Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[adma]

The evil mess made by tagging and graffiti "art" pales in comparison to the ravages of commercial signage. My Hall of Shame award for the worst goes to the buildings on the west side of Yonge opposite where the new Ryerson building will go - the upper floors are plastered entirely with ads, though I have no idea what the quality of the architecture is like beneath them.

In the end, does it really matter? It's mostly externalized mall retail, anyway. (Except, of course, for Thornton-Scott.)

 

[Mustapha]

Confirmed. You can replicate the then shot almost exactly in Google Maps, complete with background building

Blovertis, HamiltonTransitHistory,

Thanks very much for that.

 

[Mustapha]

June 27 addition.




Then. c1909. 62 Forest Hill Road. Interestingly, in today's Then and Now comparison, Google streetview - for those curiously inclined - serves up a record of what once was up until very recently. My Now picture was taken in June and shows a spanking brand new house. The Google streetview of 2008?, 2009?, shows the Then house.

Now. June 2011.

 

[Blovertis]

That's a real shame. The old house had an understated elegance and was large enough that it could have been renovated and upgraded to meet the demands of the current generation of plutocrats.

Instead, yet another faux-chateau (Wengle again?) of the kind that is quickly taking over Forest Hill.

 

[mattelderca]

That's a real shame. The old house had an understated elegance and was large enough that it could have been renovated and upgraded to meet the demands of the current generation of plutocrats.

Instead, yet another faux-chateau (Wengle again?) of the kind that is quickly taking over Forest Hill.

Google streetview link
Such a shame, such is progress.

 

[thecharioteer]

Interesting reports on Eden Smith houses in Forest Hill prepared by the City. Unfortunately, too many have already been lost.

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2007/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-1371.pdf

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2007/te/bgrd/backgroundfile-1382.pdf

Another link to Arts and Crafts architecture, abroad and in Toronto:

http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/ArtsandCrafts.htm

 

[FAC33]

That's a real shame. The old house had an understated elegance and was large enough that it could have been renovated and upgraded to meet the demands of the current generation of plutocrats.

Instead, yet another faux-chateau (Wengle again?) of the kind that is quickly taking over Forest Hill.

The new house is nice--but only if you'd never seen the old house, which was a real classic.

 

[thecharioteer]

You mean a "Now"... right? But of course, the charioteer. June 2011:

Any special reason for the request?

I was one of those who had read about Adam Beck in school but forgotten my lessons.

Anyways, here is the 'lowdown'.

"BECK, Sir ADAM, manufacturer, horseman, politician, office holder, and philanthropist; b. 20 June 1857 in Baden, Upper Canada, son of Jacob Friedrich Beck and Charlotte Josephine Hespeler; m. 7 Sept. 1898 Lillian Ottaway in Hamilton, Ont., and they had a daughter; d. 15 Aug. 1925 in London, Ont."

"Hydroelectricity generated and delivered by a crown corporation to municipally owned utilities at the lowest cost had become an Ontario institution that would outlive changing governments and passing ideologies. That had largely been Sir Adam Beck’s doing."

http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?BioId=41923

Thanks, Mustapha (of course I meant "Now"). The isolation of the statue in the early views are fascinating, and this is one of the rare occasions on this thread when the Now looks better (Those gingko trees are doing so well for Toronto trees).

Here are some views of the west side of the street (from Panda) in 1957 as the Bank of Canada building rises:

 

[BeeRich]

Is that last picture reversed?

 

[mattelderca]

Is that last picture reversed?

Yep, zoom into the lettering on the right, it's backwards.
The first and second pictures have that Speedy Auto Glass sign on the correct left.

 

[thecharioteer]

Is that last picture reversed?

Good eye! A number of pics on the Panda site suffer from the same condition. Correct view:

 

[Mississauga Slim]

A very forbidding, Orwellian vibe in this picture!

 

[Mustapha]

Is that last picture reversed?

Yep, zoom into the lettering on the right, it's backwards.
The first and second pictures have that Speedy Auto Glass sign on the correct left.

Man, there's no mercy and no margin of error in this thread. Just kidding. We need to be accurate.

 

[Mustapha]

June 28 addition.



Then. 145 South Drive. Deepest Rosedale. c.1909. Picture provided by wwwebster.

Now. June 2011. Ah, ok, this isn't going to work.

Let's go around to the other side. That's better, but not the same perspective as the original photographer unfortunately.

If that was my place I would cut back on some of the greenery. It's shapeless and adds nothing.

I wonder who Mr. Bigwood was?

 

[GenerationW]

^ You should have brought your chainsaw.