[Mustapha]

NB: the church in the first photo burnt down around 1955. Its replacement burnt just a couple of years ago, whereupon the congregation folded and the present memorial park installed.

Thanks adma for the background. I think I err on the economic-of-word side of things sometimes.




June 8 addition.

Sterling Road. Discussed and photographed in an earlier thread:

http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?t=493&highlight=sterling+road

Here's my picture take on it.

 

[Mustapha]

June 9 addition.

Bay looking N from Walton. The 'now' pic perspective is different - the reason being that I wanted the row house survivors on the NW corner of Gerrard highlighted a bit more.

The SW corner (at Gerrard - where the traffic light is) was cleared and occupied by Herman Furs for many decades up until the present office building was built. Herman Furs occupied a purpose built 30s or 40s era showroom (sorry I can't be more specific; there's no online info) that was quite striking in a curvy 'Modern' style. I'll try to hunt up a pic from the archives.

The drugstore you see there has been a tenant since the building was built. Back in the days of Sunday closing laws it was the only drugstore in the city that was open on Sunday and as a result it was very busy on Sundays. Not sure what kind of exemption they got, but there you go.

 

[adma]

Thanks adma for the background. I think I err on the economic-of-word side of things sometimes.

No problem. It was only to assuage those who might have thought it was the church in the old photo that bit the dust lately...

 

[Uncle Teddy]

The drugstore you see there has been a tenant since the building was built. Back in the days of Sunday closing laws it was the only drugstore in the city that was open on Sunday and as a result it was very busy on Sundays. Not sure what kind of exemption they got, but there you go.

Its close to all the hospitals so maybe it was the designated place to get prescriptions filled on a day when everything else was closed.

 

[Mustapha]

Its close to all the hospitals so maybe it was the designated place to get prescriptions filled on a day when everything else was closed.

More than likely this was the case.

What could you do on Sundays in my childhood (1960s)? You could eat out, see a movie, go to the AGO, ROM or Science Centre. There were lots of activities of the people watching variety - Toronto Island, watch the planes from the Terminal One observation decks. Gramps still held historical associations with Sunnyside as a poor man's local Riviera, so many Torontonians spent their Sundays there.

Retail and grocery was shut up tight as a drum. In the early 80s when the regulations were relaxed for supermarkets, they could sell 'staples' like milk, bread, meat and eggs, but they had to rope off the canned goods aisles. Everyone routinely ducked under the ropes. I can't remember whose gov't finally put a bullet into the neck of Sunday Shopping laws. Bless em.







June 10 addition.


Taken from high atop the Canada Life Building, looking E over Toronto downtown.

 

[Anna]

Wow - what's next - before & after aerial photos from Mustapha's private jet?

 

[Anth]

In the early 80s when the regulations were relaxed for supermarkets, they could sell 'staples' like milk, bread, meat and eggs, but they had to rope off the canned goods aisles. Everyone routinely ducked under the ropes.

That's so preposterous that if it weren't coming from you, I couldn't believe it. Amazing.

 

[Uncle Teddy]

Shame about the buildings north of Old City Hall but good riddance to most of what was replaced by the new City Hall.

 

[NomoreaTorontonian]

Oh, you young 'uns! Drug stores were usually open on a Sunday in the late 40s. I can recall my dad dashing into one on the corner of Danforth & Broadview to get a block of ice cream when we went to dinner at the grandparents. Of course, this was done on a transfer between street cars and strictly illegal according to the TTC.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

June 2 addition.

St Clair E looking toward Vaughan.

[/IMG]

A very good friend of mine and another partner leased that cinema in 1983 and ran it as "The Ritz" (independently). It was a very cool cinema inside, art deco if I recall with upward leading curved hallways which lead to the auditorium (which had a lodge) from each side of the lobby. It had a pretty big screen and they installed Dolby Stereo, which was not that common back then and pretty expensive for the time. Unfortunately the acoustics were quite poor. Again, if memory serves there was a small lobby downstairs which they ran as a cafe. They opened The Ritz with the Aussie pop-punk musical, "Starstruck" (still a favorate of mine) and then continued booking it as a rep. cinema. After about a year and a half they just couldn't make a go of it.
I heard that it was later used as an TV studio for several years in the 90's and that's the last I heard of it.

 

[Goldie]

cinemas of my youth

One of my favorite pastimes is to explore for the cinemas of my youth.
Here are some of the results.
I'd dearly love to find an old photo of the Iola.
I've searched everywhere.

 

[Mustapha]

Wow - what's next - before & after aerial photos from Mustapha's private jet?

Thanks! It was taken from the 'penthouse'[my term] meeting room on Doors Open day. The picture was taken through a small pane of glass and is not as wide of field as I would have liked.

Shame about the buildings north of Old City Hall but good riddance to most of what was replaced by the new City Hall.

It was the old Chinatown but quite rundown. Charming but rundown.

Oh, you young 'uns! Drug stores were usually open on a Sunday in the late 40s. I can recall my dad dashing into one on the corner of Danforth & Broadview to get a block of ice cream when we went to dinner at the grandparents. Of course, this was done on a transfer between street cars and strictly illegal according to the TTC.

LOL. Did they tighten up the laws in the 50s and 60s? Or enforce them? Every drugstore on Yonge was closed on Sunday. I asked my father-in-law (he's in his 80s) about this and he remembers only Chinatown drugstores being open. And some place on the SE corner of Bathurst and Davenport called Starkmans, he thinks.

A very good friend of mine and another partner leased that cinema in 1983 and ran it as "The Ritz" (independently). It was a very cool cinema inside, art deco if I recall with upward leading curved hallways which lead to the auditorium (which had a lodge) from each side of the lobby. It had a pretty big screen and they installed Dolby Stereo, which was not that common back then and pretty expensive for the time. Unfortunately the acoustics were quite poor. Again, if memory serves there was a small lobby downstairs which they ran as a cafe. They opened The Ritz with the Aussie pop-punk musical, "Starstruck" (still a favorate of mine) and then continued booking it as a rep. cinema. After about a year and a half they just couldn't make a go of it.
I head that it was later used as an TV studio for several years in the 90's and that's the last I heard of it.

And you could only read this here at Urban Toronto.

One of my favorite pastimes is to explore for the cinemas of my youth.
Here are some of the results.
I'd dearly love to find an old photo of the Iola.
I've searched everywhere.

That was a very cool series of pics, thanks Goldie. Good luck in your pic search.






June 11 addition.

Queen and Simcoe, SW corner.

 

[adma]

My memory still has the Vaughan/Ritz biting the dust pre-90s--maybe 1986 or so...

 

[Aladone]

I saw this and I had to.....

www.torontobefore.blogspot.com

 

[Mustapha]

I saw this and I had to.....

www.torontobefore.blogspot.com

Alden, that is just too weird and cool, thank you.

Looking at this; I'm imagining a less prosperous Toronto. A Toronto that had fewer investor developers to clear cut entire older neighbourhoods. A Toronto that made do with its 1898 City Hall into the 21st century. A Toronto with fewer 1950s high rise blocks and more 150 year old neighbourhoods.

On the opposite tangent, sometimes I walk Kensington market and wonder what it would be like if it had been razed. The we'd be showing internetz pictures of 'Lost Kensington'.

I'm also imagining if the Registry Building had survived and - at least its facade - into a condo iteration.. "Registry Condos - Albert Street - starting from $189,000, - Elizabeth Street Chinatown views."