Valhalla's famous features to be preserved after demolition. About the only part of the Valhalla Inn left standing is the tower and this sign as the bulldozers knock down the original building that when first built was a country motel-style inn. The property will be developed into townhouses and condominiums.

By Cynthia Reason, photograph by Ian Kelso, Guardian photo

Although demolition of the iconic Valhalla Inn's tower is set to commence next week, those sentimental for the motor inn's uniquely kitschy 60s-era decor can breathe a sigh of relief - its trademark oast house roofs and famous Viking ship bar will live on. 

GP Di Rocco, vice-president of Edilcan Development Corporation, told The Guardian this week that plans are in the works to incorporate some of the original Inn's artifacts into the three new glass-clad condominium towers and 68 three-storey townhomes planned for the site.

"What we've done is we've worked with (the City of Toronto's) Heritage Preservation Services to identify what was meaningful," he said. "The Nordic Lounge was the main dining room and bar area in the hotel and from there we're actually going to be removing, warehousing and restoring the Viking ship bar from that space."

Using the bar as the focal point, Di Rocco said it, along with some custom light fixtures and other artifacts that will be refurbished and reused, will be housed in one of the development's amenity rooms - keeping them all together "so as not to lose the flavour, not to dilute and not to minimize the importance."

What makes such pieces so important to heritage buffs is the fact that they were designed by the Inn's architect George Robb, who won the Ontario Association of Architects Design Excellence Award in 1966 for his work on the Valhalla Inn.

"That's something that's quite unique. Usually an architect designs the exterior of the building and that's it, but he went over and above, so we're paying tribute to some of these great things," Di Rocco said.

The Valhalla Inn opened to much fanfare in May 1963 as one of the city's first motor inns. Its Scandinavian design became so popular, spotting its three conical oast house roofs became synonymous with arrival at Toronto's 'in spot' of the era.

Those roofs, too, will live on in facsimile form as part of Edilcan's efforts preserve some of the Valhalla's exterior trademarks, Di Rocco said.

"In our outdoor amenity area on our podium, which will be facing the highway, up on the fourth floor we're recreating the oast house roofs at the same size and scale," he explained. "So the beauty is that once the project is built, when you pass by on Hwy. 427 you'll still see those three oast house roofs - I guess they're coming back, so again we're trying to pay homage to those."

Demolition of the Valhalla Inn began in December, and will continue into late spring as its remaining tower comes down. In its place, plans for the One Valhalla Towns and Condos project consist of three Page + Steele designed "landmark buildings" - the first, a 22-storey, 213 condominium highrise on the site's north end; the second, the 35-storey Thunderbird "iconic tower" bordering Hwy. 427; and the third, a yet-to-be-launched 30-storey tower.

All three towers will rise from a three-storey, two- to three-acre landscaped podium. Also included in the development will be 68 three-storey townhomes.

"We're quite excited about it. It's a veritable community. With 900 units, it's a little town," Di Rocco said.