Landmark Place / Century 21 Building

[Jon Dalton]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

are you serious?? you told them you work for Stinson?? no way! Lol.
When can we see the pics?
And yes, that view is unmatched. Is the very top floor still empty?? What the heck? they need a 360 bar up there with rooftop patio.

The 'top floor' I assume you mean the several floors that are boxed in and slightly bigger than the rest? Those are floors 38 to 43 and they are occupied. Were you just walking around empty apartments up there?

There is a much smaller 'box' ontop of those upper floors, two stories high. The first level of that is mechanical rooms and the second, the absolute top floor, is the abandoned observation deck. A final set of stairs leads to the roof of the observation deck, the highest point on the building.

Pictures are developing as we speak, so later today if you're lucky. Better yet, go down and try the Stinson trick.

[RePinion]

Is there a service elevator which runs all the way to the top floor? I presume there is (since those top few floors used to be offices, no?), but this would be a necessity if a bar or restaurant were to operate up there.

[DC83]

Originally Posted by RePinion

Is there a service elevator which runs all the way to the top floor? I presume there is (since those top few floors used to be offices, no?), but this would be a necessity if a bar or restaurant were to operate up there.

I believe there are two sets of elevators: One for the apartments, one for the upper-levels (old office suites).

you got into the Obversvation Deck, JonDalton?? How big was it? Like approx how many sq ft?

[raisethehammer]

yea, I was in the space that is now apartments....so, the observation level is just sitting there empty?? I don't get it.

[fastcarsfreedom]

The idea of a restaurant on the top of Century 21 is not a new one--it has been batted around in the past...along with the idea of a restaurant in the Sam Lawrence Park area. In addition to the CN Tower, Toronto has Canoe, at the top of the TD Centre...Detroit has Coach Insignia on two floors (71 & 72) of the Renaissance Center--Buffalo previously had "The 38th Floor" on top of the Marine Midland Center--though that restaurant disappeared sometime in the 1990s. The idea has some merit, assuming the food and atmposhere is good.

737 at the top of PVM in Montreal is a great spot--a restaurant by day and a nightclub in the evening--saw Mark Recchi there some years back.

As for observation spaces/decks--I recommend the top of Buffalo City Hall, which was renovated relatively recently.

[DC83]

Originally Posted by fastcarsfreedom

737 at the top of PVM in Montreal is a great spot--a restaurant by day and a nightclub in the evening--saw Mark Recchi there some years back.

As for observation spaces/decks--I recommend the top of Buffalo City Hall, which was renovated relatively recently.

I always thought the top of Buffalo City Hall was their council chambers? Maybe that was just wishful thinking? Gorgeous building tho. One of my worldwide faves.

Mark Recchi, eh? That's fun! When I was there, Hugh Heffner was there... didn't see him of course. But there were lots of scantily-clad 'bunnies' hoppin around haha

But ya, I agree with you. It would make best sense to be Resto by Day, Club by Night.

Any name ideas? It would need to be catchy as a Club AND Resto! 360 ?

[Jon Dalton]

I got into, and onto, the observation deck. It's a square hallway about 8 feet wide with 20 foot sides. The middle is walled off and contains the staircase and I think some mechanical stuff. It's way too small for a restaurant.

Without building any new structures, I figure they could knock out part of the inside wall and set up a bar and have a counter and barstools along the windows. The elevator stops at floor 43 and then there's 3 flights of stairs. The washrooms would need to be a floor or two below.

At the very least, they should refinish the area and restore public access. It would be as easy as having visitors check in at the front desk. They could use an electronic lock with an access code that's reset every day. The only concern I could imagine would be bums and drug deals if access was unrestricted.

This seems to be an idea everyone agrees upon. We just need someone with the motivation and the financing to do it. I was serious that it would be a good project for Stinson. We know he can do restaurants and if anything he'd actually have a chance of financing this. It might be step one of rebuilding his reputation from the ground up.

[raisethehammer]

right on Jon. How can we email Stinson?? He's always looking to make a splash...nothing would be splashier than a 360 bar on top of Hamilton.
Is there room for an outdoor patio on that top floor?? I always assumed there would be since it's got a smaller footprint than the 5 floors below...maybe they could build a more substantial resto space on the roof of floor 43 (I think it's 43, if memory serves).

[DC83]

^^ Nevermind emailing, rth, he's ALWAYS in his Liason College Office! Just walk by during 9-5 if you have a chance one day.

If not, try that Connaught email!
info@theconnaught.ca

[SteelTown]

Harry Stinson's email......

harrystinson@bellnet.ca

[raisethehammer]

Originally Posted by DC83

^^ Nevermind emailing, rth, he's ALWAYS in his Liason College Office! Just walk by during 9-5 if you have a chance one day.

If not, try that Connaught email!
info@theconnaught.ca

really?? at Liason?
I was looking at that place today...it's VERY skinny. he could do something ultra-slim and cool there.

[Jon Dalton]

Looks a little something like this:

(Photo by Peter Michael Wilson)
Check out the Tims drive-thru action on the bottom centre.
Loads more to come.

[DC83]

Wow great shot!
The old BMO Bldg is SO gorgeous at night. I remember one of Flar's shots, and it looks like it's just glowing!

What I don't get about Hamilton is why we don't illuminate our highrises like most cities do?

[adam]

.... with LEDs??

that shot would be a great postcard!
Another great shot if you could get it would be coming down Hwy 6 from Hwy 5 at night. I brought a few friends from Toronto that way and they thought it was gorgeous with all the lights - I think you get some Burlington mixed in with some Hamilton though.

[DC83]

I've noticed when you're coming down that hill at night, you can't see any downtown buildings at all. It's hard to see the buildings on the TB McQuestion bridge at night, even. So LEDs would be wonders for a city literally living in the dark.

Only problem is 2 of the 3 tallest here are residential. So they wouldn't be able to shoot LEDs up them all night long. They wouldn't be occupied for very long after that hahaha

[SteelTown]

I'd would love to see buildings covered with LED lights. Right House would be a killer. City Hall too. Wonder if Lister Block would be covered with LED lights.

Nice picture btw!

[raisethehammer]

LED's would be awesome...like Miami.

BTW, there's no Horton's drive-thru in that pic. Must be a lot (we know there's plenty of those).

[SteelTown]

I can't remember the city but it's a southern city, Kansas City? But they have a program where the city funds LED lights for the downtown area.

Imagine having all the buildings facing Gore Park covered with LED lights.

[DC83]

^^ it's the Tim's lot @ John/Jackson -- no drivethru tho.

[Jon Dalton]

We don't illuminate our highrises for the most part because there's nothing to illuminate. No sense showing off the shabby concrete apartments that comprise most of our skyline. I like Hamilton much better at night because you can't see the bad buildings. Now Stelco Tower could look cool, and maybe that BDC / Investors Group building.

Landmark has christmas lights on the roof. Are those turned on every year?