[thecharioteer]

One of the few cases in this thread where the Now is better than the Then!

 

[junctionist]

One of the few cases in this thread where the Now is better than the Then!

I'd say there have been many such instances.

 

[49Moore]

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?

First off I have learned so much from both Mustapha and Goldie over the life of this thread. You have finally ventured into my area of expertise so here goes. Goldie was in fact correct with the address of the Fire Alarm Office, which was located at the rear of the Old Adelaide Firehall, built in 1907, and located on the north side of Adelaide Street just west of York Street. It can actually be seen in the attached picture posted by Mustapha about a year ago. It is the only photo I have ever seen clearly showing the station in street context. The street address was listed in directories as 142 - 152 Adelaide Street West. The two storey General Office Building was built immediately west of the hall in 1910 and the Fire Alarm Office (the City's second Alarm Office, which replaced the original office adjacent and just to the rear of the still standing Lombard Street fire station number 5) was constructed in 1912.

Anyway...Here is a shot of the complete station as requested.

 

[Goldie]

Thanks so much, 49Moore and welcome to the thread.

Your interest and contribution to Toronto Fire Dept. history is appreciated.

 

[Mustapha]

Hello 49Moore. Thank you for that. I was only off by some several city blocks.


June 4 addition.



Then. Bloor west looking W from Margueretta. "196?" says the Toronto Archive photo notes.

Now. May 2010. Duffy's Tavern is still there.

Duffy's has a website which includes a Youtube segment of a 1954 TV show - "Duffy's Tavern" (which is unrelated to the Toronto Duffy's Tavern). There is also an old menu with old prices.

http://duffystavern.ca/about-us.html

.

 

[adma]

Interesting the "overhead visual pollution" in the older photo--not just streetcar wires etc, but *TV aerials*...

 

[LowPolygon]

that sign! oh man, does that ever hurt....

and the one next to it, The Green Elf also looks fantastic....

this kind of signage used to add immeasurably to the streetscape in the city. there were hundreds and hundreds of examples all over Toronto. it was a genuine and thriving form of 3-dimensional popular art.

all of them went to the metal scrapyard--and the city is greatly impoverished by their disappearance.

i am wondering: leaving aside the question of changing tastes (the eclipse of neon light by backlight boxes etc.) were there by-laws passed that prohibited the hanging of signs that projected outward from a building? were there limits placed on how far out they could extend?

 

[NomoreaTorontonian]

It was a health and safety issue passed back in the fifties.

Yup. Even back then some things were DANGEROUS!

 

[thecharioteer]

Today, even proposed canvas awnings over city sidewalks require encroachment agreements and approval from Works and Emergency Services.

 

[adma]

And to be honest, that Duffy's sign (or at least the "inebriated walking Duffy" element) *would* have seemed screaming-out-sleazy-dive grotesque by the end of the 60s; so, I don't blame them for modernizing...

 

[LowPolygon]

And to be honest, that Duffy's sign (or at least the "inebriated walking Duffy" element) *would* have seemed screaming-out-sleazy-dive grotesque by the end of the 60s; so, I don't blame them for modernizing...

you're right, it is a bit too "Frank Fontaine-ish" in its inspiration....

of course the drunk remains a vestigal 'figure of fun' until the mid 70's with Foster Brooks, Dean Martin etc carrying the wet torch--until MADD, RIDE and all the rest of it (correctly) ended the reign of the 'happy drunk'--to be replaced by the much more somber naming of the condition as a 'disease' called 'alcoholism'

 

[Mustapha]

June 5 addition.



Then. Bloor looking E from Margueretta. "196?" says the Archive photo notation but most likely taken the same day as the yesterdays Then photo.

Now. May 2010.

 

[Long Island Mike]

you're right, it is a bit too "Frank Fontaine-ish" in its inspiration....

of course the drunk remains a vestigal 'figure of fun' until the mid 70's with Foster Brooks, Dean Martin etc carrying the wet torch--until MADD, RIDE and all the rest of it (correctly) ended the reign of the 'happy drunk'--to be replaced by the much more somber naming of the condition as a 'disease' called 'alcoholism'

...to be replaced by the humor of Cheech and Chong like "Up In Smoke" - from alcoholic humor to drug addiction humor...the 1970s were a time of change...LI MIKE

 

[LowPolygon]

...to be replaced by the humor of Cheech and Chong like "Up In Smoke" - from alcoholic humor to drug addiction humor...the 1970s were a time of change...LI MIKE

that's exactly right....

 

[Lone Primate]

June 5 addition.



Then. Bloor looking E from Margueretta. "196?" says the Archive photo notation but most likely taken the same day as the yesterdays Then photo.


Now. May 2010.

It's fascinating how much of the sky's opened up. Moving into the future, you'd expect just the opposite; it seems counterintuitive. It's nice to see all those overhead wires down but I'm particularly struck by the evaporation of the TV antennas. Up they went, down they came in the space of about a generation. But my God, were they ever an evocative manifestation of a world tuning in to itself.

Looks like there was still a streetcar line on Bloor as late as the 60s. Whew, nightmare.