“There’s no place like this place … anyplace.”

That’s the message a brightly coloured banner hanging in Honest Ed’s has proudly proclaimed to customers for years.

It seems the Guardian newspaper agrees.

In a list published through a partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation, the UK-based newspaper included the iconic discount store in an interactive list telling the “History of cities in 50 buildings.”

“From the 4,600-year-old pyramid of Zoser to the under-construction one kilometre-high Kingdom Tower — via the first London semi, Beijing’s old stock exchange and L.A.’s stacked freeway interchange — these 50 structures tell unique stories of our urban history,” an explanation of the project pontificates.

There, nestled between the Palestinian parliament and a floating school in Lagos, Nigeria, sits a photo of Honest Ed’s, its instantly recognizable storefront filling the frame.

“These are all projects that reflect some historic points where buildings have either demonstrated some sort of cultural or technological changes,” said Vincent Hui, an architectural science professor at Ryerson University.

According to Hui, while Honest Ed’s may seem an unlikely choice to represent Toronto — especially considering sites such as old and new city hall — the bargain bin shop stands for something significant.

“It has been a landmark insofar as everything from the notable discount store model to engaging with the community,” he said, adding that the rags-to-riches story of the Mirvish family symbolizes the aspirations of many immigrants — including his parents, who came from Hong Kong and China.

“All the projects on the list epitomize a key point in a city’s narrative, and I think for the city of Toronto, Honest Ed’s really does that,” said Hui.

David Lieberman, a professor of architectural and urban design at the University of Toronto, takes a different point of view.

“At first glance, this is a really dumb list,” he said.

Lieberman described it as a “weird collection of semi-iconic sites put together by a layman,” and said Toronto’s one-stop shop for affordable goods may have found itself in the wrong neighbourhood.

“Honest Ed’s, as a building, is nothing,” he said. “It’s an institution, sure, but the building isn’t even that old or interesting.”

The foundation of the debate seems to be whether or not a single building can define a city.

“I think it’s a really interesting idea to try and think of cities in terms of buildings that have come along at defining moments,” said Michel Trocmé, a partner at Urban Strategies, which will be part of the site’s redevelopment.

But Trocmé said some of the more famous sites set off “alarm bells” in his head — in particular, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

“It’s a beautiful building, but you can’t remake cities with Guggenheims,” he said. “There’s just not enough Guggenheim juice to go around.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Guggenheim juice or not, Honest Ed’s is set to close at the end of the year, its site destined to become a mixture of apartments and retail space — meaning whatever architectural fame, or infamy, it has earned won’t be around for much longer.

“I think the city of Toronto will certainly be losing a key, characteristic building that really defines a lot of our history,” Hui said.

“The difficulty of Honest Ed’s is that it was a singular thing, it’s not something that could be replicated all over the place,” said Trocmé. “This is not so much about reusing the building, but reusing its eclectic character, this funky mix of unexpected things.”