Ugliest areas of Toronto... (apartment, condos, loan)
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I totally love my city... but some areas really need a renovation and were just not planned out well ex literally looks like people just threw a bunch of houses and buildings in and area with no thought.
I will start ... Eglinton West (just about everything) past the subway. Ugly ... ugly ... ugly area. A lot of house are being knocked down and rebuilt (thank god). This is probably high on my list of areas I would never want to live in the city. House are on super small lots. Areas has next to no charm. Too many apartment buildings low and high and the area just looks like a bunch of buildings squeeze in a space with no thought. On another note they had a Street Festival this weekend and I think that in itself shows some potential. This is a major street and as far as I am concerned they should never have empty retail spaces for more then a month because there is a pretty high population density in this area due to all the apartment building and tiny homes packed in so tight.
Anyone else have any ugly spots in the city they want to point out
Honestly I almost never venture up to North Scarborough and I would area lots of pockets of residential nothingness.
I think that is what I love about south Toronto ex South of Eglinton in general ... it just has more character in most areas. There are pockets her and there usually more around the middle that have interest or character in North Toronto.... but for the most part that is what is lost. That is also my distaste for most of the 905s too... they got not a lot of soul or character. You walk around some parts of the city and it just bursting with visual interest and things to explore and other parts ... it is just blah.
This is just for starters. Despite homers' claims to the contrary, Toronto is not a very attractive city. Aethetics have never been a priority to the hoi polloi who have driven the development of this city...
> Jarvis. I really don't like that street. Something about it just doesn't 'gel' with me. You get this mishmash of old mansions, tired strip-like retail, what looks to be some sort of underwhelming public building. I think it ought to be a more impressive artery, sort of like a 'processional way' into the heart of the city. It isn't, though. Very disappointing.
> Church St. Similar to jarvis in that its streetscape is broken up in an unappealing way. Planning in toronto isn't very good,imho. I know that the influence of the OMB has a lot to do with that, but still.
> Obviously Yonge Street south of Bloor. In the very heart of the city we somehow tolerate a street lined with head shops, pay day loan lenders and what appear to my eyes to be second hand clothes shops. Uneven, broken sidewalks that are in any event way too small. Most of the building that, while historic, looks sad and ragged. I don't think I've been there in decades. Every time I had the misfortune to amble down its length I came away dismayed and even depressed by that stretch of Yonge.
This is just for starters. Despite homers' claims to the contrary, Toronto is not a very attractive city. Aethetics have never been a priority to the hoi polloi who have driven the development of this city...
> Jarvis. I really don't like that street. Something about it just doesn't 'gel' with me. You get this mishmash of old mansions, tired strip-like retail, what looks to be some sort of underwhelming public building. I think it ought to be a more impressive artery, sort of like a 'processional way' into the heart of the city. It isn't, though. Very disappointing.
> Church St. Similar to jarvis in that its streetscape is broken up in an unappealing way. Planning in toronto isn't very good,imho. I know that the influence of the OMB has a lot to do with that, but still.
> Obviously Yonge Street south of Bloor. In the very heart of the city we somehow tolerate a street lined with head shops, pay day loan lenders and what appear to my eyes to be second hand clothes shops. Uneven, broken sidewalks that are in any event way too small. Most of the building that, while historic, looks sad and ragged. I don't think I've been there in decades. Every time I had the misfortune to amble down its length I came away dismayed and even depressed by that stretch of Yonge.
Some of these areas at getting a bit better. There is lots of new construction. Those payday loan type places are always an eye sore to me when on a main road. St. Clair West has a bunch of them in such a close distance to each other. That areas is going to be changing for the better soon. Great homes int the areas and gradually better restaurants and cafes opening up. 2 condo's slowing being build which will also help local businesses in that area get more traffic. Much nicer then Eglinton still. Duffin and Lansdown is is also another arm pit of the city.
There is a lot of potential to improve the city. In my part of the city what I can say for sure is the all these little poorly constructed homes and getting demo and really nice looking homes at being built which is really changing the look of the area.
- The high-rises in Cabbagetown are just horrible to look at (especially from one of the gardens from a nicer home in the same area)
- Parts of Parliament street (East of Yonge street) looks old and dated - I remember walking along to one of the stores there and was horribly dissapointed at how ugly and grey the buildings there looked
- Yonge street south of Bloor (as already mentioned) - I have walked along this street many times
- Dufferin street (particularly North of Bloor)
- Sections of Dundas Street West of Spadina
- Eglinton street to the East of Yonge
I think people who live in these areas need to try and also maintain their properties too. Even basic stuff like fixing up your lawn... flowers ... something adds to the visual appear of the area.
Hmm, where shall we start? For now I'll ignore the outlying parts of the city (e.g. Etobicoke, Scarborough) and focus on the vicinity of downtown:
1. Almost everything along Bay Street north of Queen. One of the most iconic boulevards in the city lined on both sides by poorly designed condo boxes with next to no street life. Many of these buildings just look plain cheap and ugly.
2. Parts of Church Street - rows of rundown, 2-storey retail along with random off street parking lots.
3. Yonge south of Bloor - just like Bay (but with more retail and pedestrian traffic) - ugly condo glass boxes like the 80-floor Aura that look great on picture but ugly and cheap at street level.
I think it's fair to balance some of the nicer areas against some of the uglier areas.
