What is the ugliest place in Toronto?
It's probably impossible to determine the ugliest place in Toronto given all the candidates to choose from. Oh boy, I already sound like a downer. To clarify, while there is plenty of beauty to behold in Toronto, as with any major city â especially ones that don't date back for more than a couple of centuries â there's going to be a few eyesores. Is Toronto uglier than other cities of its age and size? Opinion is divided on this question, and it's not what concerns me today. We've talked about ugly buildings and streets before, and even focused in on condos, but today's question is far more wide ranging, as some of the responses indicate.
The top five places that seemed to attract the most repugnance from our Twitter followers are as follows:
1. Under the Gardiner Expressway
2. Robarts Library
3. The waterfront
4. CityPlace
5. Rob Ford's office
I'm a bit surprised at number one, as I've always loved the hyper-urban setting that is Lake Shore Boulevard under the Gardiner, but I suppose it'd be difficult to make a convincing argument that this part of the city is beautiful per se. The other top responses are less surprising, though I think it's obvious that only parts of the waterfront deserve the ugly tag and I know more than a few people who would passionately defend Robarts against such claims. As for Rob Ford's office, well, I guess that was inevitable.
Oh, and lest all this seem like a blow to civic pride, let's recall what we love about the city and just how beautiful it can be.
Share your #uglyTO nominations below.
Photo by Rick McGinnis
