a little variety, please ...

[Songbird]

Didn't the Tonks family have some other primary business down the street (pharmacy or hardware or something)?

Anyway, "Easy Shoping" has been around for at least a generation, no spell check necessary all that time. (And speaking of Eglinton Hill, is that "Mr. Beker" convenience store still around?)

Indeed they did ... Tonks' Hardware used to be just west of the variety store, in the same building. I loved going there with my dad as a kid, and I remember getting my first house key cut there.

Sadly, it's your run of the mill neighbourhood dollar store now.

 

[collations]

here's one from last night, on the corner of Jones and Shudell. this place has what i would call an 'immoderate' amount of signage going on. it seems that rather than simply replace their sign, they would rather just pile the new one on top of the old one in a cacophonous heap.

in any case, the Coke button is in immaculate condition--not a scratch on it....

Here's the archival record of 437 Jones Ave, May 23, 1952 ... the signage is small ... and all of it is concentrated on the pedestrian friendly street level... Sportsman and Buckingham cigarettes, Coca-Cola, Salada Tea.

And here's my own 'archival' record, November 12, 1989 ... the street level signage is now all about the lottery ... and angel stone has replaced a lot of the signage and surfacing of the front. The Coca-Cola signage has moved up to the 2nd floor and has taken over visually. We see the button sign, that is still, as thedeepend has pointed out, immaculate today. But we also see an earlier fishtail Coke logo, with the Be Really Refreshed slogan, painted on the wall, fading as it is behind whatever signage had once covered it but has since gone missing from over it. All of this is now behind the Trident sign ...layers upon layers upon layers!!!

 

[EVCco]

Amazing! This is a thread definitely after my own heart...
Please accept a few samples from the little collection I've been keeping over the past few years:

...and the rest:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/evictorc/sets/72057594134007844

 

[androiduk]

Queen West. No more selling guns from the local convenience store.

 

[androiduk]

Long Branch. I think the Telegram stopped publishing in 1971. I'd be surprised if there's another sign like this in the entire city since I don't think they were that prevalent to begin with.

 

[LowPolygon]

Long Branch. I think the Telegram stopped publishing in 1971. I'd be surprised if there's another sign like this in the entire city since I don't think they were that prevalent to begin with.

beautiiful! what a find....

 

[LowPolygon]

Queen West. No more selling guns from the local convenience store.

i always loved that one--its great that they kept it...

i remember this sign was initially uncovered about 10 years ago, when the were shooting a feature film on that block. the set designers created '40's-style' signage for the adjacent buildings to match this original. after shooting was completed the owners decided to leave it revealed...

 

[androiduk]

^ Unless they do something to preserve it I don't think it'll be around for too long. Every wind/rain/snow storm knocks a bit more paint off.

 

[androiduk]

Cabbagetown. One of my personal favourites.

 

[adma]

after shooting was completed the owners decided to leave it revealed...

What kind of shooting? Film, or ammunition?

 

[thecharioteer]

Here's a nice shot of the NE corner of Queen and McCaul in 1949. Peeking out behind the awning is the signage for the old variety store on the NW corner. The original signage on this building is currently visible as it looks like the building is about to be demolished (it would be nice if some intrepid UT photographer would record it).

 

[collations]

^ Unless they do something to preserve it I don't think it'll be around for too long. Every wind/rain/snow storm knocks a bit more paint off.

I'm thinking that, yes, the sign itself will not survive, but a crap load of photos of it from it's second life will. What kind of survival would it have had, had it not been uncovered/recovered? Are there any photos of it from it's first life? I don't think so, but I could be wrong. Anyway, it's had a good second life, and it's been photographed pretty much every day of that second life!!!

A photo that I took of this sign from August 7, 2006 ...

 

[collations]

Here's a nice shot of the NE corner of Queen and McCaul in 1949. Peeking out behind the awning is the signage for the old variety store on the NW corner. The original signage on this building is currently visible as it looks like the building is about to be demolished (it would be nice if some intrepid UT photographer would record it).

Thank you for posting this! A very interesting shot of the corner of Queen St W and McCaul St. A very nice little bit of the original storefront at the north-west corner is showing! Here's a recent attempt of mine to catch this relatively recently revealed former storefront signage, from November 9, 2009 ...

 

[collations]

Amazing! This is a thread definitely after my own heart...
Please accept a few samples from the little collection I've been keeping over the past few years:

...and the rest:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/evictorc/sets/72057594134007844

Thanks for these posts! Some very good stuff, indeed.

I know most of these, but not all. Where was that last photo taken? The one with the inverted bluish triangles?

The K-A Grocery at Gerrard and Coxwell is currently featured as part of a show at MOCCA, as a Dan Bergeron piece, "posted" pretty much size-as outside the gallery.

 

[collations]

Some new finds ...

1550 Bloor St W - August 15, 2010

1452 Bloor St W - August 15, 2010

And, now, some Lotto-sponsored variety stores ...

99 Danforth Ave - August 14, 2010

815 Broadview Ave - August 14, 2010