Evocative Images of Lost Toronto

[thecharioteer]

Jarvis, William Botsford, 'Rosedale', Rosedale Rd., w. side, betw. Avondale Rd. & Cluny Ave.

Shows veterans of War of 1812 at garden party for prize giving of Fifth Militia District Rifle Association.

October 23, 1861

Colourized:

Memorial to the soldiers of the War of 1812 in Victoria Square:

 

[LowPolygon]

what i find astonishing about that photo of the veterans of the War of 1812, is that all of these men were children in the 18th century.....

to have fought as young men in 1812 means that they would have been born in the 1780's or 1790's. i can tell you that there aren't that many group portraits of people born in the era of the French Revolution!

one wonders how many of these men were born in Canada, and how many came from England, Scotland or Ireland...

 

[J T CUNNINGHAM]

"all of these men were children in the 18th century....."
QUOTE: thedeepend.

Do also bear in mind that the young daughter (born in Canada) of The Governor & Mrs Simcoe was laid to rest within the confines of Victoria Square Cemetery.

Another note I do recall but of late, is that St James Cemetery has been refering to itself as Toronto's Oldest Cemetery. - LOL

I know not if this (the latter) continues, I having alerted them to the fact. (2010)


Regards,
J T

 

[Goldie]

Well, one of these buildings is still standing, as the Hasty Market at Simcoe & Elm.

Thanks for that correction, wwwebster.
This must be the place:

 

[wwwebster]

Are these the same buildings, wwwebster?

Wrong side; it's on the left.

 

[themarc]

Well, one of these buildings is still standing, as the Hasty Market at Simcoe & Elm.

Wha?

 

[thecharioteer]

Found this "unidentified" picture on the Ontario Archives site:

Which happens to be one of the the buildings that flanked and were part of the Yorkville Town Hall:

And survived the fire that destroyed it:

Original drawing in the TPL, by William Hay (late 1850's):

 

[junctionist]

Yorkville Town Hall was such a bold and imposing structure. It's quite the loss.

 

[LowPolygon]

.

 

[thecharioteer]

Great selection, deepend, a veritable "Golden Age" of postcards. I love not only what these postcards show, but they represent. They are the selected images of what the citizens of Toronto thought best showed the world "back home" what Toronto was all about. Here are some more:

 

[Goldie]

 

[thecharioteer]

Carlton and Yonge around 1956 (the Westbury Hotel, to the north, opened in 1957):

 

[adma]

Inspired by its similarly under-construction appearance in this postcard?

Also interesting for the former Dow Brewery in the foreground (on Dundas btw/Simcoe + St Patrick), a c1950 modernist pile that only stood for a quarter century or so if not less--and like O'Keefe farther east, with rooftop neon commanding a bend on Dundas...

 

[thecharioteer]

Inspired by its similarly under-construction appearance in this postcard?

No, actually, but you have a good eye, Adma (and this postcard is from my own collection which I posted online when I first joined UT!)

What I do find as a bit of discovery is the elegance of the old Kresge store, which vanished without a peep for the current building in the late 80's. I remember the building as a nice-enough background building, though much of the original details and windows were probably gone at that point. In the context of our discussions about the Modern Movement in the "Scientology Building" thread, it was as close to a Mendelsohn building as Toronto got (though about 20 years later than its European counterparts) and an interesting counterpoint to the Neo-Classical bombast of Eaton's College Street store across the street:

(Last photo by Doug Griffin of the Toronto Star)

 

[LowPolygon]

Also interesting for the former Dow Brewery in the foreground (on Dundas btw/Simcoe + St Patrick), a c1950 modernist pile that only stood for a quarter century or so if not less--and like O'Keefe farther east, with rooftop neon commanding a bend on Dundas...

very few images of that building about, it seems.

anyway, it's amazing to see University Avenue with what appear to be single family dwellings and apartments right up to the late 1950's....

the last vestiges of a time when the Avenue and the city looked like this: