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Photo: Jamie Bradburn/Torontoist
The temporarily closed performing arts venue at the southeast corner of Yonge and Front has undergone a number of name changes since opening more than half a century ago. Which identity do you prefer—O'Keefe, Hummingbird, or Sony? We can take a pretty good guess at which one the Toronto Parking Authority likes the most, based on signage found at the Yonge Street end of the massive Green P structure on the south side of The Esplanade.
We're not sure when this sign was erected, but it would have been correct between the opening of the Hockey Hall of Fame's current location in 1993 and the name switch from O'Keefe to Hummingbird in 1996. Is this relic an oversight or does this reveal a gut feeling by parking officials that no one would ever adjust to any name change?
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Preference? O'Keefe Centre, definitely. Even the Hummingbird Centre wasn't too bad. What it's saddled with now is horrible. "Sony Centre" could be anything, anywhere.
I also kind of prefer "Metro Toronto Zoo," like it still says on the sign hanging from the roof on the bus departure floor of Kennedy station.
There's a picture of that sign here. What I think the important question is, is - should these signs change time and again based on the whims of the property's owners? On one hand, there is the necessity to make sure visitors know where they're going and what they're going to, but on the other hand, a lot of these names are REALLY awful and deserve to be ignored.
O'Keefe... still call it that without even thinking.