I snapped this picture of the Toronto Trump Tower as the moon crept across the southern sky yesterday evening at 8 p.m. Click the photo to view it full size.
Mooning the Trump
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Category Archives: Trump Toronto
Winter building pics: March 2013
My March 2013 album on Flickr features more than 500 photos showing dozens of downtown construction projects and building sites. Click once on the image above to view a small-format slideshow of the pictures, or click twice to access the actual album where you can view individual full-size photos with captions.
Frozen fingers: It’s only a few days into spring and I’m still sorting through hundreds of building and construction photos I took during the winter. What has struck me the most is how gloomy and grey the city looked most of the time. Sunny, clear days were few and far between — and when they came, it was usually too bitterly cold and windy for me to risk freezing my fingers by wandering around with my camera.
I did manage a few long photo walks, though, and have been gradually posting the pics in albums on thetorontoblog.com’s Flickr photostream. Above is a link to my fourth winter photo album, March 2013.
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Winter building pics: February 2013
Above is a link to my February 2013 Flickr album of building and construction photos I shot during walks in the downtown area. Click once on the image to view a small-format slideshow of the pictures, or click twice to access the album directly on Flickr and see full-size photos and captions.
Trump taking a long time to P above Toronto
The first two letters of the TRUMP logo were installed atop the north side of the 65-storey, 900-foot Trump International Hotel + Tower Toronto by the end of May …
… but as of the 2012 Labour Day Weekend, the P still wasn’t in place because construction hasn’t yet finished on the tower’s distinctive “quarter onion” and spire
Waiting for a big P: When I last posted photos of the Trump International Hotel + Tower Toronto on June 8 2012, I wrote that installation of the giant Trump logo near the top of the building’s north side “signals that completion of exterior construction isn’t far off.”
I was wrong.
Although the hotel has been open for business since early this year, work on the exterior upper reaches of the 900-foot, 65-storey tower still isn’t complete. In particular, the P hasn’t been added to the rest of the Trump logo because crews are still finishing work on the signature “quarter onion” and spire segments of the building that rise from the tower’s northwest corner.
Several times on August 31, I saw construction workers climbing to and from the “crow’s nest” on the spire, so I know the contractors are hurrying to complete the building.
But even though the full Trump logo isn’t yet making its mark on the city skyline, the tower’s illuminated spire is. For several weeks in June, downtown residents saw test-runs of the spire’s lighting system, which reminded many Torontonians of the lightsabers in the Star Wars movies. Although the June testing showed the system’s multicolour capabilities, the spire has emitted a only a pale pink glow above the Financial District since then.
Fingers crossed that the logo will be completely installed by Thanksgiving.
Top of Toronto Trump Tower nears completion
June 7 2012: Installation of the Trump logo continues on the 65-storey, 908-foot Trump International Hotel + Tower at Bay & Adelaide Streets
Waiting for a P: The 261 hotel rooms in the bottom half of the Trump International Hotel + Tower opened to guests more than five months ago, but work on the exterior of the building’s uppermost levels and spire base still hasn’t finished. But installation of the giant Trump logo, which started over two weeks ago, signals that completion of exterior construction isn’t far off.
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Trump spire makes a strong point on the skyline as tower’s rooftop construction crane comes down
September 29 2011: The spire on the Trump Tower Toronto soars skyward between neighbours Scotia Plaza, left, and First Canadian Place, right
September 28 2011: With its spire, the Trump Toronto is supposed to stand 276.9 meters — that’s 2 meters taller than next-door neighbour Scotia Plaza, left
September 28 2011: First Canadian Place, right, retains its crown as Toronto’s tallest building at 298 meters (not including its antennae).
Soaring spire: Construction of the Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto is drawing closer to completion — a point punctuated this week when work crews added the top section of the skyscraper’s signature spire and began disassembling the rooftop construction crane.
Soaring skyward between Scotia Plaza and First Canadian Place, the spire cements Trump Toronto’s status as a new architectural landmark on the Financial District skyline. According to the Toronto Skyscraper Diagram on skyscraperpage.com, the spire gives Trump Toronto a total height of 276.9 meters. Technically speaking, that means Trump Toronto takes honours as the city’s second-tallest tower, after 298-meter First Canadian Place. However, the slender spire rises only 2 meters higher than Scotia Plaza next door which will nevertheless continue to look like it’s still the second-tallest skyscraper.
