Block Wall Apr 1, 2006

This simple block wall separated the maintenance bays from the ground floor offices. As an image it remains one of my favourites from this location. The decision to align the blocks (rather than offset them as is usual) made a noticeable difference here.

This photo also arrives with a story.

Over the past few years the area where this building is located has transformed into a trendy destination for clubs and condos. In the past 3 years alone I've seen all the parking lots one street south of it turn into fairly mediocre condo towers. Amongst all this sits this old auto repair shop which was built in the 1940s. I've had my eye on it for some time.

I'd always meant to drop in and see about the possibility of photographing the interior but never got around to it. So I was quite surprised to notice it strangely empty when I walked by last week. I saw a small 'Auction' sign in one of the windows. Looking closer I saw that the auction date was a few weeks ago... I'd missed my chance.

A day later I saw construction workers starting to fence off the site. I talked to some of them and learned the building was to be demolished — imminently. After tracking down the property owner, I learned that demolition had already begun and the best he could offer was to contact the demolition crew in order to gain access.

And today, I managed to photograph the interior. Unfortunately, 50% of the roof has already been removed, the equipment is gone and the offices have been stripped. This is one of those cases where the effort made to get inside and the reward found were not in the least comparable. As well, it's a sad reminder that opportunities are lost if you're not consistently proactive. Because these days, it seems that Torontonians have an insatiable appetite for bland condo projects. Any existing urban fabric is razed without hesitation towards thoughts of history, integration or diversity.