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UrbanToronto has partnered with Heritage Toronto to capture a moment in Toronto's past. On a weekly basis, we will both be highlighting a historic photo of the city's people, places and events, and will be telling the stories behind them. Many thanks to both Gary Switzer of MOD Developements and Eric Veillette of silenttoronto.com for putting together the photos and research.
This week's photo:
Photo: City of Toronto Archives, Series 574, File 4, Item 49167.
Behold a city fraught with growing pains. It's no secret that post-World War II Toronto saw much urban change, but the construction of the Yonge subway – which broke ground in September of 1949 – while a bold and progressive move, was a thorn in the sides of many business owners and citizens. Not unlike the recent transit-related upgrades on St. Clair West and Roncesvalles, companies went out of their way to remind patrons that despite the perilous chasms and rickety, adventure serial-like bridges required to get into their stores, they were still open for business. Radio and newspaper advertising for Arliss Shoes (220 Yonge) and the Adorable Hat Shop (264 Yonge) promised major savings on fall fashions, and the May Co. department store (243 Yonge) was having a “Subway Sale,” with drastic cuts on everything from suits to gabardine top coats.
Some citizens also voiced concern. A month after construction began, a letter to the Daily Star's editors wondered why the subway couldn't burrow under a less busy street. Ronald Berry claimed that “a block or two sure cannot matter when one is underground.” Cynically, Berry quipped that “no brains on earth can divert Yonge St. business to Church St. for three years, whereas silly old brains would be just as happy ripping up a jungle."
The construction was eventually completed in 1954, facilitating travel from Union Station to Eglinton. But you simply can't please everyone. Despite the re-built streets and the influx of customers from the north of city, some business owners – mostly showmen and cinema owners – saw the subways themselves as a detriment, preferring the multiple stops offered by streetcars. Bernie Rothbart, who managed the Savoy Theatre (on the north-east side of Yonge and Gerrard from 1953 to 1964) told the Star in 1983, when the theatre was closing its doors, that the removal of the streetcar tracks cut down walking traffic tremendously. “People who would stop by the theatre to check out what we were showing wouldn't do that when we were between two subway stops.”
Sources: Toronto Since 1918: An Illustrated History, James Lemon, Lorimer Press, 1985. Toronto Daily Star, October 13, 28, November 16, 1949. Toronto Star, August 6, 1983.
