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Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

Well, a bit of shaved-off entablature-ish stuff at the top (+ new windows).

Back to Lone Primate's shots: what really intrigues me is how the trend t/w "naturalization" has overcome both the Goreway and Middle Road bridges, to the point where I'm almost nostalgically longing for the fallowness of the 60s/70s. (Esp. the Goreway bridge, which I recall from childhood school trips to Claireville Conservation Area, etc)

Who else is loving the yellow guard rails in those shots?

And as for todays T&N, I would have thought St. Mike's would have had the cash to keep the exterior up to original flare. At least we still have it.
 
Then and Now for January 3.


Then. Dundas and Ossington. NE corner. c1918. A wwwebster sourced picture.

337DundasOssingtonNEc1918.jpg



Now. August 2011.

338.jpg
 
Well, a bit of shaved-off entablature-ish stuff at the top (+ new windows).

Back to Lone Primate's shots: what really intrigues me is how the trend t/w "naturalization" has overcome both the Goreway and Middle Road bridges, to the point where I'm almost nostalgically longing for the fallowness of the 60s/70s. (Esp. the Goreway bridge, which I recall from childhood school trips to Claireville Conservation Area, etc)

Yeah, letting trees grow in front of a bridge, particularly one that's going to be used by cyclists, strikes me as a bad idea (no pun intended). I would at least have removed those trees. I find it really stunning how open the space around the Middle Road bridge was as recently as the mid-80s, especially given that by the first time I saw it, in the late 90s, it was already overgrown and tree-sheltered. It was really that quick. Little wonder places like the upper stretch of Pottery Road virtually vanished in only 40 years or so.

Supposedly the Gorewood Drive bridge (and possibly the Middle Road bridge, I'm not sure) is the work of Frank Barber. I'm curious if it was still being driven on at the time you were visiting the conservation area, or if it had already been removed from the road grid.
 
Dropped ground floor windowsills; parapet balustrade filled in.

Looks like it stayed in the family, though... Bank of Toronto on down through all those combos to TD-Canada Trust. :)
 
By the way Mustapha , is there a link for all the wwwebster photo's you post? I'm wondering if there is any Scarborough in that group.

Most of the images are from various issues of Construction: A Journal for the Architectural, Engineering and Contracting Interests of Canada, available online at archive.org:

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=toronto AND construction AND journal AND collection:toronto

Some others, including the recently posted images of buildings lost in the 1904 fire, are from Toronto, Old and New, published 1891:

http://www.archive.org/details/torontooldnew00adamuoft

There were also a handful from other publications scanned at archive.org. I don’t recall seeing any images from Scarborough, though.
 
Most of the images are from various issues of Construction: A Journal for the Architectural, Engineering and Contracting Interests of Canada, available online at archive.org:

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=toronto AND construction AND journal AND collection:toronto

Some others, including the recently posted images of buildings lost in the 1904 fire, are from Toronto, Old and New, published 1891:

http://www.archive.org/details/torontooldnew00adamuoft

There were also a handful from other publications scanned at archive.org. I don’t recall seeing any images from Scarborough, though.

Thanks for the links wwwebster , very interesting. As for the 1904 fire link , looking forward to reading all of that one.
 
Supposedly the Gorewood Drive bridge (and possibly the Middle Road bridge, I'm not sure) is the work of Frank Barber. I'm curious if it was still being driven on at the time you were visiting the conservation area, or if it had already been removed from the road grid.

Middle Road definitely Frank Barber--indeed, it's supposedly the first of its sort in Ontario and however much beyond.

Oh, and the Claireville bridge was still "driveable"--part of the "rear access" to the conservation area from the Field Studies Centre in the old schoolhouse at Steeles (swept away for the 407)
 
Most of the images are from various issues of Construction: A Journal for the Architectural, Engineering and Contracting Interests of Canada, available online at archive.org:

http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=toronto AND construction AND journal AND collection:toronto

Some others, including the recently posted images of buildings lost in the 1904 fire, are from Toronto, Old and New, published 1891:

http://www.archive.org/details/torontooldnew00adamuoft

There were also a handful from other publications scanned at archive.org. I don’t recall seeing any images from Scarborough, though.

Murphy's law at work, I'm looking for Vol 1 of Construction, and guess which one isn't posted :(
 
Then and Now for Jan 4.


Then. The Excelsior Life Building. c1916. SE corner Toronto and Adelaide streets. We've discussed this beauty in the past as part of our occasional discussions about Toronto Street. This is another view, a rare view one, 'grabbed' by wwwebster from an issue of 'Construction'.

Excelsior Life was purchased by the American Aetna Insurance Company in 1960 as part of an expansion into Canada. Aetna was in turn bought by Maritime Life, then Maritime Life was purchased by Manulife. So, it's not around anymore. By the way, let your family know where your insurance documents are. Tis' an important thing.

323AdelaideTorontoSWc1916.jpg



Now. August 2011.

324.jpg


325.jpg


325a.jpg
 
Oh, and the Claireville bridge was still "driveable"--part of the "rear access" to the conservation area from the Field Studies Centre in the old schoolhouse at Steeles (swept away for the 407)

No fooling... yeah, I saw all the houses on that stretch have been boarded up now too. Heaven knows for what.
 
Probably for the eastern extremity of Intermodal Drive industry.

Really weird with the rapid naturalization; I'm willing to argue that the earlier incarnation was more sublimely "authentic", in a farm-fields-were-once-here way...
 

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