Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[Mustapha]

Goldie sent me the Then pic immediately below. Like the firebuff I am (always saying a nondenominational prayer to myself that no one is hurt when the fire trucks whiz by... ), I went to station #332 at 260 Adelaide West today to take a Now picture.

There are a handful of Toronto Archive photos showing the old station - torn down around 1970 - but tantilizingly no pictures showing the old disappeared station in its entirety. The old photos that do exist are of equipment or the chief's new car - the latter apparently quite the source of photographic pride.

In Goldie's pic, the address of the Alarm Office is given as 152; I think whoever captioned it (Goldie ) meant 262, as the old firehall can be just seen on the right. In my Now pic, the old house on the left is #266 so that seems to make sense.

I'm guessing then that the Alarm Office stood about where the forecourt is now; in front of the furthest left station bay entrance.

Note the 1907 date of construction of the old station.

Note the spectator in the upper window caught by the photographer. I was struck by his vest; a look that you don't see anymore. My gramps used to wear matching suit vests. The contrast between the sleeves of a white shirt billowing out from the shoulders of a vest was to me quite unforgettable. If a man was fit and had a waist smaller than his chest, the vest would accentuate this. You can get a sense of this looking at our fireman in the window. Men in those days would remove the suit jacket and uncover the vest to "get casual". The back of the vest was usually a satin material, another detail that would draw the eye. Nowadays with the vest no longer part of a man's kit, "getting casual" means loosening the tie and rolling up the sleeves - a look that Premier McGuinty seems to be fond of affecting in front of TV reporters. I'm really digressing here.

This ladder truck has rear wheel steering in order to negotiate tight corners. The other driver sat on that seat at the back of the truck - you can also see the steering wheel. Some modern fire trucks have this ability; not sure about the Toronto fire department, but the Columbus OH department has a couple (was visiting my kid down there and scoping out that city's equipment ).

The picture can be easily dated from the license plate.

In hierarchical organizations like Fire Departments, uniform details matter. If that's the Chief on the left, note that his jacket is double breasted and brass buttoned and the other fellow's is not. Note the band of gold braid on the chief's cap.

I'm guessing that the right headlight on this car was red. It would have been quite the thing to see at night.

Can anyone identify the make of car? Is that a siren on the side of the car or merely a horn? Am I putting everyone to sleep?

With thanks again to 49Moore, here is the modern location of the old Adelaide firehall and alarm office.

 

[Mustapha]

June 6 addition by Goldie.


Then 1985. Front and Church looking W.

His comments:

"I found this in an old LIFE Magazine. Sponsored by Ontario Travel of Queens Park.
It's only 25 years old but I was interested because I think it's a
fictional set-up for the camera - I don't recall a sidewalk patio at that spot.
Notes on lawbreaking:
- using the whole sidewalk
- parking on the sidewalk
- serving alcohol without a fence around the patio. I suppose it all looked authentic to US tourists."

Now. June 2010. Angle is not quite the same. Lots of folks having lunch behind the black fence and I didn't feel like intruding on them.

 

[Mustapha]

June 7 addition.


Queen and Fuller, NW corner. November 1, 1935.

Now. April 2010.

 

[ganjavih]

Someone comments somewhere that the thens tend to look better than the nows. I tend to agree and this is just another example. It would be interesting to do a tally of the before and afters in this thread.

 

[LowPolygon]

Someone comments somewhere that the thens tend to look better than the nows. I tend to agree and this is just another example. It would be interesting to do a tally of the before and afters in this thread.

UT needs an intern! maybe one of those unemployed teens we keep hearing about....
does Mustapha himself know how may now/thens he's posted? must be a few hundred at least....

 

[reetdoontoon]

oh my...way to mess someone up..
time? history? change? outside?...what the....
lucky kid.

 

[adma]

Okay, a classic lesson in cornice line disfigurement. We've been all so obsessed over time with gross false fronts and EIFS that we've seldom taken note of cornice stripping through time.

Yet somehow, fueled through the magic of these old photos now available through the Interweb, I can genuinely see a hipster reincarnation of that fish & chips shop, overhanging sign and all...

 

[junctionist]

Someone comments somewhere that the thens tend to look better than the nows. I tend to agree and this is just another example. It would be interesting to do a tally of the before and afters in this thread.

There might be a bias towards the scenes which look worse today, since its more interesting than scenes which have stayed the same. You couldn't do a tally because there are some thorny subjective issues. For instance, the demolished Adelaide firehall was replaced by that sleek modern complex clad in granite with that patio on which people today relax and socialize. Some might like that architecture and say it was better then; others prefer the complex and patio.

Was there a single restaurant/bar/cafe patio in any of those Victorian or early 20th century photos in this thread so far? I don't remember seeing any.