With cladding remaining to be installed on only the three top floors, the building appears to be on schedule for the 261-room Trump Toronto Hotel to open its doors in January. (The hotel is currently accepting reservations through its website from January 10 2012 onwards).
Below are photos showing recent construction progress on the tower’s top floors and spire.
August 30 2011: An HtO Park view of Trump Tower Toronto rising behind First Canadian Place, left and the towers of the TD Centre
August 30 2011: Toronto Islands view of Trump Tower Toronto rising on the Financial District skyline
September 3 2011: Trump Tower Toronto viewed from Adelaide Street West near University Avenue
September 3 2011: Spire construction viewed from the west on Adelaide Street
September 3 2011: Spire construction viewed from the west on Adelaide Street
September 3 2011: The “quarter onion”-shaped base for the spire
September 3 2011: Trump Tower Toronto and Scotia Plaza, right, seen from the intersection of King & Bay Streets
September 3 2011: Upper floor construction on the south side of the tower
September 3 2011: Trump Tower Toronto viewed from King & Bay Streets
September 3 2011: The spire rises from the tower’s northwest corner
September 3 2011: Looking up at the construction form for the spire, left
September 11 2011: Trump Toronto’s ascent on the downtown skyline as seen from Tommy Thompson Park (aka Leslie Street Spit)
September 12 2011: Sunset view of Trump Toronto spire construction
September 13 2011: Riverdale Park view of the Trump Toronto rising on the Financial District skyline
September 13 2011: Trump Tower Toronto rises among the office towers
September 28 2011: Spire base viewed from the northeast
September 28 2011: Only three more floors await cladding installation
September 28 2011: The yellow crane is disassembling the main crane that soared above the Trump Toronto throughout its construction
September 28 2011: Another northeast view of Trump Tower Toronto spire
Trump’s ‘quarter onion’ spire base rises
August 30 2011: Trump Tower Toronto construction progress
Top of the Trump: The frame for the Trump International Hotel + Tower Toronto’s signature spire is fast taking shape atop the building’s northwest corner. The structure’s distinctive “quarter onion” design has been taking form over the past week and is visible throughout the downtown area. Below is an artistic rendering from the Trump Toronto website, showing how the top of the tower will appear when complete, followed by several photos I shot from my balcony showing construction progress during the past nine days.
From the Trump International Hotel + Tower Toronto website, this artistic rendering depicts the distinctive quarter-onion shaped rooftop structure that will be topped by a slender sky-piercing spire
August 21 2011
August 23 2011
August 26 2011
August 26 2011
August 28 2011
August 28 2011
August 29 2011
August 30 2011
Checking in on the new 5-star hotel/condo towers: The Trump International Hotel + Tower
August 1 2011: The Trump Toronto Tower viewed from Adelaide Street West near the Living Shangri-La Toronto (left), another new skyscraper I will profile in an upcoming installment of “Checking in on the 5-star hotel/condo towers”
August 1 2011: The north side of Trump Toronto, looking up from Adelaide Street
August 1 2011: The tower’s west side, viewed from Bay Street
Putting up the penthouse: Shouldn’t be too much longer before construction tops off on the Trump International Hotel + Tower Toronto.
From my balcony, I’ve been able to watch the penthouse levels of the 60-storey tower gradually take shape during the past two weeks, climbing into view above the top of the Bay Adelaide Centre. I expect completion of the mechanical floors above them to follow soon. And once its signature “quarter onion”-shaped turret has been built to cap the tower’s northwest corner, and in turn is topped with a spire, the Trump Tower Toronto will become the city’s second-tallest building, after First Canadian Place.
Designed by Toronto’s Zeidler Partnership Architects, the Trump Toronto will rise more than 900 feet on its compact site at the southeast corner of Bay and Adelaide Streets. According to the project website, the building will include 261 luxury hotel rooms on its lower levels in studio, 1- and 2-bedroom configurations, along with five Trump Executive suites. There also will be 118 condominium suites from floors 33 to 60, accessed via a Sky Lobby with concierge on the 31st floor. Condo residents will enjoy “full access” to the hotel’s amenities, including room service, housekeeping, concierge and valet. A five-star restaurant will occupy the 30th floor, while there will be an entire floor of executive meetings rooms in a “high-tech business centre.” A full-service spa with gym, exercise studios and swimming pool will occupy two levels of the building. The ground floor will feature a “sophisticated” lobby bar, while floors 2 through 7 will contain a valet-operated parking garage.
