Quote:
Originally Posted by caltrane74
Plain Jane got us to where we are now. Don't forget there always was/is a more flashy Canadian city. We should ask them how that's going for them right now.
Toronto is New York run by the Swiss. Efficiency above all else.
|
Does that mean we have to be Plain Jane for the rest of our history? If it does, I'm moving back to London, England. And I wouldn't classify Montreal as flashy. It's a very stylish cosmopolitan place and has been for a very very long time. That sophistication developed over decades and decades due to Montreal's wealth and prestige. Montreal's decline has nothing to do with having a sense of style, and you know it.
You're correct that Toronto is a very pragmatic place, but if we never move beyond that we'll also remain a very boring city that the world pays little interest in, and people will stop wanting to come to. Why bother having Maserati dealerships, Prada, or Yorkville, for that matter. Why bother having Carribana or PrideWeek. Why have a Mies skyscraper, or a Royal York hotel. Are they pragmatic? No, but these are things that make a city special.
A forumer from Milwaukee commented that Toronto could grow bigger than Chicago is size/scale, but it's skyline can't ever be considered on par till we get an iconic signature building like John Hancock, the Empire State Building, or Bank of China. He's 100% right on the money.
It's the iconic, the special, the beautiful that make something stand above the crowd. These things are of value even if you don't see it.