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?
