Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[thecharioteer]

I usually like these old piles, but that one is quite ugly.

However, it does show that a modified residential Gothic Revival (crenellated subset) still had legs a generation after the Gooderhams built their estate just just south of the Glen Road bridge, and the Masseys theirs down on Jarvis, reaching its apotheosis in Sir Henry's fin de siecle folly (almost contemporary with Mr. Fox's estate):

 

[Mustapha]

Then and Now for December 20, 2012.



Then. 'Wareroom of the Newcombe Piano Company, Church Street.' c1891. At Richmond, NE corner, to be exact.

Now. July 2012. Uhm, ye-aah, I'm reasonably sure it's still there.. underneath that..

 

[Blovertis]

Oh god.

 

[UserNameToronto]

Wow, it's hideous.

Looks like the faux-mansard roof is adding an extra storey (3 floors in the old photo, 4 floors in the new).

Also, its neighbour to the left (south) looks to have gotten a similar treatment.

 

[the lemur]

Not totally...
http://binged.it/YkDnr2
The statue(?) in the back garden is still there.

As is the sunken-looking outbuilding (garage?). I wonder how big the back lot is - it looks like you could conceivably make your way down to this section of Bayview: http://goo.gl/maps/WxF5d

 

[nostalgic]

Completely hideous

 

[EVCco]

If it was covering/replacing an obviously superior building, I actually wouldn't mind the current building that much - if only for it's almost comical appearance.
I must have walked by it a thousands times and never really noticed it before now, though. Great post Mustapha!

 

[thecharioteer]

A case for deconstructivism....

 

[Mustapha]

Then and Now for December 21, 2012. 12.21.12.




Then. 1162 Bay Street. Offices of Messrs. Sproatt & Rolph, Architects, Toronto. c1919.

Now. July 2012.

"The firm Sproatt and Rolph was responsible for numerous institutional, commercial and residential buildings in Toronto, including Hart House and the Memorial Tower at U of T (American Inst of Architects Gold Medal, 1926); Bishop Strachan School, Manufacturer's Life Building, Ontario Club and National Club. Both men were widely recognized as patrons of the arts and were elected fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects."

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/sproatt-and-rolph

 

[Earlscourt_Lad]

"The firm Sproatt and Rolph was responsible for numerous institutional, commercial and residential buildings in Toronto, including Hart House and the Memorial Tower at U of T (American Inst of Architects Gold Medal, 1926); Bishop Strachan School, Manufacturer's Life Building, Ontario Club and National Club. Both men were widely recognized as patrons of the arts and were elected fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects."

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/sproatt-and-rolph

What a very mundane building. Indeed, it puts me in mind of a Bell telephone exchange or a Hydro substation. Not at all what one would have thought Sproatt would've designed for their offices.

 

[UserNameToronto]

I wonder, do you take requests for a Then & Now?

In this article on the Parliament Street newspaper site ( http://pstreetnews.com/news/cabbagetown-restaurants-yesteryear )there appears to be a picture of Dundas & Sherbourne. Is it the True Love Cafe? And if so, what does the TLC look like nowadays?

[edit - rusty geography; confused Queen & Sherb with Dundas & Sherb]

 

[nostalgic]

George’s Spaghetti House was at Sherbourne and Dundas (nw corner). My husband and I went there (once) when we were dating (it seemed exotic in 1969 Toronto – free jazz and a cockroach crawling up the wall!). According to Google street view it’s now the True Love Cafe.

 

[ShonTron]

I wonder, do you take requests for a Then & Now?

In this article on the Parliament Street newspaper site ( http://pstreetnews.com/news/cabbagetown-restaurants-yesteryear )there appears to be a picture of Dundas & Sherbourne. Is it the True Love Cafe? And if so, what does the TLC look like nowadays?

[edit - rusty geography; confused Queen & Sherb with Dundas & Sherb]

The infrastructure geek in me wonders how did a Department of Highways spec traffic light (dark green in the 1950s through early 1970s) end up on a Metro road?

 

[DSC]

George’s Spaghetti House was at Sherbourne and Dundas (nw corner). My husband and I went there (once) when we were dating (it seemed exotic in 1969 Toronto – free jazz and a cockroach crawling up the wall!). According to Google street view it’s now the True Love Cafe.

It is indeed the True Love Cafe and looks remarkably the same as in your photo (check it out on Google Streetview.) The checkerboard wall seems to have gone.

 

[plink]

What Does a Decade of TTC Metropass Designs Look Like?

All right, the following kind of strays from the standard photographs of historical structures in this thread -- so apologies in advance if it's not appropriate -- but I think it still marginally falls under the rubric of 'Toronto Then and Now': (plus you folks are so super friendly I wanted to share with you anyway)

TTC metropasses then:

TTC Passes 'Now':

Many more (enlargeable) photos of TTC pass designs from the last decade, in this blog post of mine [yes, this is self-serving, sorry]

Season's greetings all!