Focusing on downtown, I'd say everything east of Yonge is ugly with the exception of some residential areas of Cabbage Town and the neighborhood around St. Lawrence Market/Esplanade. Jarvis, Church, Sherbourne, etc. are pretty ugly. Danforth is nice around Pape and the Riverdale area but continues to taper off into ugliness as you move east, but I believe this area will gentrify more though. Leslieville has built up a nice strip too on Queen East but the neighborhoods around it still seem hit or miss based on the street.
As for Yonge itself, I would call it ugly starting from Bloor all the way down. It's still run down, sketchy, and tacky even though new developments are popping up. It could get better over time and hopefully, as this is arguably the artery street in Toronto separating East and West.
Going west from Yonge, I agree with he previous post regarding Bay St. It's ugly north of Queen and decent in the Financial District. I wouldn't call the Financial District over the top beautiful any means, it's looks more functional. University is a nice street and more grand looking than probably any street in the city. Harborfront and everywhere along the Lake including all those glass condos are all ugly to me but I hear there are plans to improve the waterfront, so that would be nice.
The nicer areas are mostly west of Yonge, however. Anywhere around UFT, Chinatown, Kensington Market, and Harbord are nice areas. You also have Queen street and King west which are nice strips. Spadina, although unkept in certain areas, I do like, and more interesting than Bathurst which is kind of boring. Annex is ugly except for the north part. Dundas West, Ossington strip and Trinity Bellwoods are all nice, cool areas. I like the streets off College Street, nice neighborhood homes, I wish I could afford something there. Dufferin and Lansdowne area are a bit depressing but Roncey is a beautiful area as is High park and now Junction. Parkdale has some nice old homes but still feels low end and too gritty in most areas. Liberty Village, although new and modern, has too much of a new contrived, manufactured neighborhood feel for me.
Most of the suburbs are mostly nothing to write home about. Midtown Toronto has nice homes and the Yonge, Avenue and Bayview retail streets are mostly nice. North York is stale and boring. Scarborough is ugly everywhere except for the Beaches neighborhood in the south. East York is ugly. Etobicoke is mostly boring and ugly except for the neigborhoods just west of High Park (i.e. Royal York). All the 905 areas I've ever been to in my life look and feel boring and cookie cutter, except Oakville which seemed like it has some character, especially near the water.
I think it's fair to balance some of the nicer areas against some of the uglier areas.
Focusing on downtown, I'd say everything east of Yonge is ugly with the exception of some residential areas of Cabbage Town and the neighborhood around St. Lawrence Market/Esplanade. Jarvis, Church, Sherbourne, etc. are pretty ugly. Danforth is nice around Pape and the Riverdale area but continues to taper off into ugliness as you move east, but I believe this area will gentrify more though. Leslieville has built up a nice strip too on Queen East but the neighborhoods around it still seem hit or miss based on the street.
As for Yonge itself, I would call it ugly starting from Bloor all the way down. It's still run down, sketchy, and tacky even though new developments are popping up. It could get better over time and hopefully, as this is arguably the artery street in Toronto separating East and West.
Going west from Yonge, I agree with he previous post regarding Bay St. It's ugly north of Queen and decent in the Financial District. I wouldn't call the Financial District over the top beautiful any means, it's looks more functional. University is a nice street and more grand looking than probably any street in the city. Harborfront and everywhere along the Lake including all those glass condos are all ugly to me but I hear there are plans to improve the waterfront, so that would be nice.
The nicer areas are mostly west of Yonge, however. Anywhere around UFT, Chinatown, Kensington Market, and Harbord are nice areas. You also have Queen street and King west which are nice strips. Spadina, although unkept in certain areas, I do like, and more interesting than Bathurst which is kind of boring. Annex is ugly except for the north part. Dundas West, Ossington strip and Trinity Bellwoods are all nice, cool areas. I like the streets off College Street, nice neighborhood homes, I wish I could afford something there. Dufferin and Lansdowne area are a bit depressing but Roncey is a beautiful area as is High park and now Junction. Parkdale has some nice old homes but still feels low end and too gritty in most areas. Liberty Village, although new and modern, has too much of a new contrived, manufactured neighborhood feel for me.
Most of the suburbs are mostly nothing to write home about. Midtown Toronto has nice homes and the Yonge, Avenue and Bayview retail streets are mostly nice. North York is stale and boring. Scarborough is ugly everywhere except for the Beaches neighborhood in the south. East York is ugly. Etobicoke is mostly boring and ugly except for the neigborhoods just west of High Park (i.e. Royal York). All the 905 areas I've ever been to in my life look and feel boring and cookie cutter, except Oakville which seemed like it has some character, especially near the water.
Regarding East Toronto. I honestly think most people don't actually know that much about anything East of the Beaches. The Beaches area is a pretty cool area and East of the at least least south of Eglinton is looking better and better each day. It is a totaly different vibe. Very green, beaches, marinas and you have places like Guildwood Park. The are pockets of blah too... but the lay out of the area is much better then in some parts of the city. Personally until I moved to south east Toronto ex east of the beaches I never knew anything about it. So when people say East Toronto I have to question how east we are talking about and are we talking about the north, middle or the south. The same would go for west of the city North, South and Middle are very different and can be lumped in together.
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North Scarb lol...
