Toronto Fire - Is Cosmos Alright?
gordon_gartrell
102 Posts
Anyone know if Cosmos Records was affected by the huge fire happening down on Queen St. W right now?I know some of the other businesses right nearby have been burned down. I really hope it is safe.
Comments
Damn...
Apparently that whole block is destroyed. This is all pretty depressing. That block won't be the same...
That's GREAT! Like I said, it looked like they were spraying water into Cosmos. Good to hear that the store's good.
Still sucks for all the other businesses and residents. I have a friend that used to live right about Suspect. Thankfully she's moved since. I was just reminded of Duke's right there. It's been there for over 95 years.
Sorry, so were they hit by the fire or not? Spraying water into the store doesn't sound too good either.
Like I said, it was in the background, so it might be a matter that they were spraying water into the store beside it (I can't remember... the head shop maybe?).
Real tragic for all the residents.
No they made it. Just. He said it was seriously close.
Does anyone know how it started?
holy fuck.ing shit.
That is unbelievable. I mean truly unbelievable. What happened?
Damn is that the Great Hall? I know exactly where this is. That's crazy.
It's really messed up. I've done that walk a million times. In the 90's Suspect was my fav video shop. Sad stuff.
link to better days...
This is very saddening. That area is one of the ideals I carry around in my head re: how an urban shopping area can stay vibrant and self-sufficient.
this is so sad.... I can't imagine the feeling of losing everything you have so quickly.
my prayers go out to all those affected by this tragedy. I don't know how soon I am going to want to walk down to that part of town either.
oh shit is Nikolaous ok? That's a great kitchen supplies store for chef's.
tear tear
Last I heard there was a big grocery store going in. Maybe they changed their mind.
I'm pretty sure Nikolaous is gone. That short strip had some great places...
really? meaning lots of big-box stores and condos going up? I feel like that's happening everywhere... the Mission District comes to mind, and it's happening in Baltimore as quickly as money allows (meaning: slowly).
Or are worse ideas afoot in Toronto?
Fear and hope for Queen West
The approval last week by the City???s committee of adjustment of a mixed-use retail and condo development, including a big-box home improvement retailer (probably Home Depot), on the parking lot at Queen and Portland has prompted renewed angst about the ongoing corporatization-homogenization-gentrification of the Queen West strip, notably the creeping spread of this corporatization west of Spadina. East of Spadina, this trend has been accelerating in recent years with the construction of cheap glass boxes for large clothing retailers (H+M, Zara, Mexx), with American Apparel leading the charge west of Spadina.
But the story is actually more complex. In some ways, this new development marks a turning point away from homogeneous corporatization towards, at least, some kind of balance. Three years ago, this plot of land would probably have been turned into a tall condo building with a single large, glassy big-box store on the ground floor, mangling the character of the area. But, as I wrote in NOW magazine in early January, thanks to a combination of the ambiguous ownership of a laneway right-of-way through the property and the new Queen West Heritage District designation that applies from University to Bathurst, this new development will respect the building heights along Queen Street, and will include five separate retailers in different sizes of store on the ground floor along Queen (the big home improvement store will mostly be on the second and third floors). As well, there will be residential units along the Queen Street frontage, with a residential entrance.
It???s not perfect, obviously (the chances are that even the small storefronts will be occupied by chain stores rather than local independents), but it was inevitable that something would be built on this property, and the resulting building is about as close to fitting into the street as one could hope for from a large-scale modern development. Its aesthetics aren???t great, in my opinion, but in a lot of ways what???s most important is the structure of the building.
The Queen West Heritage District designation identifies key elements of the structure that creates Queen West???s lively character:
- 2-4 storey buildings (not too high, so that sunlight gets in; not too low, so that the street is defined);
- mixed uses (retail, commercial, residential) to keep life on the street at all times;
- narrow storefronts to allow visual variety and interest and provide affordable space for varied retailers;
- mostly glass ground floors with inset entrances to provide transparency and connection to the street, but mixed materials on the upper floors to provide visual interest.
It???s interesting to note, in fact, that a fair number of the remaining independent stores along Queen West are actually in modern buildings ??? but ones that were built to fit the street. These buildings are not particularly attractive, in general, but they work because they were built according to some or all of these principles. Think, for example, of the building Pages is in. Another example is 431-437 Queen West, just west of the new H+M. It???s modern and not especially pretty, but the narrow storefronts house a variety of small shops, and the residential balconies above create a residential presence on the street without overshadowing it, helping to maintain a diverse retail and residential presence on this rapidly corporatizing part of the street.