The Decline of the Urban Bank

The corner bank is disappearing in Toronto. Today, I noticed another one is gone. In my neighborhood, there is a brand new Pizza Pizza where a stately corner bank once stood. Now, the place has been desecrated by ugly orange and white tiles.

I understand the new economy of online banking, but I regret the passing of the bank on the corner. I am from a small town where the main street ran for a quarter mile. When I was a kid, there were four banks and each one stood on a corner. They are still there. In Toronto, they are dying only to be replaced by Pizza Pizza and 7-Eleven.

I think that there is something interesting about how bank architecture has changed over time - I have to admit having a particular fondness for early 20th century design. Later bank design just doesn't do it for me, and neither does later church design. Let's face it, modern banks and churches are ugly, and there is no reason for it. Any place where people go to worship (either some god or money) ought to be architecturally inspiring.

Technorati tags: banks, architecture

Just as I could easily make my blog exclusively about dreams, so could I also make it about cycling. Although it might sound dangerous, I often get my best ideas when in the saddle. My best lines of poetry often come late at night on Bloor Street as I negotiate the space between the parked and moving vehicles. It is faster to cycle on Bloor than it is to drive at times. Believe me. It is often faster to cycle than to take the subway. My best short story opening came on College Street near Queen's Park. I have had to stop and take out a pen and paper to preserve the thought. It's almost like dreams: they fade so fast. On the downside, I often remember all of the things I forgot to do at work when I am cycling home, but that is another story.

This morning, I was riding in along Bloor (not my usual route, mind you), with fragments of a Bill Reiflin CD passing through my head. Ahead of me, I watched a cyclist find herself in that terrible space between a taxi turning right and the curb. Her handle bars, and maybe her hand, hit his side mirror. There was that moment of reflection on both sides. She didn't get angry, well, not vocally. Just the day before, I watched a guy unload on a driver on Bay near Grosvenor, and so I marveled at her composure. The taxi driver sat there, and I sensed that he was hoping that she would just leave and not make his day difficult. A couple of blocks after that, a blue Honda flew by me closer than any car ever has (short of the two that actually made contact). I wonder if she just didn't see me, or if she didn't care. Maybe she was too busy chatting with her two companions in the car. I had the opportunity at the next light of saying something, but I didn't.

A few blocks later, I cycled past the construction at the Royal Ontario Museum. Doesn't it bother them that they have razed a piece of the institution that won a Governor General's award for architecture? It amazes me that they were allowed to destroy it. I liked the part they tore down too. What is someone wanted to burn all of the copies of a certain book that won a GG? No one would stand for it.

And, when did Lenny Briscoe leave Law and Order? Am I out of the loop, or what?

The good news has got to be that Toutatis missed us by 1.6 million KMs. That was close.

Tags: cycling, Royal Ontario Museum

OCAD Building

I am amazed that some people dislike the new OCAD building. I think it's fabulous. If you walk down McCaul Street, you will notice that everyone is looking up at it. In fact, try not looking up. It's impossible. Toronto lacks radical architecture. We have little beyond an 1800-foot phallic symbol.

Tags: architecture, Toronto, OCAD