Evocative Images of Lost Toronto

[thecharioteer]

Some photos from the Panda Archives of one of the more interesting lost buildings of "Mid-century Modern" Toronto, St. Hilda's Church at Dufferin and Eglinton in 1954 (architect Philip Carter Johnson), a rare example of a "shell" structure, reminiscent of Brasilia:

Also from Panda, the "new" Confederation Life Building (now Rogers), at Bloor and Jarvis in 1954:

And some night shots of the Bank of Commerce:

Some apartment buildings (still standing) near Bathurst and Eglinton:

1948:

1953:

 

[Goldie]

Some photos from the Panda Archives of one of the more interesting lost buildings of "Mid-century Modern" Toronto, St. Hilda's Church at Dufferin and Eglinton in 1954 (architect Philip Carter Johnson), a rare example of a "shell" structure, reminiscent of Brasilia:

Also from Panda, the "new" Confederation Life Building (now Rogers), at Bloor and Jarvis in 1954:

And some night shots of the Bank of Commerce:

The owner of Panda Photography (Toronto) was the award winning architectural photographer, Hugh Robertson.
Unfortunately most of these images are only 'proofs' - his finished work has always been magnificent!

 

[thecharioteer]

The owner of Panda Photography (Toronto) was the award winning architectural photographer, Hugh Robertson.
Unfortunately most of these images are only 'proofs' - his finished work has always been magnificent!

Thanks for that info, Goldie. Would love to see an exhibition one day of some of his finished work!

 

[tkip]

I wonder what he is thinking. This picture almost looks staged.

Oh, definitely staged. And his look suggests something naughty going on inside his brain. Those ladies were pretty....

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

A shame it's not lit up like that anymore, as it puts itself in the same league with other contemporary deco powerhouses:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...450px-American_Radiator_Building_at_night.jpg

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa112/thecharioteer/Buildings/commerce2.jpg

 

[adma]

Thanks for that info, Goldie. Would love to see an exhibition one day of some of his finished work!

There already was. (Doesn't mean there can't be another, though.)

 

[thecharioteer]

Some more shots from Panda:

Early proposals for O'Keefe Centre and surrounding area:

1956:

The site 1957:

 

[DSC]

Was the original name to be "O'Keefe Auditorium"? - see sign on last photo above.

 

[CityPlaceN1]

Looks like O'Keefe to me.

 

[DSC]

Looks like O'Keefe to me.

Yes, I was referring to the word Auditorium

I thought it was always the O'Keefe Centre

 

[thecharioteer]

The O'Keefe Centre block 1910:

At the NE corner of Front and Esplanade was the former Great Western train station, then the Grand Trunk railway station and finally a fruit market, destroyed by fire in the 1950's:

SE corner of Yonge and Front by Micklethwaite (1885-1895);

Mid-block lane 1904:

View down Scott in 1912:

View east on Front in 1930:

Some info on the Canadian Rubber Company:

http://books.google.ca/books?id=ttE...n rubber company front street toronto&f=false

Two views of the block during subway construction 1949:

 

[thecharioteer]

Was the original name to be "O'Keefe Auditorium"? - see sign on last photo above.

At some point during construction, the name "Centre" appears:

 

[adma]

Even that construction pavilion has an interesting modular-modernism form (maybe by one of Dickinson's understudies? Y'know, Colin Vaughan or one of his sort)

 

[thecharioteer]

Though the Panda studio was known for its documentation of "modern" buildings, they also recorded a number of "old" buildings throughout the 50's, perhaps as pre-construction pictures of the new buildings that would soon replace them:

Colborne and Yonge 1955:

Jarvis 1957. I think this is the east side of Jarvis, north of Carlton, and I suspect the excavation in the forefront is of the original Four Seasons Hotel:

170 Bay:

King and Bay 1947:

Bay & Wellington:

 

[junctionist]

I have this one saved in my "Brick and stone streets" folder of historical photos of Toronto. It confirms that Front Street was paved with stone blocks between Yonge and Bay streets, as the 1908 map of street paving in Toronto indicates. Like Yonge south of King and The Esplanade, it was fully paved with stone blocks, not just the streetcar tracks. However, evidently by 1930, a thin layer of asphalt had been poured onto part of the road surface to make it easier for cars to travel on. Toronto's history with this kind of paving is short, but it's interesting to see that existed because of its old world charm.