Evocative Images of Lost Toronto

[Towered]

Is that part of the original stone wall?

Kudos for heritage preservation!

 

[Mustapha]

Hello, it's Mustapha posting for Goldie..

 

[Richard White]

I think we need to Crowdfund Goldie a new computer.

That said, is he ok Mustapha?

 

[Northern Light]

Photo that shows early work by @ADRM's grandpa to upzone a site from 'Neighbourhoods'.

 

[thecharioteer]

The Temple Building, Bay & Richmond, 9/19/65 from the Toronto Star archives in the TPL:

 

[DSC]

Here's a now of the same corner.

 

[LPCI]

The Temple Building, Bay & Richmond, 9/19/65 from the Toronto Star archives in the TPL:

View attachment 457381

Lovely iron gate between the two buildings. Wonder where it went?

 

[ADRM]

The Temple Building, Bay & Richmond, 9/19/65 from the Toronto Star archives in the TPL:

View attachment 457381

I would go trad for this.

 

[Northern Light]

I know the Arcade Building has come up from time to time, but in perusing, I didn't see a comprehensive post on it. That's probably UT's search engine, or my oversight, but here we go:

Located at one 131-139 Yonge Street, and 18-26 Victoria Street, this building was sited on the east side of Yonge, directly opposite Temperance Street:

Image Source: The Yonge Street Arcade in 1885, Toronto Public Library r- 1494

Note the 2-storey entrance which led to a galleria with indoor shops, arguably Toronto's first 'mall'.

The interior:

From: Toronto Public Library, r- 1520

52 stores, 32 on the ground floor and 20 on the 2nd floor with offices and artists studios on the 3rd.

Such a beauty at its peak!

Great historical resource on this here: https://tayloronhistory.com/2016/07/29/torontos-yonge-street-arcade-demolished/

From the above link, one particularly interesting tidbit, especially for those of you involved w/retail leasing:

"The leases signed by the retailers stipulated that shops were not allowed to duplicate products and items that other merchants sold. This was to ensure as much variety as possible for shoppers."

This was demolished in the 1950s after a period of considerable neglect.

@Goldie posted that last summer:

It was briefly a parking lot, before we got this:

 

[adma]

It was briefly a parking lot, before we got this:

View attachment 465844

At least what we got in exchange did serve as a new Yonge St Arcade for a good half century (and for the first quarter century or so of that even took on an "arcade" form, before the upper level was eliminated for office space). But then it was all eliminated for the narcissism of a blockthrough Goodlife...

 

[Mustapha]

Mustapha today posting for 'Goldie' [who sent me this]:

"Ad from The Canadian pictorial & illustrated war news, 25 July 1885."

 

[thecharioteer]

Mustapha today posting for 'Goldie' [who sent me this]:

"Ad from The Canadian pictorial & illustrated war news, 25 July 1885."

View attachment 466431

View 1914:

 

[W. K. Lis]

From link.

The first Loblaw Groceterias Co. store opened at 2923 Dundas St. W., Toronto, in June 1919. (In the Junction.) Months later, a second location, at 528 College Street, followed. The ’groceterias’ name was apparently derived from cafeteria - a popular self serve restaurant format.

From link.

Loblaw Groceterias was founded by Theodore Loblaw and John Milton Cork in 1919. Loblaw opened the first Canadian self-service grocery store in Toronto in June 1919. During the 1920s the company grew throughout Ontario.[3] By the 1930s it had 107 stores in Ontario and 50 in New York state.

In 1947, Garfield Weston struck a deal to acquire a block of 100,000 shares of Loblaw Groceterias Co. Limited, which had become one of the country's leading supermarket chains.[4] By 1953, George Weston Limited had established majority control.

Today...

 

[egotrippin]

I know the Arcade Building has come up from time to time, but in perusing, I didn't see a comprehensive post on it. That's probably UT's search engine, or my oversight, but here we go:

Located at one 131-139 Yonge Street, and 18-26 Victoria Street, this building was sited on the east side of Yonge, directly opposite Temperance Street:

View attachment 465840
Image Source: The Yonge Street Arcade in 1885, Toronto Public Library r- 1494

Note the 2-storey entrance which led to a galleria with indoor shops, arguably Toronto's first 'mall'.

The interior:

View attachment 465842
From: Toronto Public Library, r- 1520

52 stores, 32 on the ground floor and 20 on the 2nd floor with offices and artists studios on the 3rd.

Such a beauty at its peak!

Great historical resource on this here: https://tayloronhistory.com/2016/07/29/torontos-yonge-street-arcade-demolished/

From the above link, one particularly interesting tidbit, especially for those of you involved w/retail leasing:

"The leases signed by the retailers stipulated that shops were not allowed to duplicate products and items that other merchants sold. This was to ensure as much variety as possible for shoppers."

This was demolished in the 1950s after a period of considerable neglect.

@Goldie posted that last summer:

View attachment 465845

It was briefly a parking lot, before we got this:

View attachment 465844

Thanks for the detailed post. My "sad" response is of course in reference to the loss, I very much "liked" the post lol.

In that vein, Toronto had another but lesser-known (I think) grand old arcade on King Street, the Manning Arcade. Relatively few photographs of it seem to exist and I haven't found any interior shots. It was designed by E.J. Lennox and built around the same time as the Yonge Street Arcade. I can't find much else about it which is surprising because it strikes me as being almost as grand as the Yonge Street Arcade.

In 1955:

And I don't have a date on for this photo, but I imagine demolition isn't far off:

 

[Tim MacDonald]

I'm digging the AA ticket office with the DC7s in the window. They were the pride of the fleet then having been introduced only two years earlier in 1953.