The Trump Hotel Collection website is currently accepting online reservations for Trump Toronto beginning November 1 of this year. Today, the site’s reservation system showed seven suites available for the night of Nov. 1; the lowest available price was $485 (plus tax) for either a superior king or superior double room, each 550 square feet in size. A 1,000-square-foot grand deluxe 1-bedroom suite with panoramic views was available for $885 (plus tax), while a 1,650-square-foot grand deluxe two-bedroom suite with city views and a kitchen was going for $1,785 (plus tax).
Below is a series of Trump Toronto photos I shot during the summer.
June 6 2011: The Trump Toronto crane stands prominently on the skyline
June 20 2011: Looking up at Scotia Plaza, the Trump Toronto, and Bay Adelaide Centre (right) from the sidewalk on Adelaide Street West
June 20 2011: Trump Toronto viewed from the University/ Adelaide intersection
June 26 2011: Trump Toronto’s ascent to the upper echelons of the Financial District is seen from Broadview Avenue above Riverdale Park
June 26 2011: Another Broadview Avenue view of the Trump Toronto and other Financial District skyscrapers
June 26 2011: A Broadview Avenue view of, from left, Commerce Court, CN Tower, TD Centre’s TD Bank Tower, Scotia Plaza, First Canadian Place, Trump Toronto and the Bay Adelaide Centre
June 29 2011: My balcony view of Trump Toronto rising on the skyline
July 1 2011: Trump Toronto viewed from Shuter Street to the northeast
July 1 2011: Trump Toronto begins climbing above the 51-storey Bay Adelaide Centre (right), but won’t stand as tall as 72-storey First Canadian Place (rear)
July 1 2011: Trump Toronto viewed from the TD Centre Plaza off King Street
July 3 2011: Trump Toronto joins the ranks of the tall bank towers in this city skyline view from the Humber Bay area
July 3 2011: Another view of Trump Toronto making its mark on the skyline
July 8 2011: Trump Toronto viewed from Nathan Phillips Square
July 13 2011: Spotlights on the Trump Toronto construction crane at sunset
July 20 2011: Trump Toronto viewed from the SW corner of King & Bay Streets
July 20 2011: Southwest view of the Trump Toronto from King Street West
July 20 2011: Southwest view of the tower’s upper floors. At this point, the Trump Toronto has reached 57 storeys
July 20 2011: Southwest view of the tower’s middle section
July 20 2011: A closer look at forms midway up the tower’s south side
July 20 2011: The external construction elevator rises up the green glass curtain wall on the building’s south side
July 20 2011: A closer look at the exterior construction elevator
July 20 2011: Windows near the tower’s southeast corner
July 20 2011: The construction entrance to the 54th floor. The exterior elevator climbs a total of 55 floors
July 20 2011: The tower’s northwest upper floors reach 57 storeys here
July 20 2011: Upper floors await their curtain wall installation
July 20 2011: Windows on the tower’s southwest corner
July 20 2011: Trump Toronto viewed from the west on Adelaide Street
July 20 2011: Upper floors on the tower’s west side
July 20 2011: Missing window panes and panels on the tower’s west wall
July 24 2011: Trump Toronto viewed from Bloor Street near Varsity Stadium
August 1 2011: Bay Adelaide Centre and Trump Toronto viewed from the west
August 1 2011: Trump Toronto and Scotia Plaza viewed from the west
August 1 2011: Trump Toronto reflects in the Bay Adelaide Centre)
August 1 2011: Windows on the lower levels of the tower’s north wall. A valet-operated parking garage occupies floors 2 through 7.
August 1 2011: Window and cladding details on the lower levels
August 1 2011: The tower’s northeast corner awaits some missing panels
August 1 2011: The Adelaide Street entrance to the tower’s porte-cochère
August 1 2011: Adelaide Street view into the porte-cochère, which features a curved public art mural made of glass, stone and ceramics
August 1 2011: An Adelaide Street view of upper floors on the tower’s north side
August 1 201: Bay Street view of the Bay Adelaide Centre and the Trump Toronto
August 1 2011: Lower floors on the west side of the tower, viewed from Bay Street
August 1 2011: Looking up from Bay Street at the tower’s west side
August 1 2011: Progress on the penthouse levels viewed from the west
August 1 2011: Green glass curtain wall on the tower’s west side
August 1 2011: West view of Trump Toronto and Scotia Plaza
Trump Tower set to overtake Bay Adelaide Centre as it keeps rising on Financial District skyline
May 8 2011: Trump International Hotel and Tower Toronto construction progress viewed from Nathan Phillips Square
Getting taller: I keep waiting for the Trump International Hotel and Tower Toronto to make a big impact on my balcony view of the Financial District. For more than a month, I’ve been able to see the Trump Toronto’s rooftop construction crane poking above and behind the 51-storey Bay Adelaide Centre. But within a couple more weeks, I should finally be able to see the actual tower itself. Below are several recent photos showing the Trump Toronto’s progress ascending to the ranks of the city’s tallest buildings.
