Evocative Images of Lost Toronto

[Goldie]

"DRUG" store...........may have been York St., 1909

 

[Goldie]

Canada Life Building under construction 1930 ------- Osgoode Hall at right

 

[adma]

I wonder what that building was just south of Canada Life, on the present Campbell House site--looks like it presented a decent "Embassy Row" face to the then-bottom of University Avenue...

 

[J T CUNNINGHAM]

"I wonder what that building was just south of Canada Life, on the present Campbell House site-- "
1930.

MIGHT'S - TORONTO CITY DIRECTORY
1921:

160 Bank of Commerce.
162 Rex Tailoring,
164 Fine Louis, Billiards.
164 Grogan Robt C.
166 Feinsod Harry, deli.
166A Wexler Max, restaurant.
170 Queens Grill
172 Greenburg Gents Furnishings.

Regards,
J T

 

[thecharioteer]

I wonder what that building was just south of Canada Life, on the present Campbell House site--looks like it presented a decent "Embassy Row" face to the then-bottom of University Avenue...

1924:

 

[Goldie]

Excellent, thecharioteer! That'll make a good "Then & Now."

 

[J T CUNNINGHAM]

I suggest that REX Tailoring, on Queen, Street, is misnamed.

Regards,
J T

 

[junctionist]

Excellent, thecharioteer! That'll make a good "Then & Now."

Indeed. The "Now" photo will have a different building than the "Then" photo, but the building in the "Now" photo will be older than the building in the "Then" photo.

 

[thecharioteer]

From the Goad Atlas of 1924 (pre-University Avenue extension south of Queen). Note that the buildings on the west side of University north of Queen actually have their front doors on Simcoe:

 

[DSCToronto]

Great map; it shows University Avenue began at Queen Street and I noticed the "Musicians Temple" noted between numbers 4 and 5. This was, according to 1920 Mights at #24:

Then to the Archives where there is this photo of the Musicians Temple.

I assume some sort of 'association'.

 

[Goldie]

Good find, DSC! I also searched for such a photo -- without success.
However, I found this, which gives the impression that there would be little space for the Campbell House to fit between the Canada Life Bldg. and Queen St.
Obviously, the camera exaggerates!

University Ave. looking N/W to Queen:

 

[adma]

And in that photo, the "Greco-Egyptian-Deco" CIBC at Queen & Simcoe already exists.

 

[thecharioteer]

When I look at the photos of University north of Queen, pre-extension southerly, I see that there was a potentially interesting urban space (reminding me a bit of Grand Army Plaza on Fifth Avenue) forming a kind of forecourt to the tree-lined linear park that was University Avenue. This was, of course, all lost with 1) the extension south of Queen and 2) the widening of the late 1940's.

 

[adma]

Looks from the second photo that once Canada Life was done, they cleared the *whole* block on Queen.

 

[Goldie]

Bicycle race, Toronto, 1925

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/champion-at-15/query/toronto