The Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips Square on Sept. 30, 2021.Evan Buhler/The Canadian Press
Many great cities have a grand square at their heart. In Beijing, it is Tiananmen. In, London, Trafalgar. In Mexico City, the Zocalo.
Toronto’s version is Nathan Phillips Square. Named after the city’s fifty-third mayor, it opened in 1965 in front of the dramatic new city hall designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell. With its reflecting pond, which turns into a skating rink in winter, it’s been a focus for celebrations, protests and fairs ever since.
A self-respecting city would make sure a prime public space like this was kept in top shape. Sadly, Toronto has not.
The recessed fountains that are supposed to spring up from the square’s big concrete paving slabs in summer have stopped working. Many of the paving slabs themselves are chipped and crumbling; workers have dabbed yellow paint along their edges so people won’t trip and fall. The green roof on the podium beneath City Hall’s arched double towers has gone to seed.
The huge parking lot underneath the square is in a shocking state. The stairwells leading down to it are dank and forbidding. The asphalt on the floor is coated with years of grime and oil.
All of this is doubly unfortunate because, just a decade ago, the city finished work on a big $60-million renovation that was meant to spruce up the faded square and make it work better as a gathering place.
The Peace Garden that had interrupted the square’s impressive sweep was moved from its awkward site right in front of City Hall to a spot off to the side. A new, permanent stage was built in place of the temporary ones that had to be thrown up for every event. The result was a cleaner, less cluttered and more functional square.
Gee: Toronto is failing on the small details that make cities work
But, as often happens, the city went cheap. With complaints rising about the project’s overruns, it failed to fix the elevated walkways that ring the square or improve the rundown strip on its east flank along Bay Street. Even more typically, the city has failed to maintain the new, improved square properly. Toronto is becoming famous for splashing out on fancy new artist-designed parks and squares, only to let them grow ratty through neglect. The square is the original example of this discouraging pattern.
At some level, the city knows it has a problem. In a report released this week, officials said they are working “to ensure the public spaces at NPS are clean through regular power washing, graffiti and poster removal and waste pick up.” They added, rather pathetically, that “all four water drinking fountains are fully functioning.” Their report noted they expect to replace the tired chess tables in one corner of the square by the end of the year and make public WiFi available.
But other repairs and improvements will have to wait. They estimate they need $68.4-million for the job but the project is currently “unfunded.” They add (if you can manage to claw your way through the thickets of the following sentence) that: “The prioritization of the unfunded holistic preservation of NPS will be evaluated through future Capital Prioritization exercises to ensure alignment with the City’s strategic direction regarding the allocation of available capital funds.” In other words, we’ll try to find the money, but don’t hold your breath
City Council should press them to try harder. Fixing up a public square may seem like a frill in a city that is struggling to police its streets, provide decent, affordable housing and keep its transit system running.
But letting a jewel like Nathan Phillips Square grow dull sends a bad message about the state of the city. This is Toronto’s front yard. Tourists flock to the square to take pictures at the Toronto sign beside the pool. Locals come down to ring in New Year’s.
Toronto still has an extraordinarily vibrant and successful downtown by North American standards. And, for all its troubles, Nathan Phillips remains an extraordinarily successful public square, hosting dozens of events every year.
Those who dismiss it as an arid grey desert miss the boat entirely. The design by Revell and landscape architect Richard Strong created an open, welcoming democratic space that still feels modern six decades later. The Peace Garden and the newly opened Indigenous Spirit Garden on the west side make a nice counterpoint.
The square just needs some tender loving care. Let’s hope the mayor and councillors can find the will, and the money, to give it the attention it deserves.