Canada Malting
Save this monument to modern Canadian architecture from demolition!
EAST ELEVATION: Canada Malting. (Photo:1999)
Name: Canada Malting
Address: Bathurst Quay
Architects:
City/Province: Toronto, Ontario
Built: c.1910
Status: To be Developed
Metronome Canada wants to develop the Canada Malting plant into a music museum/ mall/ theme park. We think Metronome's development scheme is shoddy, tacky, and disrespecful of this Class-A industrial heritage site.
Metronome has been running ads in the Media to get the public to support their development. We are asking you to say NO. We are asking you to email, or call Toronto Mayor David Miller and tell him that the city's heritage is being wiped out, and that this scheme is part of a long list of bad compromises.
Rather than raping history. We say, let Canada Malting stand pure, as a monument to Toronto's History!
Metronome Scheme, eye Weekly Advertisement, Photo Metronome Canada
SAVE CANADA MALTING!
email Mayor David Miller
Tell him NO to the development of Canada Malting.
+ call
your Councillor.
"Your METRONOME CANADA project is so inspiring it takes my breath away!"
Jack Layton - Councillor, City of Toronto (Source: Metronome Canada Website)
In response to the Metronome Scheme and advertising campaign, we wrote a letter to Toronto's eye Weekly magazine.
"The full page ad for Metronome, a scheme to build a "music city" on the site of the Canada Malting silos on Toronto's waterfront asks the public to help build "the world's first music city". I think you should know that the public is basically being asked to donate to destroy its own architectural heritage.
Under the advertised scheme, the Canada Malting's austere concrete silos will get a make-over, turning them into a tarted-up whore. In the end this flashy and superficial "fix" will have diminished its architectural and historical integrity as a Grade A industrial heritage site.
I have no doubt that this ludicrous and meaningless scheme will be built. And I have no doubt that these visionaries think that they are improving Canada Malting. The tragedy is that they are not and in the end we will have lost one of the most important architectural master-works in the city of Toronto.
Recently we lost the beautiful Victorian ornamental iron bridge in the city's Junction district to callous insensitive "fixing". Must we once again lose another fine example of industrial architecture?
Is it possible that we can let our historic buildings just be, without trying to 'fix" them? We archive, learn from, and discuss all the other arts. Why not architecture? If we were as astute in understanding architecture and urban issues as we are understanding music or film, we would realise just how important Canada Malting is, and stop colourising architecture. Leave Canada Malting alone!" Urbanism, 1999
"It sounds like a hell of a good idea. I'd be glad to discuss how we could help out here at eye Weekly."
Steve Jarrett, eye WEEKLY (Source: Metronome Canada Website)
STOP THIS DEVELOPMENT!
STOP THE DESTRUCTION!!
CALL NOW!!
Call Toronto Mayor, David Miller
LINKS:
URBANISM
Urbanism is dedicated to Canadian Modern Architecture & Design, and to the Preservation of Architecture across the Dominion of Canada. Urbanism was launched in mid-1998 in a campaign to save Toronto's CNE Grandstand Stadium from demolition. Urbanism is a resourse for the public to utilise and act if they so choose. These will include demolition alerts, new construction, databases on Modern Architecture, General Canadian Architecture, Architects, Industry, and Canadian Industrial Design.
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