Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[adma]

of course it now has competition in the form of those hideous sheet metal "Residences of College Park", as the most aggressively ugly and cheap pile on Bay Street, but it still ranks.

But RoCP still comes across as "architecturally conceived", rather than hilariously amateurish like 1001 Bay...

 

[Urban Shocker]

Well if that isn't damning something with faint praise I don't know what is. Still, lump ROCP in with West Harbour City and BSN and it makes sense in an earnest, B+ for effort sort of way. And flashy/trashy 1001 might be a prequel to the champagne wishes and caviar dreams retro appeal of Trump Tower, or 1 King West, or 1BE, or the 'L' Tower - all of which seem like pure '80s cheese transposed to the noughties.

 

[Mustapha]

There is Zet's, and another steak place whose name I can't remember out by the airport.

Oh, 'Mom n Pop' type indie steak places. Yes, a viable option.


My July 17 addition corrected, thanks again everyone.
Here are a couple shots from that same intersection. I'll bet those are the original utility poles...

Adelaide and York looking NE.

Adelaide and York looking NW.

July 20 addition.

Yonge and Birch NW corner.

 

[Edward Skira]

Isn't that first photo York Street?

 

[chriskayTO]

Isn't that first photo York Street?

Sure is. A simple mis-labelling.

I love the then/now shot of Summerhill. It certainly seemed not as upscale as it is today.

-Chris

 

[Mustapha]

Isn't that first photo York Street?

Sure is. A simple mis-labelling.

I love the then/now shot of Summerhill. It certainly seemed not as upscale as it is today.

-Chris

Fixed, thanks Ed007Toronto and chriskayTO. I wasn't gene-ed with a powerful mind at birth. Summerhill area; yes, 'upscale', but also in a sense even idyllic, considering its central location.

 

[Mustapha]

July 21 addition.

Dundas and Dufferin looking E along Dundas.

 

[Anna]

July 20 addition.

Yonge and Birch NW corner.

How would you get into those three stores?

I guess that was a result of the elimination of the level crossing.

 

[Goldie]

York St.

York is an amazing old street.
Landmarked since 1832 by Osgoode Hall at the north end.

Here's a view of York from Richmond.

 

[thecharioteer]

My July 17 addition corrected, thanks again everyone.
Here are a couple shots from that same intersection. I'll bet those are the original utility poles...

Adelaide and York looking NE.

Though I'm as guilty as anyone in bemoaning the loss of all those blocks east of Yonge, south of Queen (particularly Toronto Street) as well as Financial District gems such as the Toronto Star and G&M Buildings, these pictures are a dose of much-needed cold water on my latent nostalgia. I'm not that old, but I do remember that parking garage, and like much of the area, it wasn't very pretty!

Someone previously commented on how "blue-collar" much of Toronto was in those days. Could there be any stronger illustration of how this City has changed than these photos (and the no-name take-out restaurant on the right being now the site of the Stock Exchange and a Starbucks)?

Great work!

 

[Urban Shocker]

So, the reason for the awkward entrance levels to those stores north of Yonge and Birch - the antique shop that predated Summerhill real estate, for instance - is now clearer.

Chair Mart, run by Charles Wetmore who taught at OCA(D), used to be in that block in the Nienkamper-era '70s when the neighbourhood was home to several renovation-minded architects and being revived.

 

[Mustapha]

How would you get into those three stores?

I guess that was a result of the elimination of the level crossing.

Yes, elimination of the level crossing. Those stores look unoccupied. Interesting point here is that if the photo caption is correct - 1920 - the North Toronto Station and its accompanying subway was already built by late 1916; and these storefronts were high and dry for 3 years. An enterprising landlord would have made them more tenant ready.

 

[Mustapha]

York is an amazing old street.
Landmarked since 1832 by Osgoode Hall at the north end.

Here's a view of York from Richmond.

I've never seen that old pic whilst combing through the online Toronto archives. This area was Chinatown for a period in the 1910s - 20s. Thanks Goldie.

 

[Anna]

Two more views - from 1912 & 1935

 

[Mustapha]

Someone previously commented on how "blue-collar" much of Toronto was in those days. Could there be any stronger illustration of how this City has changed than these photos (and the no-name take-out restaurant on the right being now the site of the Stock Exchange and a Starbucks)?
Great work!

Thanks! And, to top off the industrial grittyness of the old Wellington/York pics, there is billboard sign for "belting and electric motors". Nothing like one-stop-shopping. Growing up in a laundry, it was my job to make sure the leather belts on the washing machines were tensioned properly. There was a tensioner on belt driven commercial washers, and it was technically within the ability of the machine owner to make these occasional adjustments. I did this for my grandfather. I was about 13 years old. He was too old to do it. Once the belt was too loose and old - like you car fan belt - it was time to buy a new one. New ones were very hard to get on; being stiff and all. Gramps made sure the machine was off when I ducked underneath it. The belts were a loop, connected by brass staples; like staple stitches that doctors use to close wounds. When the staples let go, the belt would snap and whip limbs nearby, or just fall off the pulleys. The latter was better.