THEIR LOT IN LIFE
The east end is now awash with dealerships that simply fade into the noisy skyline,
Now that Grand Touring Auto has moved to Dundas St. and the DVP, Toronto’s east end is definitely the place to be if you’re looking for a Rolls-Royce.
Whether that means the power and prestige of the west end are moving to the other side of Yonge St. or simply that there’s more land there not yet slated for condos remains to be seen. Regardless, the lower east side is awash in car dealerships.
Architecturally, most are generic structures, almost invisible in their ordinariness and lack of originality. Grand Touring, which sells Bentleys, Bugattis, Jaguars and the like, is no exception.
Indeed, designed by Plaston Architect and Weis Architecture, the new showroom sums up the logic of the downtown dealership nicely; its shiny but empty metallic surfaces and large glass facades are meant to grab our eyeballs and not let go.
But in a city like Toronto, where every other building wants us to stop and look, this sort of architectural aggression is doomed to fail. The only heads turned here will be those of drivers stuck on the Don Valley Parking Lot, which the showroom overlooks. To those passing by on Dundas St., the building is easy to miss. So is the entrance on Carroll St.
The most interesting aspect of the new structure is its location in the floodplain of the Don River; given the regularity with which the Don bursts its banks, the showroom could well become a visual icon of a city beset by climate change.
Other more retro dealers such as Downtown Toyota at Queen St. and Broadview Ave. are noisy attentionseeking spaces lined with flags. It looks like something you’d expect to see on a suburban highway, not a busy downtown corner. It won’t be around much longer, however, condos are on the way.
On the other hand, some showrooms are intended to blend into the streetscape. The Lincoln outlet at King and Cherry Sts. is a good example.
Located in the ground floor of a nondescript midrise condo, it presents the sophisticated image of a fully urban operation, more a car store than a traditional auto dealership.
Whether by design or irony, the compactness of Lincoln’s premises stand in stark contrast to the tanklike vehicles it sells.
Still, given the cost of Toronto real estate, this is the way of the future. At the same time, one wonders how much longer cars as we know them will be around. Even in Toronto, where the mayor’s focus is vehicular congestion, it’s clear the auto has taken us about as far as it can.
Then there’s the intersection of Front and Parliament Sts. It tells a complicated story about the awkward relationship between past and present. Some may remember that the Porsche dealership now at Front and Parliament Sts., used to be on Front at Berkeley St. It moved to Parliament St. after a land swap involving the province, the city and the land owner who, in return for the Berkeley St. site, got the one at Parliament St.
The city and province wanted his site because it was close to the Onta- rio’s historic first parliament building. In 2012, the original Porsche showroom became a provincial interpretive centre dedicated to the War of 1812. That was closed after a few years, and now the building houses a Nissan showroom. Where there was one dealership, today there are two.
Another row of car retailers, on Front St. east of Parliament St., make no pretence at anything more than basic utility. They are occupying space until the condo builders show up. The two exceptions — the BMW and Mini showrooms on Sunlight Park Rd. — stand out from the crowd by virtue of architectural excellence.
Their function is the same; but although both were designed to sell cars, they do so indirectly. This architecture engages passersby for its own reasons; it isn’t a bright shiny object, but a statement of value and tastefulness. Like Grand Touring, BMW faces the DVP. The top two-thirds of the six-storey facade form a screen, divided into sections, but the 2004 building also takes its civic duties seriously. In short, it is a landmark. So is the Mini showroom. Designed by Roland Rem Colthoff, then of Quadrangle Architects, who also did BMW, this one presents a striking arrangement of glass cubes outlined in yellow, green and orange panels. There’s more to a building than meets the eye, of course, but at the same time, what you see is what you get. Christopher Hume’s column appears weekly. He can be reached at jcwhume4@gmail.com.