Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[Mustapha]

Mustapha, have you seen this?
http://www.toronto.ca/archives/pdf/chinese_eng_web.pdf

No I haven't but I have now; thank you very much Anna. It's a well put together writeup with some great images - it sums up the community's history well in 8 succinct pages. Hard to believe most of that area is now occupied by New City Hall/Nathan Philips Square. I only dimly remember it; but do remember visiting my dad when he worked at International Chop Suey House. It's nice to see that image again.

"Chinese" means so many things nowadays - it's a catchall term - it used to mean people from China of course, but today many "Chinese" may feel little affinity for their origins, and may in fact not speak a word of any kind of Chinese.

 

[Mustapha]

Now that the TPL has converted their Directories to PDF format, these individual GIF files may soon disappear, so best snag them now.

1856 (even numbers on south side):

1861 (even numbers on north side):

On the other hand, there are now decent-sized images of the 1858 Boulton Atlas:

None of the above are “photos,” of course, but are useful for putting images in context.

A perusal of the occupations listed is an enlightening thing; 1856 Toronto was wholly self sufficient in management, business and trades. "Stock brokers, mathematical instrument makers, plumbers, dentists and of course, 'widows'."

 

[Mustapha]

Wow! I'm amazed to see a more recent photo of that house on Danforth (I was related to the owners thru the marriage of my brother-in-law)
I have this very old photo of the house. Date unknown.
The home was the residence of the Drummond family.
Mr. Drummond owned a Coal & Fuel business on the opposite side of Danforth where Canadian Tire is now located.
The second of these attached photos was taken from the Drummond's side porch, looking west - Danforth can be see on the left and behind the horse & building is a RR siding that ran N/S across Danforth.

Goldie, I'm happy that you're amazed and now have a later picture of the Drummond House as a reference.

 

[Mustapha]

Then and Now for March 8.


Then. 155 College (at McCaul). c1917. "Board of Education Administration Building, Toronto."

Now. September 2011.

Don't fret. The old building hasn't gone anywhere. It was jacked up and moved back and is rather queerly situated behind the modern building.

 

[geneva]

Thank you Anna! Wow I appreciate your response! I also found this



http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ong_Beere_&_Hime_panorama_of_Toronto_1856.JPG and want to turn it into a panorama

...rather it is a panorama! I want to turn it into something more interactive...an idea I got from a post on the site that led me to the above link :http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/01/the_1856_panorama_of_toronto/


Speaking of interactive, and 'then and now', my classmates are using 'what was where' (their site is still under construction) : http://microscope.hackinghistory.ca/?post_type=historical-images&p=225

 

[geneva]

Now that the TPL has converted their Directories to PDF format, these individual GIF files may soon disappear, so best snag them now.

1856 (even numbers on south side):

1861 (even numbers on north side):

On the other hand, there are now decent-sized images of the 1858 Boulton Atlas:

None of the above are “photos,†of course, but are useful for putting images in context.

TTThank YYYou wwwebster ! I did not realise you intended that as a response to King Street West (I am a little new to this). Wow, so great to find you on Urban Toronto. Your directories show me something interesting about 33-5 King Street West, the address of a livery stables belonging to a Mr. Mink, said to have been a black "millionaire" back in the 1850s. The 1846-7 and the 1850 city directories are useful (to me) because they mention people who were "coloured". Not consistently though. Mr. Mink is recorded as coloured in 1850 but not so in 1846-7....both are a good starting point in my trying to populate the part of Toronto I am researching. Yours tell me something was going on at or behind (if the stables were behind?) 33-35 King Street West by 1861-2. And yes, I love Boulton's Atlas ...I can access plates at the TPL site http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ which is where I notice by your URL you got yours!

 

[wwwebster]

TTThank YYYou wwwebster !

Happy to help. So far the only image of 33 King West I’ve been able to find is beyond the timeframe you’re interested in. Published in Illustrated Toronto: Past and Present, 1877:

http://ia600409.us.archive.org/Book...tratedtor00timbuoft_0526.jp2&scale=1&rotate=0

I’ve attached a cropped image.

