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Two photographs attributed to 1985 and 2016 show the Nasser Rashid Lootah Building—better known as Dubai’s Toyota Building—against markedly different surroundings. The earlier image is described as showing open land around the tower; the later one places it amid roads and modern development. That is a striking local comparison, but the photographs’ original source and exact viewpoints have not been established in the available reporting, so their dates and framing should be treated as attributed rather than independently verified.
What the two photographs show
Supercar Blondie’s article, published October 2, 2026, dates the images to 1985 and 2016. Its description contrasts open land around the building in the earlier view with extensive roads and modern development in the later one. The visual takeaway is clear at the scale of the photographed area: the tower’s setting changed substantially over the period represented by the pair.
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The comparison does not, by itself, establish how all of Dubai developed, what caused each change, or how quickly construction occurred throughout the city. Nor does the available article text identify the photographer, archive, or camera positions. Without those details, the images are useful as an evocative before-and-after, not as a fully documented measurement of urban growth.
Which building is Dubai’s Toyota Building?
The landmark’s formal name is the Nasser Rashid Lootah Building. It stands on Sheikh Zayed Road and is popularly known as the Toyota Building because a Toyota sign was installed on its roof. Gulf News reports that the building was completed in 1974, has 15 storeys and is approximately 65 metres tall, and was among the early buildings near what was then the First Roundabout.
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How it got the Toyota nickname
According to Gulf News, the rooftop Toyota sign was installed in 1981 and removed in 2018, after the advertising contract ended. The nickname outlasted the sign: many residents still identify the building by the name associated with its most recognizable rooftop feature.
How certain are the dates and viewpoints?
The 1985 and 2016 labels come from Supercar Blondie’s presentation of the pair; its retrieved text does not name an image archive or provide metadata that independently confirms either capture date. Other circulated comparisons use different year pairings. A Nairaland repost, for example, includes comparisons labeled 1981 and 2016, and 1985 and 2012. Those reposted captions do not authenticate the images, but they illustrate why dates attached to circulating photographs should not be assumed interchangeable.
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Gulf News has published captions for other views of the corridor dated 1979, 1992, 2006 and 2017. They add historical context, but they do not verify the provenance or precise years of the particular 1985/2016 pair.
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- Match fixed features, especially the building and other permanent landmarks, to confirm that both images show the same area.
- Check original archive captions or image metadata for the capture date; distinguish that date from when a photograph was published or reposted.
- Compare camera position, direction and framing. A different vantage point can make the surrounding land appear more or less built up.
- Describe only the visible changes in land use and roads. Explaining the causes or measuring Dubai-wide growth requires evidence beyond the photographs.
Why the building remains a point of interest
The Toyota Building is more than a marker in a changing road corridor: its original name, rooftop sign and place in Dubai’s modern architectural history give it a recognizable local identity. A 2025 heritage paper, Preserving Modern Heritage in the Emirate of Dubai: A Digital Documentation and Semantic HBIM Approach, discusses the building in the context of modern architectural heritage.
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In 2022, The National reported that Gulf Photo Plus organized a photo walk focused on the building and neighborhood. The event is evidence of past cultural interest in the landmark, not confirmation that the walk is currently available. The National also quoted organizer Mr Idris describing the sign’s place in local memory: “This legendary signage, which many long-time residents have known as a symbolic landmark since the early 1980s, lends itself synonymously to the name of the building which is actually called the Nasser Rashid Lootah Building,” says Mr Idris.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this before-and-after can—and cannot—tell you
As presented, the pair offers a vivid glimpse of how the area around one familiar Sheikh Zayed Road landmark came to look more built-up and road-connected. Its strongest claim is local and visual. Until the original photographs, dates and shooting positions are documented, it should not be treated as a verified, precisely matched record of Dubai’s development across those years.
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