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Evocative Images of Lost Toronto

thecharioteer said:
Now, in this alternate universe, a N-S and E-W "galleria" is inserted into the old Eaton Centre block, perhaps linking Dundas Square, Trinity Square and Nathan Phillips Square, with new facades inserted into the interior of the block a la Milano:

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Bingo!
 
Goldie said:
Did anyone else spot Rocket Richard?
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Yes - and Henri Richard, Jean Beliveau, Jacques Plante & Toe Blake... - what were the 1956 Montreal Canadiens (and Clarence Campbell) doing on the steps of Toronto City Hall?

oldcityhallsteps5.jpg
 
From the torontoist (http://torontoist.com/2009/01/historicist_starstruck_at_city_hall.php):

"Civic officials have long been eager to greet any visitor to our fair city with the slightest whiff of fame. Opportunities to pose with celebrities and have them sign the official guest book or test out government furniture have long been attractive to our elected officials despite occasional hiccups—Mel Lastman's feud with the Spice Girls, anyone?

Sometimes the person receiving the red carpet treatment represents a rival city, as was the case with Maurice "Rocket" Richard of the Montreal Canadiens. On January 18, 1956, Richard, who Mayor Nathan Phillips felt did "not belong to Montreal exclusively, he belongs to Canada," was awarded a pair of gold cuff links bearing the city insignia. Richard repaid the city for its generosity by leading the Habs that night to a 3–2 victory over the Maple Leafs. Though NHL head Clarence Campbell attended the ceremony, no riots broke out."
 
"Sachs leaves a large family of small children."

Stuff like this always makes me want to dig further. The 1901 Toronto directory says that his widow Toba, a grocer, was living and working at 91 Elizabeth. By 1908 she was at 357 Adelaide West, and by 1912 she was living in Ottawa, where her sons Max and Thomas were in business as Sachs Bros., junk dealers. I also came across this, from June 29, 1928:

http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/node/21898

"The death occurred Tuesday, June 19, of Miss Mollie Sachs, at her home, 652 Wellington Street, Ottawa. The funeral services were conducted by Rabbi J. D. Berger, who also said the prayers at the cemetery. He was assisted by Rabbi L. Doctor. Miss Sachs, who was in her twenty-seventh year, was a member of Rideau Street Synagogue, and a past president of the Ladies' Auxiliary. Born at Toronto, she lived here for the past fifteen years. Her father, Samuel Sachs, predeceased her twenty-five years ago. She is survived by her mother, Mrs. Toba Sachs; two brothers, Max J. Sachs and Thomas Sachs, both of Ottawa, and by one sister, Mrs. S. Braunstein, of Montreal."

There's a problem with the math, however. If Samuel died in February 1899 there's no way his daughter could be 26 in 1928.
 
Anna said:
Yes - and Henri Richard, Jean Beliveau, Jacques Plante & Toe Blake... - what were the 1956 Montreal Canadiens (and Clarence Campbell) doing on the steps of Toronto City Hall?

oldcityhallsteps5.jpg
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and a very young Henri Richard 2nd row from the front, 2nd from the left?
 
wwwebster said:
"Sachs leaves a large family of small children."

Stuff like this always makes me want to dig further.

There's a problem with the math, however. If Samuel died in February 1899 there's no way his daughter could be 26 in 1928.
Click to expand...

Molly Sachs was born Nov 18, 1898.
mollysachs.jpg
 
thecharioteer said:
The Eaton Centre articles about the proposed demolition of the Old City Hall in 1966 and the last picture showing the group posing on its steps turned on the proverbial lightbulb over my head and helped answer the question as to why its demolition was so vociferously opposed. After all, the New City Hall had just opened the year before, and the concept of historical preservation was in its infancy (Penn Station had been demolished in 1963). The list of significant buildings that were lost post-1966 (the Temple Building, the Odeon Carlton, the University Theatre, the Toronto Star Building, the Globe and Mail Building, hundreds of Victorian houses, etc.) is lengthy and their demolitions never galvanized the public in the same way (save for the proposed destruction of Union Station).

