At the end of another very photogenic year for Toronto, we are rounding up our most popular Photo of the Day features from 2016, selecting the most viewed photo feature from each calendar month.
Our most popular Photo of the Day from January 2016 was a view of balcony glass installation on one of the Harbour Plaza Residences condominium towers, currently under construction in Toronto's South Core area. This shot was captured by Flickr contributor Lori Whelan, who has made a name for herself with a unique portfolio of perspective corrected building facades.
Balcony glazing being installed on Menkes' Harbour Plaza Residences, image by Lori Whelan via Flickr
February's top Photo of the Day highlighted a scaled-down hockey rink atop 120 Adelaide West in Toronto's Financial District. Submitted by Flickr contributor Empty Quarter, this view overlooks the half-size NHL ice sheet built as part of Molson Canadian's #anythingforhockey campaign.
Rooftop ice rink above 120 Adelaide West, image by Empty Quarter via Flickr
Our most popular Photo of the Day feature from March covered the emerging details on the reconstructed Art Deco facades of the Concourse Building, part of the EY Tower development now nearing completion in the Financial District. Submitted to the project's Forum thread by contributor drum118, this view from the south shows the colours and details of the Concourse Building's upper parapet.
The top of the reconstituted Concourse Building at EY Tower, image by UT Forum contributor drum118
April's most popular Photo of the Day was also—easily—UrbanToronto's most popular photo of the entire year! It is a north-facing shot from Queens Quay Boulevard, showing the impact of a fully-clad Sun Life Financial Tower on the surrounding South Core district. Submitted to the project's Forum thread by contributor Jimmy Wu, this photo's mirror-like effect creates an optical illusion that drew much praise in our comments section and on social media.
View north from Queens Quay just east of York, image by Jimmy Wu
The temporary May closure of the Gardiner Expressway allowed Forum contributor tnarduzzi to snap that month's most popular Photo of the Day. Facing east from the empty expressway, this shot of Tridel's Ten York Street highlighted the building's wedge-shaped podium structure from a never-before-seen angle.
View of Tridel's Ten York's wedge-shaped podium and the first tower floors above, image by Forum contributor tnarduzzi
Toronto skyline views have been featured regularly in our Photo of the Day feature over the years, made relevant by the constant stream of new buildings entering skyline views. June's most popular Photo of the Day featured a colourfully processed view from Centre Island, submitted by Flickr contributor rodneygaviola.
Skyline view reflecting off of Toronto Harbour, image by Rodney Gaviola via Flickr
July's top Photo of the Day takes the viewer even further south, presenting a drone-captured view of the Centre Island Pier with the Toronto skyline serving as a backdrop. Submitted to the Forum by contributor Jasonzed, this view juxtaposes the natural setting of the island against the rigid geometries of the skyline.
View of the Centre Island Pier and Toronto skyline, image by Forum contributor Jasonzed
By mid-summer, Photo of the Day features highlighting active construction projects had grown in popularity. August's top photo covered the installation of cladding on the new York University Station, part of the TTC's TYSSE project. Submitted by Flickr contributor dtstuff9, this view shows the curving modern form of the Foster + Partners-designed subway station.
York University Station under construction, image by dtstuff9 via Flickr
The demolition of the St. Lawrence North Market brought us our most popular Photo of the Day from September. Captured from the rooftop amenity area at neighbouring Market Square condominium complex to the west, this shot was submitted to the project's Forum thread by Edward Skira—sun behind him—in the midst of its since-completed teardown.
Demolition of St Lawrence Market North, image by Edward Skira
In October, a view of Tridel's Ten York Street was our most popular Photo of the Day, marking the project's second appearance in a top-ranked Photo of the Day feature this year. Captured from the roof of the neighbouring Harbourfront parking garage and submitted to the project's Forum thread by Tridelwebmaster, this view shows the status of the building's cladding installation as of the start of the month.
View of Ten York rising into the South Core skyline, image submitted to the Forum by Tridel
A drone-captured aerial view of the nascent East Bayfront district was the most popular Photo of the Day from November. Submitted to the Forum by contributor Jasonzed, this west-facing view shows a number of active construction sites along Queens Quay Boulevard East including Daniels Waterfront, Monde, Aqualina, and Aquavista.
Aerial view of Queens Quay East, facing west towards the Toronto skyline, image by Forum contributor Jasonzed
December's most popular Photo of the Day was shot from a condo unit at Karma Condos, facing north towards the topped-off One Bloor East. Captured by Greg Lipinski and submitted to the One Bloor East Forum thread, this view highlights the ongoing installation of balcony glazing on the 76-storey, Hariri Pontarini Architects-designed condominium tower.
North view of One Bloor East, image by Greg Lipinski
Do you have a favourite UrbanToronto Photo of the Day from 2016 that didn't make the cut? Let us know using the comments section provided at the bottom of this page? Want to see your work featured as Photo of the Day? Make your way to the City Photos & Videos section of the Forum, or submit your images to our Instagram or UrbanToronto Flickr Pool for your chance to be featured on our Front Page!