BY Shawn Micallef July 16, 2008 14:07
The northeast corner of Yonge and Bloor is the kind of place that gives concrete a bad name. At arguably Toronto’s most important corner, the Hudson’s Bay building presents a wraparound wall of concrete and the Royal Bank branch adjacent is raised above street level and even has a “no sitting” sign on the steps. Who thought this was a good way to attract customers? A new glass skyscraper will rise to the south and the CIBC building on the northwest corner was recently renovated to fix some 1970s mistakes — time for this corner to follow suit. A memorial to late karaoke street performer Ben Kerr, who stood here for years, would be welcome too.