April 8 2011: Trump Toronto construction viewed from Nathan Phillips Square
April 23 2011: From my balcony, I can see the Trump’s construction crane poking out from behind the Bay Adelaide Centre building
April 23 2011: A zoom view of the Trump Toronto rising behind BAC
May 8 2011: Another view of Trump Toronto from City Hall
May 13 2011: Trump Toronto viewed from corner of Adelaide and York Streets
Trump l’oeil: Eyes on Toronto’s Trump Tower
Reaching skyward: In this view from the depths of the Bay Street skyscraper canyon, the 13-storey office building at 302 Bay Street (top) appears to rise almost as tall as the still-under-construction Toronto Trump Tower, which is around 50 floors high so far and climbing steadily on its way to 60 storeys. Originally the Trust and Guarantee Building, 302 Bay was built in 1917 but received a rooftop addition in 1929. The building now bears the Bank of Montreal name above its front entrance. On the left is the 51-storey Bay Adelaide Centre, Trump Toronto’s neighbour on the north side of Adelaide Street, built in 2009. Part of the 68-storey Scotia Plaza tower built in 1988 is visible at right and in reflection on the south side of Bay Adelaide Centre.
The Trump Tower made the news today in a Toronto Star article that gives an “exclusive peak” inside the Trump Hotel section of the skyscraper, which received an occupancy permit from the City last Friday. The hotel is scheduled to open later this spring. The newspaper article also profiles the tower’s 42-year-old billionaire builder, Alex Shnaider, and hails his “noteworthy accomplishment” of having “built the tallest residential tower in Canada — and the second tallest building in Toronto, after the CN Tower.” Seems the Star is jumping the gun: the Trump isn’t even as tall as the Bay Adelaide Centre yet, and it’s far from “built.” Moreover, when complete, it still won’t rise as high as 72-storey First Canadian Place, so Trump will have to settle for third-highest place on the Toronto skyline. Below are some pics I’ve taken of the Toronto Trump Tower this month.
March 14 2011: Adelaide Street West view of Toronto Trump Tower construction
March 7 2011: Toronto Trump Tower viewed from Bay & Adelaide Streets
March 7 2011: Southwest view from Bay below Adelaide Street
March 7 2011: Upper-level construction viewed from the southwest
March 7 2011: Nathan Phillips Square view of the Toronto Trump construction
March 7 2011: West view of Bay Adelaide Centre and Toronto Trump Tower
March 7 2011: From left are the Bay Adelaide Centre, Toronto Trump Tower, Scotia Plaza and the Bank of Nova Scotia building at 44 King Street West.
March 7 2011: Trump Tower viewed from Bay Street outside First Canadian Place
March 7 2011: Toronto Trump Tower and the Bank of Nova Scotia building at 44 King Street West. The 27-storey bank building at the northeast corner of King & Bay Streets was constructed in 1951.
March 14 2011: Adelaide Street West view of Toronto Trump construction
March 14 2011: Toronto Trump Tower, Scotia Plaza and First Canadian Place
March 14 2011: When completed, the Toronto Trump Tower will stand taller than Scotia Plaza — when measured to the top of its spire. But Scotia Plaza’s roof will still be higher, as a diagram on skyscraperpage.com demonstrates.
March 14 2011: Toronto Trump Tower and Scotia Plaza
March 22 2011: Scotia Plaza, Toronto Trump Tower and Bay Adelaide Centre
March 22 2011: Northeast view of the Trump Toronto from King Street West
March 22 2011: Upper-level construction viewed from the northeast
March 22 2011: King Street view of the northeast corner of the Trump Toronto
March 22 2011: Toronto Trump Tower street level view from King Street
March 22 2011: Cement trucks at the tower’s King Street construction entrance
Keeping tabs on … the Toronto Trump Tower
Trump Toronto seen from Adelaide Street West on February 3
46 floors and counting: The Donald’s first construction foray into Canada is three-quarters of its way up.
