it.

Probably goes for many/most Canadians in general who may not be familiar with Calgary/Alberta's many other landmarks but surely know of the Saddledome from Hockey Night in Canada etc.

[megadude]

I did not know it was going to be demolished. Definitely would be ideal to keep it standing.

[megadude]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

The Mississauga City Hall kind of looks like a mid-century arena.

It will be sad to see the Saddledome demolished. Too bad they can't repurpose it somehow.

Don Cherry was not a fan when it opened. He thought it looked like a prison.

[905er]

Originally Posted by megadude

Don Cherry was not a fan when it opened. He thought it looked like a prison.

oh it does.. which is the reason i kinda actually like it.. weird, i know.
actually, if you remove the clock tower which looks incomplete, i would like it more.

also, for me, this is the most iconic building in Brampton

[kwoldtimer]

Originally a courthouse? The gothic arches above the rounded windows and the shape of the dome on the cupola are unusual.

[905er]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Originally a courthouse? The gothic arches above the rounded windows and the shape of the dome on the cupola are unusual.

previously a courthouse yes, and a jail. The jail portion is at the rear and pictured here