[Mustapha]

thecharioteer, As a child in the early 60s, I remember being driven by my gramps around the area north of what is now Square One Mall. The roads running east and west off Hurontario street were all farms.

There were some old Asian men there making soy sauce. The liquid was fermenting in tubs covered by glass. Flies everywhere. I suppose they strained the flies out.



goldie, the herbalist business Then and Now; wonderful! You must have been charming to get the pretty proprietress to pose for you.

Great historical story and an innovative change from the usual "bricks and mortar" Then and Now...




September 18 addition.



Then. Gerrard looking W from the east side of Seaton. March 27, 1956.

Now. July 2010.

 

[Mustapha]

Today. September 18 2010. In front of 160 Frederick street.

I wonder if this is real and whence it came.

 

[Goldie]

My personal story behind this photo goes back more than 50 years.
I have never forgotten the joy - as a child walking along the Danforth - that I always felt when coming upon this free weigh scale that has been in front of Thuna as long as I can remember.
I would step on the 'magic' instrument each time I passed by.
In 2007 I was amazed that the store AND SCALE still existed!
That's when I talked with Evelyn Dorfman and took her photo.
In 2010 I found the archival photo on the Internet and returned to ask for permission to post both on UT.
The sad ending to my story is that the scale is now out of service because of too much pounding by exuberant (or overweight) teenagers.

 

[Mustapha]

Goldie,

We have seen quite a few of those scales in these threads. It's nice to see an actual survivor. I hope it's not too expensive for them to fix it.




September 20 addition.



Then. Looking W along Gerrard towards Jarvis. March 27, 1956.

Now. July 2010.

 

[ReiwaMagi]

Goldie,

We have seen quite a few of those scales in these threads. It's nice to see an actual survivor. I hope it's not too expensive for them to fix it.




September 20 addition.



Then. Looking W along Gerrard towards Jarvis. March 27, 1956.

Now. July 2010.

Tearing down a house for Harveys....? Wait what!?

 

[Blovertis]

That one really hurts.

 

[Mustapha]

Blovertis, TKWizard,


That Harveys... there is a MACs milk store operating out of a restored mansion just north of this intersection; a shame Harveys couldn't have done this, assuming it was Harveys that replaced the old mansion ...




September 21 addition.




Then. March 26 , 1956 "Gerrard looking W from opposite #94 "

Now. July 2010.

 

[Mustapha]

September 22 addition.



The old Runnymede Theatre. 2225 Bloor street west at Runnymede.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runnymede_Theatre

Very well done writeup here.: http://silenttoronto.com/?p=9#comments

Now a book store. Unlike some of the other theatres in Toronto that closed down to become "event locations" or the like (such as the Capital and the Eglinton) this is a location you can freely visit. It's a beautiful place, so you should, freely visit. Don't forget to buy some printed media (Ie., a magazine or book), because everything on the interwebz is a rehash, right?

The kind manager there today let me pull out my "point and shoot" camera to take some hasty pictures for you.

I have matched up today's pictures with "Then" pictures taken by me at the Rainbow Cinema on Front street. These Then pictures are mounted on the walls there, framed and under glass, so the quality is a bit dodgy. My heartfelt thanks to the owners of Rainbow Cinemas for their sense of local movie house history.

Note the "dome".

I couldn't get a sharp Now picture with the "same amount of dome" - you will have to settle for the domes lower edge. I took several snaps, only this one turned out alright. Trust me - the dome - it's there.

Here you go, I'll make it up to you.

 

[thecharioteer]

Goldie,

September 20 addition.



Then. Looking W along Gerrard towards Jarvis. March 27, 1956.

Now. July 2010.

Time was not kind to the west side of Jarvis between Gerrard and Carlton: the brutalist Primrose, the bad renovation of what is now the Ramada, multiple demolitions and of course, the Harvey's.

Some pics, the first two from the TPL looking east on Gerrard in 1907, the next of 292 Jarvis (replaced by the condo attached to the Ramada), the last just south of Carlton, a pic I took in the mid-70's of one of the soon-to-be-demolished remaining semis (the site is still vacant):

 

[moe45673]

When did that area of town become the red light district of Toronto? In the 1930s, it looked like such a respectable neighborhood

 

[thecharioteer]

When did that area of town become the red light district of Toronto? In the 1930s, it looked like such a respectable neighborhood

The short answer is sometime after WWI at a time when the older establishment families started leaving the area for the greener pastures of Rosedale, Moore Park and Forest Hill (the houses were too big, a number of the private schools and clubs had already moved north). The decline seemed to start at the south end with the conversion of a number of the older apartment buildings into rather unsavoury hotels, and the larger homes into rooming houses (or institutions). Cutting down the trees in the late 40's, widening the street and joining it to Mt.Pleasant didn't help the residential ambience. With the 50's came mass demolitions and hi-rises. When the first Four Seasons got built north of Carlton (opposite the CBC), it was seen as a quite revolutionary.

 

[Mustapha]

September 23 addition.



Then. "Gerrard street looking W from opp. #70." March 27, 1956.

Now. July 2010.

 

[adma]

Was that thing on the left a construction shed or a temp classroom facility for Ryerson?

 

[thecharioteer]

Was that thing on the left a construction shed or a temp classroom facility for Ryerson?

I would suspect temporary classrooms as the original Normal School complex was demolished between 1958 and 1963 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Normal_School)

 

[HHC]

Wow.... a loss that truly does hurt. The 60's was a terrible decade!