During the removal, three or four letters were brought down at a time, from the top of the 25-storey building.
Similar to the retrofit, LED Solutions used a 9.1-m (30-ft) long swing stage for the removal, which spanned about half the length of each sign. In both instances, once the first portion was dismantled, the swing stage would be brought down, re-rigged, moved over, and sent back up to work on the second portion.
Since the signs had been up for more than 50 years, and were originally made out of heavy steel, thoughtful effort was required to detach them from the building’s exterior. Due to their weight, there were restrictions on how many letters could be put inside the swing stage at one time. For each trip, three or four letters were brought down from the top of the 25-storey building. Once the letters were lowered, the team had to go all the way back up again to prepare for their next trip to the ground. Luckily, they had good weather during the project, and were able to conduct one removal per day.
When both signs were down in their entirety, LED Solutions filled all the remaining holes with silicone and ensured they were watertight, as well as capped all the electrical sources and removed all the power supplies from inside the building.
Given the well-known reputation of the Toronto Star, the project gained a great deal of media attention. Throughout the process, pedestrians and reporters visited the site and took photos of the signs being removed—including the newspaper’s own team of journalists, and one of its rival publications, the Globe and Mail. Local news and culture website blogTO even referred to the sign’s removal as “the end of an era.”
However, the Toronto Star was still drafting new plans for its illustrious nameplate.
A new beginning
With two signs removed, and the other two powered off until the building’s new owner began facade work, the question remained as to what to do with the two signs in the project team’s possession. The Toronto Star opted to keep one set of letters, from the west elevation, while the other set was sent out to be recycled.
For now, the sign has found a new, temporary home in a storage facility. The likely plan is for LED Solutions to refurbish the letters at a later date, for the newspaper to use however they wish, at their new facility at Front Street West and Spadina Avenue.
No matter the sign’s future, one fact remains: Toronto will never forget the bright blue “star” that once graced its lakefront skyline.
