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We all have our favourite views of Toronto. The skyline from the islands is the classic postcard shot of course, and there's that view from Broadview over Riverdale Park, or from Carlaw over Withrow Park, both in the east end, or down Dundas near Dufferin from the west end… And say what you want about whether or not the Gardiner should stay or go, but nothing beats the car ride into town on that highway.
From high up, the Gardiner, and so many other things in this city, look quite different from the way we experience them at or near ground level. The CN Tower taught us that long ago, but it's always fun to find a new perch to spy on the city from. So today, let's start on the east side of 33 Bay, and work our way around to the southwest.
Our first view has us peering past 33 Bay balconies in the right foreground, on to the Residences of the World Trade Centre, and then to the construction site of Waterlink at Pier 27, the Cityzen and Fernbrook Homes project, on Toronto Harbour. There's a lot to see there now, but as the cranes indicate, much more to come. The parking lot just in front of Pier 27 will soon be a new park.
Turning to our left we get a look at the top of the Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects-designed Success Tower, the 55-storey third phase of the Pinnacle Centre. Above and below you can see that building's two-floor high penthouse. It's huge, and still being finished inside; we could see workmen passing by the windows. Word is there's a private pool in that suite!
Above, Cityzen and Fernbrook again, this time also partnered with Castlepoint on the L Tower, now about three fifths of the way to its top! Below, Lanterra's Burano rises north along Bay Street, looking quite blue. It's now topped off, and its crane is already down.
Below, a number of shots to the northwest. First, the big view…
…which features the roof of the Air Canada Centre prominently.
Above that you can see the growing Union Station atrium, gradually replacing more of the original shed. A light, bright area for getting on and off trains can't come fast enough there, but it's a protracted process, scheduled to take a couple more years to complete.
High above and beyond the Air Canada Centre is Westbank and the Peterson Group's crimped Shangri-La. If we look to the left of that, (and below) we see a number of projects underway between the towers of Maple Leaf Square, including work – now just above grade – for the second tower and a new Delta Hotel at the Southcore Financial Centre. Beyond that, and the Convention Centre's park , you can see a crane for Ripley's Aquairum of Canada.
The Gardiner swings into view here of course, and features prominently to the west of 33 Bay. From on high, the movement along the highway is quite mesmerizing, day or night, and with that strategically placed bend in the route at Simcoe Street, it looks particulary good from high up in 33 Bay.
Lanterra and Caillac Fairview's Ïce and the Conservatory Group's Infinity projects feature above and below along the north side of the elevated highway, with the 57-storey west tower at Ïce currently the most prominent of the buildings under construction there. Below as we focus on the parking lots along the south side of the Gardiner we see the triangular site of Tridel's Ten York where the highway ramps split, while Menkes' 1 York/90 Harbour site will fill the area up to the historic Toronto Harbor Commissioners building at the bottom of the shot. The Harbour Commissioners site will itself have a project surrounding the heritage building someday.
A little further to the southwest we can see the new underground parking garage at Harborfront now covered again, awaiting landscaping. A new public square should open here in a few months' time.
To the south, the lake dominates of course, with lots to watch, like ferries and other boats going to and fro between the islands and the city, and planes preparing to land at the island airport.
Beyond the islands, a clear day can provide views right across to the escarpment on the south side. Ghostly bumps on the horizon locate the skyscraping hotels at Niagara Falls.
These are all things you can see from the various balconies of the 33 Bay penthouses. Below, these windows are from the 50th floor penthouse unit at the southwest corner. The 48th and 49th floor penthouse views would be just as great of course! There are a total of 21 units on these three floors, just released.
So, we had quite a tour around the skyline from 33 Bay. When it was all over, our host Tom from Pinnacle declared 'You know, it's even better at night, right?'. That was another invitation, so tomorrow, we return with the night shots!
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