 

[junctionist]

Okay, a classic lesson in cornice line disfigurement. We've been all so obsessed over time with gross false fronts and EIFS that we've seldom taken note of cornice stripping through time.

It's amazing just how common cornice stripping has been. We have so many Victorian commercial streets intact, but so much of their roofline ornamentation has been stripped. Its my hope that with the increased interest in recreating Victorian styles (i.e. in new subdivisions) and awareness of Victorian ornamentation by the online publishing of archival photos, we'll see a movement towards restoring the ornamentation, at least with more prominent buildings at first.

 

[ganjavih]

There might be a bias towards the scenes which look worse today, since its more interesting than scenes which have stayed the same. You couldn't do a tally because there are some thorny subjective issues. For instance, the demolished Adelaide firehall was replaced by that sleek modern complex clad in granite with that patio on which people today relax and socialize. Some might like that architecture and say it was better then; others prefer the complex and patio.

Was there a single restaurant/bar/cafe patio in any of those Victorian or early 20th century photos in this thread so far? I don't remember seeing any.

Yeah, there are examples of improvements, but I'm struck by how many examples of the opposite I've seen in this thread, whether it be the loss of a beautiful building, the architectural details on a building, a vibrant strip, cool signage, or whatever.

 

[adma]

Was there a single restaurant/bar/cafe patio in any of those Victorian or early 20th century photos in this thread so far? I don't remember seeing any.

Weren't such things pretty much outlawed until the 60s/70s? (Was Diplomatico among the first?)

 

[adma]

Or an entire upper floor, as in the case of the Dominion Hotel, Queen + Sumach.

Regards,
J T

Or an even more vivid case: the Big Bop at Queen + Bathurst.

 

[thecharioteer]

It's amazing just how common cornice stripping has been. We have so many Victorian commercial streets intact, but so much of their roofline ornamentation has been stripped. Its my hope that with the increased interest in recreating Victorian styles (i.e. in new subdivisions) and awareness of Victorian ornamentation by the online publishing of archival photos, we'll see a movement towards restoring the ornamentation, at least with more prominent buildings at first.

The loss of cornices over the past fifty years is only one aspect of the City's drive to eliminate all building elements that intrude into the municipal right-of-way, elements that include cornices, canopies, theatre marquees, awnings, signs and overhangs. While New York City is characterized by canvas marquees that extend from curb to doorway, Toronto's Works Department will simply not accept any such thing for various reasons: safety, maintenance issues, street-cleaning, even handicapped concerns.

Interestingly, at one point in our history, we had no such concerns, prime examples being the King Edward Hotel and the Temple Building, both of which had permanent entry elements right to the curb and projecting balconies (the King Edward's balconies are long gone). Given current thinking at city hall, those days are unlikely to return, and our buildings and streetscapes our poorer for it.

 

[Mustapha]

Someone comments somewhere that the thens tend to look better than the nows. I tend to agree and this is just another example. It would be interesting to do a tally of the before and afters in this thread.

UT needs an intern! maybe one of those unemployed teens we keep hearing about....
does Mustapha himself know how may now/thens he's posted? must be a few hundred at least....

Let's see.. 235 pages to date times let's say 2 posts per page = 470 Then and Nows. And that's just me. The usual contributors have easily added possibly half again that, if not actual Then and Nows; additional pictures to amplify or enhance a conversation or - sometimes as we've seen often - to take it off on an interesting tangent.



June 8 addition.



Then. Queen and Dennison looking NE. "between 1927 and 1940" - Archive photo note. This is really a firetruck picture post. Please forgive my indulgence.

Now. May 2010.

And to amplify thecharioteer's post; note the scrumptious awnings in the Then picture. And in the Now picture an awning of undeterminate age looking too embarrassed to come out.


I am not understanding the regulations against awnings and overhead signs - we are not exactly a litigious society.

.

 

[ReiwaMagi]

Let's see.. 235 pages to date times let's say 2 posts per page = 470 Then and Nows. And that's just me. The usual contributors have easily added possibly half that, if not actual Then and Nows; additional pictures to amplify or enhance a conversation or - sometimes as we've seen often - to take it off on an interesting tangent.



June 8 addition.



Then. Queen and Dennison looking NE. "between 1927 and 1940" - Archive photo note. This is really a firetruck picture post. Please forgive my indulgence.

Now. May 2010.

And to amplify thecharioteer's post; note the scrumptious awnings in the Then picture. And in the Now picture an awning of undeterminate age looking too embarrassed to come out.


I am not understanding the regulations against awnings and overhead signs - we are not exactly a litigious society.

.

So I see there was a fire here in the past very close to the location of the Feb 2008 fire.