Evocative Images of Lost Toronto

[the lemur]

i can stand on this same spot and totally still see these old buildings

Do you mean you can picture them there? Because there are still some older buildings on the west side of Yonge there, but nothing that matches what's in the photo.

The one on the left on the corner of what I guess is Yorkville appears to be a church, but I can't find any maps old enough to confirm that yet. Goad's atlases from some 30 years after this photo was taken indicate a public library on that spot.

Wonder what Geo. (?) Scott's trade was.

 

[thecharioteer]

Do you mean you can picture them there? Because there are still some older buildings on the west side of Yonge there, but nothing that matches what's in the photo.

The one on the left on the corner of what I guess is Yorkville appears to be a church, but I can't find any maps old enough to confirm that yet. Goad's atlases from some 30 years after this photo was taken indicate a public library on that spot.

Wonder what Geo. (?) Scott's trade was.

It was the Yorkville Townhall:

Lost in a fire in 1941:

 

[LowPolygon]

Also, not all of the pics are of Chorley Park. The ones of the grand staircase were from Government House which stood at King and Simcoe (site of Roy Thompson Hall).

fixed!

 

[LowPolygon]

,

 

[adma]

Interesting thing about the Yorkville Town Hall fire is that by today's standards, it'd likely be "salvageable"--certainly not an "Empress Hotel" case. But sentiment wasn't on behalf of this sort of architecture in the 1940s; so the fire was a useful excuse to euthanize an obsolete old crock...

 

[thecharioteer]

Interesting thing about the Yorkville Town Hall fire is that by today's standards, it'd likely be "salvageable"--certainly not an "Empress Hotel" case. But sentiment wasn't on behalf of this sort of architecture in the 1940s; so the fire was a useful excuse to euthanize an obsolete old crock...

Too true, adma. Replaced by a one-storey Loblaw's store until the construction of 18 Yorkville:

(from the Ontario Archives)

 

[mattelderca]

It was the Yorkville Townhall:

Lost in a fire in 1941:

I just love these back alley pictures! And that town hall was some imposing structure from the rear.

 

[thecharioteer]

I just love these back alley pictures! .

 

[the lemur]

Interesting that the mail truck is right-hand drive (not unknown with mail vehicles these days but I wonder if the 1912 model was deliberately built that way or a product of the LHD/RHD question not yet being settled by manufacturers at the time).

The posters in the two shots preceding that are intriguing as well.

 

[LowPolygon]

^absolutely outstanding laneway shots Charioteer!

 

[EVCco]

Great pics!
Is that the same Victoria Lane that's currently east of Victoria Street downtown?

Certainly looks a lot different today! I was hoping I'd have some good "after" shots for some of these here, but that's the only one, I think.

 

[Goldie]

Love your collection of today's laneways, EVCco. --- http://www.panoramio.com/user/2045784/tags/~ sideways
Absolutely fascinating - even more-so than rivers & creeks!

 

[mattelderca]

Thanks to both thecharioteer and EVCco for a nice collection of laneways, then and now!

 

[EVCco]

Thanks!
I always enjoy taking a laneway detour when I can - it's like seeing the city turned inside-out, or something.

If you liked those pics you might also be interested in some of these full-frontal(backal?) rear-views (all mostly in the east end):
www.panoramio.com/user/2045784/tags/~ rear-views

Love your collection of today's laneways, EVCco. --- http://www.panoramio.com/user/2045784/tags/~ sideways
Absolutely fascinating - even more-so than rivers & creeks!

These were sort of an obsession before the creeks, but have since taken a bit of a back seat.
But I'm still always adding more in my insane pursuit of photographing every single place in Toronto..

 

[r937]

... even more-so than rivers & creeks!

um... the vote would be close