On Thursday I counted 46 floors on the Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto, the luxury condo + hotel skyscraper that will ultimately soar 60 storeys above the corner of Bay and Adelaide Streets. With construction crews pouring a new floor about every six days, the granite- and glass-clad tower should top off sometime around mid- to late March.
I’m loving the Trump already — especially its distinctive green glass walls, which will add a refreshing new colour to a skyline that has been basically black, white and bronze for more than two decades. I think the building works well at ground level, too, where it looks right at home in the middle of the Financial District’s canyon of towers old and new. It almost feels like it’s always been there; I can’t even remember what stood on the site before.
Designed by a Zeidler Partnership Architects team led by Lydon Delaney, the Trump will house 261 hotel rooms on the tower’s lower levels, and 118 luxury condominiums from floors 33 to 60. With hotel rooms ranging from 550 to over 2,000 square feet, the Trump will offer the largest accommodations in Toronto, the project’s website brags. And just as you’d expect for a building bearing business mogul Donald Trump’s imprimatur, it will be “the most luxurious residential building in Canada.”
The superlatives don’t end there, of course. The Trump won’t be just an instant new landmark on the city skyline, the website gushes, it will be “an elegant new beacon for luxurious sophistication” (whatever the heck that means). “Accentuated by an articulated spire at its peak that commands attention from any angle, the Tower pays homage to classic Manhattan skyscrapers yet embraces the modern cosmopolitan flair that is distinctly Toronto.”
Aw, shucks. Is that The Donald’s kind way of saying Toronto has finally come of age and matured into a world class city? Below are two building renderings from the Trump Toronto’s website, along with some photos I snapped of the tower on Thursday afternoon.
Rendering shows Trump standing tall with Scotia Plaza and First Canadian Place
Website rendering of Trump Toronto’s lower levels above Bay & Adelaide Streets
Trump rising behind Commerce Court West (57 floors; built 1972)
Trump Toronto rising behind the Bank of Nova Scotia tower (27 floors; built 1951)
Trump Toronto seen from Bay Street just above King Street
Trump Toronto climbs skyward beside Scotia Plaza (68 floors; built 1988)
Looking up to the top (so far) of the Trump Tower from Bay Street
Trump Toronto is clad in granite and glass
Green glass windows and cladding on the tower’s southwest corner
Construction workers on a platform high above Bay Street
Granite exterior on the lower southwest corner of the tower
One of the construction workers’ elevators stops at the 28th floor
Platforms extend from nearly a dozen different floors on the south side
Two angled platforms on the exterior of the tower’s south side
Construction workers on a swing stage two storeys above Bay Street
Classic granite facade fits right in on the Bay Street corridor
Bay Street view of Trump Tower behind Commerce Court West
Trump Tower cozies up to its next-door neighbour, Scotia Plaza
Toronto’s Trump Tower quickly catching up to its Bay Adelaide Centre, Scotia Plaza neighbours
Trump Toronto starts to make its mark on the skyline
For years, my balcony view of the Financial District skyline never changed. I had a terrific view of the CN Tower, First Canadian Place and Scotia Plaza, and could even see the TD Bank Tower at the Toronto-Dominion Centre. Things changed considerably in mid 2009. That summer, the Bay Adelaide Centre (BAC) topped off at 50 floors and obscured nearly all of my view of the TD Bank building, while the 43-storey RBC Centre blocked a bit of the CN Tower (only the lower third, thankfully). In 2010, part of the RBC Centre’s next-door neighbour, the new Ritz-Carlton Hotel, came into view (appearing behind other towers this time, not blocking sight of them). Within just a couple more months, I’ll get to see another new skyscraper when the Trump International Hotel and Tower overtakes the Bay Adelaide Centre in height.
I’ve been wondering when the Trump would finally make a noteworthy impression on the city skyline. For the past two years, its construction has been obvious from parts of Adelaide Street and Bay Street, but taller neighbours have obscured most views from the north and south. That started to change in late fall 2010; from the CN Tower observation decks in early November, I could see part of the Trump climbing behind the east side of First Canadian Place. Now the Trump can be seen from other areas of downtown, too, as these photos — snapped through a window at the Art Gallery of Ontario on December 26 — show. With its spire, the Trump will become the second-tallest tower in Toronto. Measured to its roof, however, the Trump will take only third place.