This week's Throwback Thursday turns back the clocks exactly one year, showing a before and after of Toronto's iconic Honest Ed's at Bathurst and Bloor. On August 20, 2017, during an Open Streets TO event, pedestrians and cyclists crowded the intersection surrounding the popular retailer, which closed at the end of 2016 to make way for a new mixed-use development by Westbank Corp. Several months after closing, a portion of the site's Markham Street signage had been disassembled, while the building's frontage over Bathurst and Bloor remained in place.

Looking southwest to Honest Ed's, August 2017, image by Marcus Mitanis

One year later, on August 19, 2018, the same view captured during the most recent Open Streets TO event shows that Honest Ed's and many of the surrounding buildings have been taken down. In their place, the early stages of construction are now progressing for the Mirvish Village development. The Henriquez Partners Architects-designed project will bring five new rental towers to the area with heights ranging between 13 and 26 storeys. The project will also introduce new retail and public spaces to the neighbourhood upon completion. 

Construction at the site of Mirvish Village, August 19, 2018, image by Marcus Mitanis

We will return next week with another look at the changing face of Toronto!