Results tagged “spacingwire”

A couple weeks back, Spacing Wire posted this brilliant old TTC ad that made us hungry for more forgotten gems of Toronto advertising. The video in question was uploaded by a user calling themselves WNED 17, and their entire archive is made up of similar videos. In fact, their profile page provides a mission statement: "Youtube user WNED17 is proud to present repeat portions of broadcast captured in the 1980s and early 1990s via...

While researching the proper name for the device shown above, we stumbled across this page on the City of Toronto's website. (It's a "pushbutton," "push-button," or "push button," depending on which paragraph you believe.) And, what do you know, the more mundane elements of transportation infrastructure are fascinating stuff.

Reader Amanda Happé came across this sight yesterday morning: city employees carving up and taking away Trinity-Bellwoods' much-loved painted blue and white tree trunk (also known as the Universal Love Machine).

Developers RioCan bought the parking lot at the corner of Queen Street West and Portland back in 2005. Immediately, rumours started to circulate that a big box store, like Home Depot, was going to be built at the site. At the time, The Globe and Mail reported that RioCan planned to start building in 2007. Which is now. So what's happening with the project?

...need to know the latest bridge strategies.

Yesterday the City of Toronto unveiled the designs submitted for the "Coordinated Street Furniture Program," its plan to grant a billboard company a twenty-year monopoly on providing and maintaining bus shelters, garbage bins, benches, and other items for Toronto’s sidewalks.

Holy crap.

This article is a response to a series of comments you can find on Spacing Wire, in which someone compares Toronto to a "crossroads" or "meeting place." The poster claims this label makes sense because the word Toronto originates from an aboriginal word meaning "meeting place." There was no post contradicting the definition, probably because we have all heard this claim before and most of us accept it. Upon further investigation of the matter, one finds the definition of Toronto as "meeting place" to be rather controversial.

Two months ago, I Want Rhythm organizer Nicole Stoffman was just another former Degrassi star-turned-crooner of French torch songs, eagerly handing out "Let's dance in the street!" flyers to people leaving Spacing's not-a-mayoral-debate. Now, five installments of I Want Rhythm later (having been written up on Torontoist and the Spacing Wire multiple times, as well as in the "real media"), Nicole is one of Toronto's new "It" girls of public space interventionism.

Adam Giambrone is about to make some new friends...internet friends!

As pointed out by an astute reader, Spacing Wire and Ward 20 candidate Chris Ouellette's blog, there exists another option (that has been getting little media attention) for solving the dual waterfront barriers of the rail tracks and the Gardiner Expressway: the Toronto Waterfront Viaduct.

"Overheard" on the Toronto Livejournal community: ME (On Bicycle): What kind of bike is that? COP (On horseback, in the bike lane): WHAT? ME: What kind of bike is that? COP: It's a horse. ME: Great! Get the @#$% out of the bike lane then. We have to admire this guy's moxie and want to point you to Matt Blackett's passionate rant about mounted cops from the Spacing Wire....

If nothing else, we like two things at Torontoist: the TTC, and bands about spoons. But before there was Spoon, one of the best bands currently making music (and certainly the best one out of Austin, Texas) there was The Spoons, a new-wave band coming straight from the hip and edgy streets of...Burlington. The band enjoyed some short-lived success in the 1980s, especially on the college circuit, and fizzled out as the decade came to an end.

Bring out the balloons, noisemakers and confetti. Spacing Wire, the blog arm of Spacing magazine turns one today. We want to thank them for bringing their attentive Toronto-loving eyes to the blogosphere. Keep up the great work.

The CBC reports that the Toronto Port Authority, that lovely little federal body responsible for trying to build a bridge to the island airport and complicating waterfront development, has sued community advocacy group Community Air. The $3 million lawsuit alleges that the non-profit group has defamed the TPA.

Dylan Reid over at Spacing Wire is slowly fanning the flames sparked by a Kenneth Kidd article in the Star over why about half of Toronto cyclists don't wear helmets. We enjoy a good comment thread so we're going to try to help Mr. Reid out a bit.

Spacing Wire pointed out that the National Post has run a contest to redesign Toronto's flag (grand prize a National Post mug, hopefully unused). Their chief complaint, "what's with the obsession with the Maple Leaf?"

Torontoist has mentioned his love for green roofs before so we're happy that Jane Rabinowicz, who helps run Santropol Roulant, a Montreal community group that organizes rooftop gardens, bike workshops and meals on wheels programs, will be lecturing tomorrow night 7:15 at Innis Town Hall.

Yesterday we wrote about the destruction of the Inn on the Park, a Modernist landmark that will probably be missed in 20 or 30 years when architectural historians are looking for good examples of Modernism in this city and notice that everything has been torn down. The Star's Christopher Hume was upset about how council dragged its feet on issuing the permit that would've saved the building.

A TTC janitor might just be subject of one ot those TTC employee ads after spotting a four-year old boy that was snatched and Amber-Alerted. A 34-year old woman was also arrested.

The Toronto blogosphere is abuzz with the Star's "What If" special issue that ran this Sunday. The special issue was a number of think pieces on how the city could be drastically improved.

Torontoist is kicking himself for missing this article but we're glad that the eagle-eyed people at Spacing Wire caught it. Actor, sometime mayoral candidate and now Globe and Mail writer Albert Howell wrote this reasoned analysis on why cyclists ride on sidewalks and why pedestrians shouldn't be blaming cyclists but the municipal government for its lack of adequate cycling infrastructure.

Torontoist doesn't want to touch this argument with a ten-foot pole. But if you want to there's this story in the Spacing Wire and you can vote on the signs right now. So if you live in the Beach/Beaches go, or you might be stuck with a name you don't like!

Spacing Wire and Photojunkie both report on whether the secret swing is finally dead this time. According to Photojunkie, this time the swing really does appear dead. Someone has taken the extra step of installing chainlink fencing and removing the metal bar that held the swing.

Yesterday at The Isabel Bader Theatre, David Miller delivered this year's Davey Lecture on "Building a Great World City for the 21st Century." Unfortunately, it was far more election speech (and a boring one at that) than anything remotely motivational or inspirational. Plus, he was kind of mean afterwards. So, in lieu of inserting a nice flattering photo of Miller, Torontoist feels it would be more appropriate to include this one, of his face half-blocked by the media circus (CTV, CityTV, 680News, Omni One, CIUT, me, and others) that followed him around. But that's what you get for being boring and mean: you get half a face.

Chinese architect Yongsang Ma has won the Mississauga competition to design the Absolute tower in Mississauga. The lithe looking glass tower was a heavy favourite to win the contest and he beat out six other finalists.

The Spacing Wire has been hard at work reporting on the destruction of the sidewalk carvings on King and Simcoe. What Torontoist finds even more interesting is how vocal the comments have been. They've called the city on its callousness in destroying one man's years of hard work, and yet another on the city's blindness to a unique, piece of urban beauty. Matt Blackett gives us an update on it here.