Toronto Fire - Is Cosmos Alright?

gordon_gartrellgordon_gartrell 102 Posts
edited February 2008 in Strut Central
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.
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  • Shit, I just saw on another board that Cosmos was indeed part of the fire.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    I felt sick watching it on TV - two places I used to work at are gone, people's homes and belongings gone...it is devastating. There are/were some very sketchy living arrangments along that strip and apparently it started in a back-shed which makes me wonder about squatters/crack dens.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,896 Posts
    I just got off the phone with Aki. They are alright. But it was seriously close. Most of the block is done.

    Damn...

  • I was watching BT this morning and you could see firefighters spraying water into the Cosmos storefront, in the background. Really sad. Must be so incredibly tough for Aki and the others that work there. Plus Suspect Video is completely burnt out.

    Apparently that whole block is destroyed. This is all pretty depressing. That block won't be the same...

  • That's a relief. Thanks for letting me know. Still a very bad day for a lot of others.

  • I just got off the phone with Aki. They are alright. But it was seriously close. Most of the block is done.

    Damn...

    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.

  • I was watching BT this morning and you could see firefighters spraying water into the Cosmos storefront, in the background. Really sad. Must be so incredibly tough for Aki and the others that work there. Plus Suspect Video is completely burnt out.

    Apparently that whole block is destroyed. This is all pretty depressing. That block won't be the same...

    Sorry, so were they hit by the fire or not? Spraying water into the store doesn't sound too good either.

  • I was watching BT this morning and you could see firefighters spraying water into the Cosmos storefront, in the background. Really sad. Must be so incredibly tough for Aki and the others that work there. Plus Suspect Video is completely burnt out.

    Apparently that whole block is destroyed. This is all pretty depressing. That block won't be the same...

    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.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,896 Posts
    I was watching BT this morning and you could see firefighters spraying water into the Cosmos storefront, in the background. Really sad. Must be so incredibly tough for Aki and the others that work there. Plus Suspect Video is completely burnt out.

    Apparently that whole block is destroyed. This is all pretty depressing. That block won't be the same...

    Sorry, so were they hit by the fire or not? Spraying water into the store doesn't sound too good either.

    No they made it. Just. He said it was seriously close.




  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    No words. I don't think I want to even go by there for a long time.

  • onetetonetet 1,754 Posts
    this is terrible. I know the block well, stay in that vicinity for a few weeks each year during the film fest. condolences to anyone affected by this.

  • canonicalcanonical 2,100 Posts
    I am visiting in Toronto right now and was walking around that block on monday afternoon. This morning on the train you could see the smoke from so far away.

    Does anyone know how it started?

  • dayday 9,612 Posts
    I was watching BT this morning and you could see firefighters spraying water into the Cosmos storefront, in the background. Really sad. Must be so incredibly tough for Aki and the others that work there. Plus Suspect Video is completely burnt out.

    Apparently that whole block is destroyed. This is all pretty depressing. That block won't be the same...

    Sorry, so were they hit by the fire or not? Spraying water into the store doesn't sound too good either.

    No they made it. Just. He said it was seriously close.




    holy fuck.ing shit.

    That is unbelievable. I mean truly unbelievable. What happened?

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,896 Posts



  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts

  • CosmoCosmo 9,768 Posts


    Damn is that the Great Hall? I know exactly where this is. That's crazy.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    The Great Hall is about 20 walking minutes to the West, on the corner of Dovercourt...past Trinity Bellwoods Park, past Ossington - this is between Portland and Bathurst.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,896 Posts

    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.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Uhg, I worked there as recently as a year ago and have known those guys for 15 yrs. I don't even know what to say, what the hell do you say?


  • onetetonetet 1,754 Posts
    Any word on if everyone's okay?

    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.

  • So far, the word is that there where no casualities... but some people have lost some pets (anyone that owns a pet knows how hard that is). There are a lot of stories of people who have lost everything and are literally homeless.

  • catalistcatalist 1,373 Posts
    So far, the word is that there where no casualities... but some people have lost some pets (anyone that owns a pet knows how hard that is). There are a lot of stories of people who have lost everything and are literally homeless.


    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.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    It is a sad coincidence that there is giant big box store (likely Home Depot) and condo buidling going up in the Portland parking lot - on the Eastern corner, not in any of the photos. Toronto, for all its pluses, has some of the worst civic/urban planning ever. If this strip is leveled, not rebuilt/restored, and the Home Depot project expands on this pyre, we will crossing over into some shameful, Montgomery Burns-type shit. Stay tuned.

  • AserAser 2,351 Posts
    looks like preloved and national sound are totally burnt to a crisp. Many a drunk nights were spent on that block at NASA bitd. Then the eventual drunken crawl over to amato's or albert's.

    oh shit is Nikolaous ok? That's a great kitchen supplies store for chef's.

    tear tear

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,896 Posts
    It is a sad coincidence that there is giant big box store (likely Home Depot) and condo buidling going up in the Portland parking lot - on the Eastern corner, not in any of the photos. Toronto, for all its pluses, has some of the worst civic/urban planning ever. If this strip is leveled, not rebuilt/restored, and the Home Depot project expands on this pyre, we will crossing over into some shameful, Montgomery Burns-type shit. Stay tuned.

    Last I heard there was a big grocery store going in. Maybe they changed their mind.

  • looks like preloved and national sound are totally burnt to a crisp. Many a drunk nights were spent on that block at NASA bitd. Then the eventual drunken crawl over to amato's or albert's.

    oh shit is Nikolaous ok? That's a great kitchen supplies store for chef's.

    tear tear

    I'm pretty sure Nikolaous is gone. That short strip had some great places...

  • onetetonetet 1,754 Posts
    Toronto, for all its pluses, has some of the worst civic/urban planning ever. If this strip is leveled, not rebuilt/restored, and the Home Depot project expands on this pyre, we will crossing over into some shameful, Montgomery Burns-type shit. Stay tuned.

    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?

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    from spacing.com

    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.

  • DORDOR Two Ron Toe 9,896 Posts
    Home Depot would be awful. Tho, really. Anything could be better than that ugly parking lot.
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