POST-CIAM
Figure 2 - (Above) St. Lawrence Historical Heritage Buildings
the poor supporting conditions for the growth of vegetation anyways. There was also a smaller air pollution impact due to the close proximity of the Gardiner Expressway.6 The site was not fully suitable, thus the city created a landfill in the area of the old Esplanade district. It produced a significantly bigger site with more land to build on that was located within a walking distance from the lake. Site zoning was a sensetive metter to discuss due to the preservation of historic district and landfil issues. Fortunatelly, planners found a well working solution for this isssue. The Front street edge was to be of a commertial use with the mixed old and new building that respected the scale and height of the front street. Residential buildings were to be between 4 - 6 stories high.7 The St. Lawrence Market area was so unique that it needed special commercial and housing types. “Housing on the roof” with retail and offices was established to be particularly fitting.8 The Esplanade was to be established a special space ment for pedestrian circulation, public transit and recreation. This was to be the place where all activities of the neighbourhood come together. The Young street frontage was ment to be the place where the gateway to St. Lawrence civic area begins.9 And finally the Promenade area was to be a noise buffer place with views and pedestrian links to the waterfront.10 The Toronto of the 1970s was a city that works. Toronto’s downtown core was not rendered a ghost town by suburban emigration, unlike what was happening in a number of major urban areas in the U.S. With the slow but steady rise of the Parti Québécois in Quebec,
the city experienced a rapid influx of Englishspeaking Montrealers that it became the fastest growing metropolis in North America. During the turbulent period of Western nations focusing all of their energies on Cold War with the Soviet Union, Toronto was following its own path and was experienced a major building boom. There was a rapid rise of concrete apartment structures, downtown office towers, and the construction of the CN Tower. It was not a very succesful period for the historic structures of the city . Unfortunately urban planners were going through a trend of knocking down great iconic buildings like the Temple Building, the original Toronto Star Building, and the Mercer Reformatory and many more. In spite of this, it’s worth noting, Toronto was yet to become the cultural and gourmet destination it is today. During the time of political and economic restrain and recession, the city of Toronto spent almost 18 million dollars in land assembly loans from the federal government on buying the property in St. Lawrence.11 During these unstable times it was highly unlikely for the city to find funds on any other neighbourhood redevelopment project, thus all the hopes and big aspirations were focused on the St. Lawrence. The St. Lawrence project was considered to be a symbol, where the housing department and the city’s council housing policy had their ideals projected in. This project served to convey the message to the citizens of Toronto that the their city is trying hard to resolve its housing issues. The municipal forces of the city wanted everybody to see that the justice is being done in the right direction. Of course the project gave 335