 

[mattelderca]

Goldie, I'm happy that you're amazed and now have a later picture of the Drummond House as a reference.

As a side topic to this, great old photos by the way Goldie, does any one have any links to old Canadian tire store pictures? I have a thing for them, this Danforth location was always a treat for me before they "upgraded" it. I loved the dark brick and ramped entrances. I also love the older stores that had the CTC logo in the terrazo!

 

[Anna]

...rather it is a panorama! I want to turn it into something more interactive...an idea I got from a post on the site that led me to the above link :http://www.blogto.com/city/2011/01/the_1856_panorama_of_toronto/

There is a bit of that here
http://www.toronto.ca/archives/images/zoom_f1498_it0013-16_pan.htm

 

[thecharioteer]

No I haven't but I have now; thank you very much Anna. It's a well put together writeup with some great images - it sums up the community's history well in 8 succinct pages. Hard to believe most of that area is now occupied by New City Hall/Nathan Philips Square. I only dimly remember it; but do remember visiting my dad when he worked at International Chop Suey House. It's nice to see that image again.

"Chinese" means so many things nowadays - it's a catchall term - it used to mean people from China of course, but today many "Chinese" may feel little affinity for their origins, and may in fact not speak a word of any kind of Chinese.

There's a wonderful set of photos from 1946 on the Ontario Archives site of a Chinese theatrical troupe. One wonders where they came from, where they played, where they went.....

Also, two pics of a 1962 Chinese parade near Queen and Bay, pre-Nathan Phillips Square:

From the York University archives:

1963:

1970:

 

[dbailey62]

Then and Now for March 8.


Then. 155 College (at McCaul). c1917. "Board of Education Administration Building, Toronto."

Now. September 2011.

Don't fret. The old building hasn't gone anywhere. It was jacked up and moved back and is rather queerly situated behind the modern building.

Ah, well that explains it. I must admit to some confusion upon seeing that structure tucked away all back there.

 

[Mustapha]

There's a wonderful set of photos from 1946 on the Ontario Archives site of a Chinese theatrical troupe. One wonders where they came from, where they played, where they went.....

Thank you thecharioteer!

'where they came from': probably Hong Kong. The community then was 100% Cantonese speaking; and a Mandarin speaking troupe might as well have been performing in German [an amazing mental picture that conjures up] . China wasn't/still isn't a monoculture. The Mandarin (Northern Chinese) and Cantonese (Southern Chinese) languages are rather more than less mutually unintelligible. Interesting also that there are physical differences: Southern are shorter, smaller boned, Northerners are the opposite. It's as different as dark haired Gallic descended English and fair haired Scandanavian descended Scots.

'where they played'; 'where they went': only Toronto and Vancouver had Chinese communities big enough to fill a modest hall. I bet a dollar that the troupe performed in a 'family association' building located a few feet south of the NE corner of Dundas and Elizabeth - where the west wall of the Longos supermarket is now. Your pictures show framed photographs on the wall; this would have been the usual thing - pictures of the association officers and the politicians of the day back in China - Chiang Kai Shek, etc. I remember this hall - it survived up until about 1975, and was the go-to place for functions like this in the 1960s.

If any readers here have any 'exotic' family/ Toronto related memories, let's hear them!

 

[Mustapha]

Then and Now for March 9.


Then. 366 Adelaide W. c1920. A handsome commercial building. 'New Hobberlin Building'. I'm guessing the clothing manufacturer... see below.

Now. September 2012. It's offices now. Hobberlins is long gone. We import our clothes for the most part now. And yet we are no better - usually not even appropriately - dressed.

http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/re...returnUrl=/portal/residents/allhistoricimages

 

[thecharioteer]

The "old" Hobberlin Building was on the SE corner of Yonge and Richmond and survived until 1986 (and was designed by EJ Lennox):

1971:

http://app.toronto.ca/HeritagePreservation/details.do?folderRsn=2437098&propertyRsn=212719

 

[thecharioteer]

The "new" Hobberlin Building is now known as the Capitol Building and is historically listed:

http://app.toronto.ca/HeritagePreservation/details.do?folderRsn=2432953&propertyRsn=210217