Early Toronto Suburbs In Colour--50's-60's

[Anna]

Thorncliffe, I think.

 

[Mustapha]

Thorncliffe, yes. The anchor Sayvette store was a draw in the 60s for my parents, so I remember this interior.

 

[adma]

But what's the Shopper's World Danforth date relative to Thorncliffe?

 

[OttoSchloss]

But what's the Shopper's World Danforth date relative to Thorncliffe?

I think it was built in 1964. Not sure about Thorncliffe.

 

[adma]

I thought I remember 1958 relative to Thorncliffe--which, if Shopper's World is 1964, definitely marks it first.

 

[Anna]

According to this, Shoppers World opened in 1962
http://www3.sympatico.ca/john.winter/1960s.htm
No mention of Thorncliffe here,
http://www3.sympatico.ca/john.winter/1950s.htm
but the pictures are from 1961-62.

 

[CityPlaceN1]

Those are great links. Thank you!

 

[Long Island Mike]

Early Toronto Suburbs...Comparable to LI in some ways...

Everyone: Good comparison pics of Toronto's suburbs and how they have changed and grown since the 50s and 60s suburban boom from all here!

I see similarities to LI in small malls containing stores like SS Kresge's and Grand Union Supermarkets-LI had them also-and outdoor malls like the Don Mills Mall mentioned-at least two of today's largest shopping malls here on LI were originally built as outdoor malls namely Roosevelt Field and South Shore Mall to be exact and then converted to indoor malls in the early 70s. The later posted enclosed mall pics remind me of Smith Haven and Sunrise Malls here-which were built enclosed in the late 60s(Smith Haven)and early 70s(Sunrise) and I will mention that Sunrise was LI's first two-deck mall.

House construction used much more brick then most here on LI but original suburbs like Levittown have aged well-I have relatives that have lived there since the 50s.

The Supertest gas station is virtually the same design as those built by Shell Oil in the same time period-I had one nearby my house for about 25 years.

Thoughts from LI MIKE

 

[Towered]

What strikes me the most about the before and after pictures is that the tinkering done over the decades in the name of "updating" and "improvement" has uniformly destroyed the original, superior architecture, with one exception - I think that Humbertown plaza is the only one of the above examples that looks better today than when it was new. The maroon brick re-cladding that was done way back (70's?) made it look more elegant and inviting I think.

 

[Rikk]

Thorncliffe, yes. The anchor Sayvette store was a draw in the 60s for my parents, so I remember this interior.

Thank you very much! I love your pictures of Toronto and the surrounding areas.......

Brings back many memories when I was kid...

Any pictures of Scarborough area? The Bluffs...?

R,

 

[Dugmor]

Does anyone know where I can find photos of the development of the Don Mills residential neighbourhoods?

 

[Urban Shocker]

Try the Panda Associates collection ( go to "Advanced Search" ) for plenty of images such as this:

http://contentdm.ucalgary.ca/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/pan&CISOPTR=9780&CISOBOX=1&REC=15

 

[Dugmor]

Try the Panda Associates collection ( go to "Advanced Search" ) for plenty of images such as this:

http://contentdm.ucalgary.ca/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/pan&CISOPTR=9780&CISOBOX=1&REC=15

Thanks.

 

[kettal]

What strikes me the most about the before and after pictures is that the tinkering done over the decades in the name of "updating" and "improvement" has uniformly destroyed the original, superior architecture, with one exception - I think that Humbertown plaza is the only one of the above examples that looks better today than when it was new. The maroon brick re-cladding that was done way back (70's?) made it look more elegant and inviting I think.

Yeah, a bank made entirely of glass walls... what could possibly go wrong?

These things were built to look futuristic didn't have any practicality.

 

[junctionist]

Yeah, a bank made entirely of glass walls... what could possibly go wrong?

These things were built to look futuristic didn't have any practicality.

Come on, the vaults weren't made of glass. The pavilion type banks were quite practical and are in use today, albeit with architecturally inferior aesthetic modifications.