Snapshot - Queen Street, west of Yonge

Location: Queen Street, looking west from Yonge
Date photo taken: 21 December 2018

This short stretch of Queen Street West is seeing its fair share of changes lately. In addition to the dramatic new skybridge which opened in 2017 replacing the original one installed back in 1979, this image includes glimpses of two very different renovation projects. In the centre background is the 33-storey building formerly known as the Simpson Tower. Designed by John B. Parkin, a firm often referred to as legendary for its modernist designs, it was completed in 1969. The update has removed the original bronze-tinted glazing and thick concrete bands that ringed the building, updating the look along with the energy efficiency of the building and removing a distinctive piece of history from the city's skyline. 

In the right foreground of the picture is the construction scaffolding surrounding 2 Queen Street West, which is a very different renovation story. This building, which has been covered whole or in part by cladding since the 1960s is now being restored back to its 1885 glory. For more detail and some great pictures, check out this article.