Built for the Toronto Athletic Club in 1894 (also known as the Stewart Building), Toronto Technical School (1901-1915), Toronto Police Headquarters (1931-1957), Ontario College of Art & Design (1979-1997), College des Grands-Lacs (1999-2001), Rotman School of Management - U.ofT. (2008- ).
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I haven't been able to learn why 149 College St. is called the "Stewart Building."
Who was Stewart?
According to the captioning under the TPL photos, it only became the Stewart Building after the Toronto Police took it over in 1932:
"Building occupied by Toronto Technical School (later Central Technical School) ca 1901-1915, and from ca 1932 was Stewart Building of the Police Dept."
Is there a police connection? There was a William James Stewart acclaimed as Mayor in 1932. Could it have been named after him in a fit of exuberance?
Yes, the Mayor of Toronto, 1931-1934
W. J. Stewart was born in Toronto on February 13, 1889. From 1924 to 1930 he served as the alderman for Ward 5. He was elected mayor of Toronto in 1930 and held the office until 1934 when he decided to retire from the office. In 1938 he was elected to the Ontario Legislature as the Conservative M.P.P. for the riding of Parkdale and he held the seat for over two decades until 1959. He served as the Speaker of the Ontario Legislature in 1944. One of his greatest accomplishments was in spearheading the building of Sunnybrook Hospital for injured war veterans. In 1961 he was appointed chairman of the Toronto Historical Board and held the position until he passed away on September 18, 1969. W. J. Stewart was a past master of L.O.L. No. 657 and also held membership in L.O.L. No. 3271.
With a little more research, I found this TorStar article ----------
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that view reminds me of Chinatown of the sixties just up the street and a dumpy bakery hidden behind the hydro building.....lots of yummy treats for a kid.
Mustapha, the building you're showing in the Then shot is the Dominion Building, not the Eaton's Annex, and was used for ancillary offices for City Hall (see its listing on Emporis).Then. May 10, 1977, or so the Toronto Archives has attributed to this pic.
465 Bay Street. A sharp nicely lit colour picture that gives one the sense that this could be a recent picture, as there aren't any really obvious cues as to the date; like cars for example. This is the the Eaton's Annex store - for those of us old enough to remember. Eaton's originally sold furniture here; then' lesser' priced merchandise up until 1976-ish. In the 70's, the store and the merchandise within, had a 'Winners' store feel to it all. This building and surrounding Eaton's warehouse buildings were actually undergoing demolition when fire finished off many of them on the evening of May 9, 1977.
Now. July 8, 2015.
Mustapha, the building you're showing in the Then shot is the Dominion Building, not the Eaton's Annex, and was used for ancillary offices for City Hall (see its listing on Emporis). View attachment 50224