I think that the reason is only partly architectural. The main reason, I believe, is that for Torontonians at that time, the Old City Hall was the psychic heart and soul of the city, its symbol, its front door, its backdrop for every visiting celebrity, demonstration, memorial service, civic event and celebration. Nathan Phillips Square was too new at this time to replace the front steps of the Old City Hall in this role. As a photographic tool, the combination of the steps and the elaborate facade made it a natural setting for that photo op (for which there really is no equivakent today). Also, sitting at the head of Bay Street, a block from the main intersection of the city at the time (i.e. Queen & Yonge), it was at the time the "heart" of the city.

The Eatons executives and their consultants underestimated the role this building played for its citizens.

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Thanks for that selection, Charioteer! Those are very good points about the city’s strong emotional attachment to the old city hall. It seems to me that the building had never been particularly loved as a building, rather as you say, it had great significance as a backdrop for all manner of important civic events. Also, it does seem as if it took the threat of its destruction for people to realize how much it meant to them on an emotional level.

I wonder if it ever occurred to the Eaton’s team that tearing it down was going to be a bit of a hard sell? You point out that “the concept of historical preservation was in its infancyâ€. Maybe the impact of what Penn Station ‘meant’ hadn’t really emerged in Toronto by 1966? In any case, Eaton’s seems pretty blindsided by the opposition, and by the time the plan falls apart the following year, they seem to have almost a chip on their shoulder about the fact that the old city hall site is ‘essential to the plan, and can’t go ahead without access to the land. (Obviously the deal fell apart for a variety of reasons but the dispute over old city hall seems to be the most contentious issue....)

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Great articles, deepend!

Two points emerge: first, perhaps that "chip on the shoulder" resulted from the overwhelming sense of entitlement that came from the top down to the development team, particularly given the Eaton family's history and ties with the city. They seemed to have been absolutely baffled by the opposition .

Secondly, the role of Mayor William Dennsion in saving the Old City Hall: Dennison has commonly be seen as the pro-development "bad guy" in the history of the reform movement in Toronto, who habitually butted heads with the hip young newcomers like John Sewell, Karl Jaffary and David Crombie. In the Eaton Centre case, he emerges as somewhat of a hero.
 
its interesting to see how the building was perceived even before it was finished!

June 28, 1898:

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maybe it was called 'the elephant' (as in white...) because of stories like this:

Feb 22 1899:

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Interesting how it appears that Lennox was acting as contractor as well as architect. I wonder if this was the norm at the time.

View of the Old City Hall during the final stages of construction (from the McCord Museum):

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thecharioteer said:
Interesting how it appears that Lennox was acting as contractor as well as architect. I wonder if this was the norm at the time.

View of the Old City Hall suring the final stages of construction (from the McCord Museum):

Cyclist_passing_city_hall.jpg
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beautiful! the photographer definitely wanted that bike in the shot--the late 1880's-early 1890's was the heyday of the 'bike boom' that followed the invention of 'chain drive' and the 'safety bicycle' in the mid 1880's:

from the Wiki:

"However, it was the invention of the "safety bicycle" with its chain-drive transmission, whose gear ratios allowed smaller wheels without a concurrent loss of speed, and the subsequent invention of the pneumatic (inflatable air-filled) bicycle tire, which led to perhaps the biggest bicycle craze of all, during the 1890s.[1] Experiments with chain-drive had been attempted in 1869 and 1879, but the first well known chain-drive bicycle was the "Rover" produced in 1885 by John Kemp Starley. Very quickly, the penny-farthing passed out of fashion, and multitudes of people all over the world began riding the "safety". It was largely the popularity of this type of bicycle at this time which first caused roads to be paved."

interesting to note in this shot that the road is not paved yet...
 
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