Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[Mustapha]

Looks like they totally rebuilt the facade on the south side of the building in "The Case of the Shrunken Building" .

They did; and a nice neat job of it too, and by neat I mean it looks like the building was always that way.

 

[Mustapha]

THE DUNCAN HOUSE

Thank you Goldie. Dinner here is nice too. I last dined here about 8 years ago but recent reviews are still good.

 

[Mustapha]

Then and Now for March 22, 2013.






Then. Otis-Fensom Elevator Company Building. 50 Bay Street. c1914. Note the location of the fire hydrant. We will use that as a reference point.

Now. September 2012. Note the location of the fire hydrant again. I'll venture a guess that the Otis-Fensom building survived until the early 70s, when this block was razed for the development of Royal Bank Plaza.

Now, for additional Then and Now entertainment, go back to page 579 of this thread to see Mr. Fensom's Rosedale house.

Many thanks to wwwebster and JTCunningham for making many of these Then and Nows possible.

 

[HamiltonTransitHistory]

If I might be permitted to add some additional Jolly Miller images [sorry if these have been previously posted]... Alas, I do not have dates for the last two. Identification, anyone?

Early 1930s at the latest. In the ca 1936 photo a fire escape's been added and the sign 'DANCING' is gone, so it's before then. Contrast with the 1931 photo. At the earliest, the tracks were laid in 1892.

 

[wwwebster]

Otis-Fensom Elevator Company Building. 50 Bay Street. c1914. Note the location of the fire hydrant. We will use that as a reference point.

The hydrant intrigues me. Unless my eyes are deceiving me, it is one of a rare type of hydrant allegedly manufactured by the St Lawrence Foundry at Front & Parliament.

The very same hydrant appears in this image from 1902:

Another of the same type appears more clearly in this image:

I like to call this type “Robbie the Hydrant.â€

Hydrant image courtesy of:

http://firehydrant.org/pictures/toronto-water-works.html

 

[barit]

Hey wwwebster: What and where was that last building? Has touches of Louis Sullivan. Thanks.

 

[wwwebster]

Hey wwwebster: What and where was that last building? Has touches of Louis Sullivan. Thanks.

Manning Chambers, by E.J. Lennox, Queen & Bay (Terauley), NW corner.

 

[barit]

Thanks wwwebster~!

 

[thecharioteer]

Manning Chambers, by E.J. Lennox, Queen & Bay (Terauley), NW corner.

 

[railmus]

In honour of Stompin' Tom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi96V96ZMHE&NR=1&feature=endscreen
TTC Skidaddler

 

[Mustapha]

"The Ghosts of World War II: The photographs found at flea markets superimposed on to modern street scenes.

Images depict almost transparent soldiers racing through our streets as they look today.

Fascinating series shows contrast between wartorn cities in the 1930s and 1940s and pleasant neighbourhoods now."



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...hotographs-modern-pictures-street-scenes.html

 

[Mustapha]

"A decade after the invasion of Iraq, photographer Maya Alleruzzo visited some of Baghdad's best known sites and juxtaposed what she saw with images from the past decade. Where bombs once fell, residents now buy groceries. Where militias patrolled, campaign posters now hang. Yet peace is still a long way off."


http://www.spiegel.de/international...n-years-after-the-iraq-invasion-a-890000.html

 

[Mustapha]

Then and Now for March 25, 2013.





A Very Happy Passover to UT's Jewish audience.





Tonite, let's read about how a matzo ball factory becomes a trendy Parkdale coffee shop - 'The Mascot‏'.





Then. '1267 Queen W. Gula's Matza Factory. 1948.' Picture sent to us by a UTer... let's call her 'RF'.

Now. March 23, 2013. Our old matza factory is the Mascot Coffee Shop.

Eclectic decor. And hey,... it's not part of a corporate chain.

You can grab one of the best espressos in the city [my opinion] and sit at a tiny childs school desk. It's like punishment, with a caffeine buzz.

The tip jar here is an old TTC bus farebox; a charming place the Mascot; worth the price of a cup of coffee admittance.

 

[Goldie]

Villiers St. looking E. towards Munitions St. - 1932
Once part of the Ashbridges Bay swamp-land.
Still a pretty desolate stretch of Toronto's industrial landscape.

 

[Mustapha]

Villiers St. looking E. towards Munitions St. - 1932
Once part of the Ashbridges Bay swamp-land.
Still a pretty desolate stretch of Toronto's industrial landscape.

View attachment 11435

View attachment 11436

I've spent many many hours on this 'desolate stretch'. I taught all three of my kids to drive here. The wide quiet streets here make it perfect for the first-time-behind-the-wheel driver. I'm not the only one that thinks this; lot's of driving school cars down here on most days.