White Elephant Down

jeeff: 28th Oct 2006 - 17:46 GMT

nice, that thing was an eyesore. do you know what it was originally supposed to be? are they tearing it down to make way for a new building, or just a parking lot?

aer: 29th Oct 2006 - 00:34 GMT

i don't know i like it. i'd be happy to live in a city full of structures like this. of course, it'd probably be difficult to go somewhere for a decent cup of coffee or get out of the rain...nice shots.

Ric Romero: 29th Oct 2006 - 09:15 GMT

This cement structure was to be the elevator shaft of a tall building.
But -ooops- they run out of money for the rest of the building. There was once an ad for a mutual fund company that had mannequines posed as if they were rock climbing.

jeeff: 29th Oct 2006 - 18:02 GMT

i remember that. for a while it was set up as a billboard for cancer research, with a couple of those coin-operated telescope things. you were supposed to try and spot the tiny cancer cells painted on the big wall, and the funds went to cancer research. that was a good idea.

my main beef is with such a big site in the center of town being unused and inaccessible to the public. they should make it into a public square! (and not ad-festooned like dundas square)

Schrodinger's Cat: 3rd Nov 2006 - 00:04 GMT

Actually the construction of this building started in late 1989 . It was supposed to be a 58 storey high office tower called the Bay Adelaide Tower.
It was officially mothballed in early 1991 as a recession set in and the prospective prime tenants decided not to move in. By the time is was mothballed four levels ( plus or minus)
of parking levels were built and the elevator core was built to the 5th floor. Also the steel frame for a smaller 15 floor tower had been erected. That frame was dismantled in 1991.

jeeff: 3rd Nov 2006 - 02:10 GMT

thanks for the info. all that effort for nothing. i hope they recycle the materials at least.