Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[brewster]

9-11 Spadina by Mr T.O., on Flickr


North West Spadina Bloor by Mr T.O., on Flickr


Varsity Pizza Pizza by Mr T.O., on Flickr


Spadina Bloor North East by Mr T.O., on Flickr

These next 4 make up the Madison Pub

10 Madison Avenue by Mr T.O., on Flickr

12 madison Avenue by Mr T.O., on Flickr

14 madison Avenue by Mr T.O., on Flickr

16 madison Avenue by Mr T.O., on Flickr

[Goldie]

I believe 'brewster' did something similar to this in another string:

[brewster]

I believe 'brewster' did something similar to this in another string:

I used kind of the same B/A photo Goldie. Since I lost all my photo's maybe you could start up a Scarborough Then & Now and I could re-post them.I'm sure we have enough between us to make a go of it. Is that a big ice cream cone to the left of the gas station?

[Mustapha]

Then and Now for Sep 16.


Then. Grace and Mansfield, NE corner. 1916 'Church of St. Francis of Assisi. Arthur W. Holmes, Architect.'





Now. June 2011. The houses on the left are still there. I wonder - wishful thinking - if that tree on the right is the same in both pictures.

[Mustapha]

I'll be away as usual until Sunday night. There is the real possibility that because of my switchover to a new internet service, I may be offline past Sunday and into next week.. I'll do my best to expedite things and try to rejoin you all as soon as I can.

[Browning Avenue]

Another original Scarborough house - this one 170 years old!

A wonderful building, and I can accept the wooden patio fences, but they have three contrasting and clashing signs & banners with Baton Rouge on them plus the yellow ones with who-knows-what on them. If the people responsible for that mishmash go uncensured we'll have to send an apology to Pizza Pizza.

[Earlscourt_Lad]

If the people responsible for that mishmash go uncensured we'll have to send an apology to Pizza Pizza.

They have, for the moment, avoided painting the building a garish colour. Something for which Pizza Pizza seems to think is a normal event when adding a location.

[Mustapha]

A wonderful building, and I can accept the wooden patio fences, but they have three contrasting and clashing signs & banners with Baton Rouge on them plus the yellow ones with who-knows-what on them. If the people responsible for that mishmash go uncensured we'll have to send an apology to Pizza Pizza.

They have, for the moment, avoided painting the building a garish colour. Something for which Pizza Pizza seems to think is a normal event when adding a location.

Interesting that in brewsters Bloor pictures above can be spied an early Pizza Pizza, before the personality change set in.

[ValsHere]

I'm intrigued by these two--not least by how the big-box Shoppers just can't match the bright, effortless main-street 50s-supermarket-retail urbanity of its predecessor. (Notice how the new *doesn't* address the intersection, while the old does.)

But also...what was Thrift?!? I kinda remember it, bearded Scotsguy and all; but dunno whether it was specific to this location, or even whether it was a standalone or a mini-chain, or affiliated with any LoblawDominionWhatever whatchamacallits. (And probably didn't patronize it; after all, a store called "Thrift" on Queen East at its early 80s blue-collar-decline nadir wasn't exactly an appetizing prospect. Kinda like how the Parliament No Frills gives people the willies these days--not that Thrift actually was like that, but...)

I'm also wondering if this location later became a Howie's (a homegrown discount-pharmacy-chain phenomenon before it was bought out by Shoppers; great place to get one's fix of 200-gram Cheetos for 99 cents)

It was an area in decline in the early 1980's. I lived on Bertmount Ave back then & there were several used appliance stores & used book stores dotting the landscape. I seem to recall walking past several places that had closed up shop. There was an establishment at the corner of Bermount & Queen that was closed for years. The Thrift grocery store was not the cleanest store in town. I seem to remember that Colgate-Palmolive was just down the road on Carlaw.

What a difference 30 years can make.

[ValsHere]

I would go with around 1982-83ish. Notice the A.E. LePage sign. It's still a very nice looking building.

Thanks Mustapha for posting.

[Goldie]

Is that a big ice cream cone to the left of the gas station?

I think the huge cone may have been on top of the restaurant belonging to Andrew's Motel which is still to the east of that site (see attached photos)
The drive-in restaurant was a favourite hangout for teens in the 1950s. I remember it well!
The motel has probably been there for more than 60 years but the restaurant portion of the motel is now being used as a political campaign headquarters (Sept/2011).

[brewster]

I think the huge cone may have been on top of the restaurant belonging to Andrew's Motel which is still to the east of that site (see attached photos)
The drive-in restaurant was a favourite hangout for teens in the 1950s. I remember it well!
The motel has probably been there for more than 60 years but the restaurant portion of the motel is now being used as a political campaign headquarters (Sept/2011).

I was thinking Dairy Queen.

[Browning Avenue]

Interesting that in brewsters Bloor pictures above can be spied an early Pizza Pizza, before the personality change set in.

Yes, I noticed that too. Almost tasteful, though it looks better in black and white (pace Paul Simon).

Thankfully, they haven't made it out here yet.

[adma]

Though wasn't the Pizza Pizza makeover (initially) a Don Watt affair?

[Cast_Member]

But also...what was Thrift?!? I kinda remember it, bearded Scotsguy and all; but dunno whether it was specific to this location, or even whether it was a standalone or a mini-chain, or affiliated with any LoblawDominionWhatever whatchamacallits. (And probably didn't patronize it; after all, a store called "Thrift" on Queen East at its early 80s blue-collar-decline nadir wasn't exactly an appetizing prospect. Kinda like how the Parliament No Frills gives people the willies these days--not that Thrift actually was like that, but...)

According to the Canadian Trade-marks Database, the "Thrift" name was owned by Dominion and so yes, the store was affiliated with a big chain.

http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/tr...IndexOnPage=11