In Sanitizing Toronto of its Grit, Are We Washing Away its Character?

[NorthernDancer]

http://torontoist.com/2017/05/saniti...way-character/

Jilly’s—which closed in 2015 after a 34-year run—is just one of the dozens of strip clubs to disappear in recent years. There were 63 strip clubs in Toronto a decade ago; now there are only 14. Sex stores like the ones that used to line Yonge Street have met a similar fate. The Metro Theatre—Toronto’s last porn theatre—closed its doors in 2013 to make way for a climbing gym.

At a time when soaring real estate prices mean we’re increasingly raising children in condos in the city’s core, the sanitization of the city is undoubtedly a positive thing for a large portion of Torontonians who don’t want sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll to be part of the walk home from school.

But a little grit is what gives the city character and gives urbanites that distinct edginess.

The neighbourhood’s gentrification, however, has also resulted in the purchase of establishments, like The Real Jerk, by developers and rent increases that have pushed some businesses to close their doors—like the infamous Dangerous Dan’s, which was slapped with an 80-per-cent rent increase and will be closing down this month after 18 years.

[NorthernDancer]

One of Toronto's most notorious strip clubs is closing

http://www.blogto.com/city/2017/05/h...osing-toronto/

Strip clubs in Toronto may soon be going the way of the dodo as the number of adult entertainment venues in the city continues to drop.

The notorious House of Lancaster on the Queensway has been sold, according to City Councillor Justin DiCiano of Ward 5, Etobicoke-Lakeshore. On his website, DiCiano writes that he's "pleased to announce" the gentlemen's club will be closing in the coming months.

[pdxtex]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

http://torontoist.com/2017/05/saniti...way-character/

bouldering gyms?? good bye boners, hello boulders! stupid fit yuppies. i guess the internet killed the porno theater industry too....i don't think people have become less sanitized though. they probably just watch that #$%^ on their couch....well come to oregon if that's your bag. our last remaining adult theater has indoor bike parking! rly..

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

bouldering gyms?? good bye boners, hello boulders! stupid fit yuppies. i guess the internet killed the porno theater industry too....i don't think people have become less sanitized though. they probably just watch that #$%^ on their couch....well come to oregon if that's your bag. our last remaining adult theater has indoor bike parking! rly..

This is why I think the internet was partly behind the urban renaissance. Rough neighbourhoods used to be marred by strip clubs and porn theatres, which no one wants to have children near. Internet drove many of those out of business and made those neighbourhoods more palpable.

[dc_denizen]

good riddance.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Meh. If you gave me a choice between a spotless, neat and tidy city, or one with graffiti all over the place (no matter how artistic), I'd choose the neat and tidy one in a second.

[tech12]

Internet porn has undoubtedly taken a toll on porn shops and strip clubs. They'd be dying out even if gentrification wasn't a thing.

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

Meh. If you gave me a choice between a spotless, neat and tidy city, or one with graffiti all over the place (no matter how artistic), I'd choose the neat and tidy one in a second.

I'd say the opposite. A completely spotless city would feel unnatural.

[xzmattzx]

Why do you need strip clubs and pron theaters to have character?

If that was the case, Las Vegas wins for most character!

[Steely Dan]

first of all, grit is not solely defined by the presence of sex shops, strip clubs, and porno theaters.

as others have said, the internet has killed those kinds of businesses in cities around the world, it's not a toronto thing.

and toronto, just like all other cities everywhere, will be just fine with ever-decreasing amounts of such businesses.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

Meh. If you gave me a choice between a spotless, neat and tidy city, or one with graffiti all over the place (no matter how artistic), I'd choose the neat and tidy one in a second.

How about somewhere in between? A city that is in good shape and taken care of but looks like it has been lived in. A spotless, neat and tidy city seems like something out of a dystopian novel and a city with graffiti all over the place...is the Bronx in 1973.

[ChargerCarl]

A moment of silence for all the insufferable white hipsters whose "street cred" is being irreparably harmed.

[photoLith]

And... I don't care. Strip Clubs suck anyways, they're expensive as hell and all that happens is you get to see sexy nude women but can't jerk off, touch them, or have sex with them so what's the point?

[10023]

Was Toronto ever that gritty? I mean it's Canada.

[softee]

Originally Posted by 10023

Was Toronto ever that gritty? I mean it's Canada.

You'd be surprised how gritty looking Toronto and Montreal are -- Hamilton and Winnipeg, too.

Even without the strip clubs and sex shops, most of the buildings and neighbourhoods that those establishments used to be located in still look gritty.

[Don't Be That Guy]

Originally Posted by 10023

Was Toronto ever that gritty? I mean it's Canada.

Many Canadian cities are surprisingly gritty and lacking in polished charm. Toronto is fun because it's lively and diverse, not because it's pretty.

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by 10023

Was Toronto ever that gritty? I mean it's Canada.

Canada never been gritty none. The Cult of Ignorance made sure there wannen't any.

[dc_denizen]

Originally Posted by montréaliste

Canada never been gritty none. The Cult of Ignorance made sure there wannen't any.

I thought, per kool maudits post ages ago, porn theaters in Toronto mostly just showed women's studies professors' lectures on female sexuality

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by 10023

Was Toronto ever that gritty? I mean it's Canada.

Can't figure out if you're being sarcastic. Just in case you weren't: this part of the world was heavily industrialized up until about 1990. They don't call Toronto 'The Big Smoke' for nothing. From century old auto manufacturing in Oshawa in the east, to the steel plants of Hamilton in the west, and factories of every kind in between. Toronto may be a cosmopolitan white collar city today but it's history is blue collar.

[ue]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Can't figure out if you're being sarcastic. Just in case you weren't: this part of the world was heavily industrialized up until about 1990. They don't call Toronto 'The Big Smoke' for nothing. From century old auto manufacturing in Oshawa in the east, to the steel plants of Hamilton in the west, and factories of every kind in between. Toronto may be a cosmopolitan white collar city today but it's history is blue collar.

Ehh...Toronto was way more industrial, that's for sure, but I dunno if I'd categorize its history as more blue collar than white. It still had UofT, the TSX, Bay Street, etc before 1990. It was for sure gritter, though, but it never decayed overall like many American cities or Canadian cities like Hamilton and Windsor.

[isaidso]

A lot of Toronto's grit like Honest Ed's is more ramshackle than anything else. I was sad to see it go but it was time for that block to get a boost. Toronto has huge swaths of the city that are functionally obsolete, decrepit, and plain ugly. The bigger issue isn't that it's slowly being replaced but that we're replacing it with sterile boring buildings. We're going from one extreme to the other.