Evocative Images of Lost Toronto

[steveintoronto]

I assume the view is from the steps (or a window) of the Legislature Bldg., looking south.
University Ave. is in the distance

Agreed. The statue to the west is the clue. That is an amazingly large gathering, all the more impressive due to almost to the person, having to arrive by transit.

 

[Goldie]

Ryerson Hall 1948?

 

[steveintoronto]

Ryerson Hall 1948?

As always, I'm taken aback. MLG was certainly a dominant feature in the background! Toronto's St Paul's Cathederal of the time? I'm curious as to the probably recent at the time square apartment/dorm looking building upper right hand of pic: Anyone? It looks familiar, but I could be misleading myself.

Edit to Add: I realize this is not the most opportune string to post this in, so I will move it if need be, but this is spectacular in its own right:

[...continues in spectacular colour and detail...]

https://www.theguardian.com/artandd...per-crafted-cameras-by-lee-ji-hee-in-pictures

 

[adma]

Would that be the Essex Park Hotel on the right? (The only "high-rise" built on Jarvis before the Depression hit)

 

[steveintoronto]

Would that be the Essex Park Hotel on the right? (The only "high-rise" built on Jarvis before the Depression hit)

http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2012/11/then-and-now-frontenac-arms-hotel

Excellent call!
That was a tough one to find, and ironically, it was at UT that I found that pic. And the spire behind it appears to confirm location:

From the UT article:
"Now. June 2012. It's a Ramada now and was built in 1930 as an apartment house. It eventually became a hotel; the only former names I can remember now are: The Carriage House and The Essex House. "

Whoa! "The Carriage House"...is my memory playing tricks? That used to be a popular young (and possibly gay) happening spot back in the Seventies if memory serves me well. I've been there quite a few times, many gay friends back then before they came out.

Edit to Add: Staring at the pic of Ryerson, wondering where it was shot from, another challenging question, and noticed the transmitting tower. How far back does CJRT go?

Answer:
1949
Ryerson Institute of Technology (Ontario Department of Education) received CBC approval to operate an educational FM station in Toronto (88.3 MHz - 3,000 watts).

http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listing_and_histories/radio/cjrt-fm

 

[adma]

Edit to Add: Staring at the pic of Ryerson, wondering where it was shot from,

The O'Keefe Brewery tower?

 

[steveintoronto]

The O'Keefe Brewery tower?

Whoa! I'll have to dig on that one. Incredible stuff...

 

[Eug]

1974 - Yonge and St. Joseph

I didn't realize Green P Parking was that old.

https://parking.greenp.com/about/

 

[steveintoronto]

1974 - Yonge and St. Joseph

I didn't realize Green P Parking was that old.

https://parking.greenp.com/about/

lol! Only history nerds would be looking at the P sign...

Here's one for you, just one block down the street:

Anyone remember what this was forty years ago? Here's a hint: Immediately north, it was Electro Sonic Supply Company. I worked there as a kid. And then later, I became the 'hi-fi' salesman at this establishment, which was a predecessor in ways to Active Surplus, where I also worked part time some years back when I lived a few doors over on Queen Street.

At the above establishment, you'll note the "Philips" sign. I used to sell more Philips speakers in Canada than any other salesperson. Like Active, this establishment started off selling electronic surplus, a lot of it military. The two lieutenants were "Eric and Chris", and they later bought out "the old man", and concentrated more on current retail and wholesale trends in components. The upper floors and basement were packed with stock, much of it old surplus resistors, capacitors and other components.

It's a shame to see the state this building is in now, I just hope a new owner restores it rather than rip it down. All the upper floors were as built, which really dated it in its time, but now actually adds value to the right buyer.

The establishment? Dominion Radio. Yonge Street hosted a couple of competitors, but it was a dying trade on Yonge Street for these kinds of stores, just as old fashioned hardware stores are today. And what a subject that is! Some still having their original oak drawers and cupboards from pre-WWII.

"Evocative" meets "Reminiscent".

 

[steveintoronto]

Well I'll be darned, was just Googling to see what shows, and Adma is in the string, as well as a few others of the 'regulars':
ndawgg, Feb 8, 2017

Not sure if this deserves its own thread, but I just noticed yesterday that 535 Yonge Street has been sold. There were a couple workers inside and a small "sold" sign on the window. Was in a hurry so I couldn't get a good look at what was going on but it seemed like early days and not much happening yet.

Anybody know what's going in here? Or if it's the first purchase of a larger parcel?

View attachment 98219

Adding in quotes from the above string to alert the posters that I have "inside" information!

Oh the memories...mostly good...It was a bit of a 'finishing school' for most of us there, we were pretty young, and reckless...

Part of the first block south of Wellesley, with a parking lot inbehind. Definitely looks like it could be assemblage for a future development, just look at what was proposed at 2 Carlton.

I don't think having its own thread hurts right now, there's no existing related development threads, it's an interesting sale (to me at least), and maybe it gets merged into a development thread later. Thanks for sharing!

Does anyone know if Toronto has publicly accessble property tax records to look up area owners? Might be interesting to see if any of these have been assembled. I know Vaughan has a little computer in its municipal hall that you can use to look up property ownership.

Love that Radio/TV/DeForest Loudspeaker signage. (Was this once some kind of "radio row"?)

You can look up that information at city hall. I'm sure you can spot many a land assembly by the names of the owners of adjacent properties. But someone assembling properties could also disguise a land assembly by having corporations with dissimilar names own all the assembled properties. Then, you'd have to get corporate searches of the names of the directors and keep doing corporate searches for any corporations as directors.

Someone could still disguise his or her land assembly by getting various different people to serve as directors of the corporate owners. Why would someone go to such lengths to conceal land assembly efforts? Once the adjacent property owners learn of the plans, they may raise their selling prices for the property, knowing that it's integral to a greater profit scheme. By coming up with various owners, developers can disguise their land assemblies without engaging in dishonest or fraudulent business practices.

 

[Goldie]

Huge group portrait at U.ofT. 1913
Amazingly sharp,and clear!
Credit: Dominion Photo Co.

 

[steveintoronto]

Huge group portrait at U.ofT. 1913
Amazingly sharp,and clear!

"Amazingly sharp,and clear!" It is...even when enlarged...which begs the question of film speed. As much as subjects were expected to 'freeze for the camera' almost every face is perfectly clear and detailed...save for five or so, oddly all in the back row, who are blurred. One has to wonder if they're on the edge of the depth of field focus...except the shrubbery behind them is sharp and focused.

So there is perhaps a second or so open shutter. But still, even in bright sunlight (the shadows clearly show) this is an astounding picture. So much so, that you can examine many of the faces, and wonder: "The Great War" started the year after this, and this was an "international" gathering. What degree of stress is at play in this gathering? What intellectual riffs are about to play out on the World Stage?

There's actually quite a few Google hits for this gathering, here's one:
[The coal resources of the world an inquiry made upon the initiative of the Executive Committee of the XII International Geological Congress, Canada, 1913, with the assistance of geological surveys and mining geologists of different countries]
International Geological Congress (12th : 1913 : Toronto, Ont.)
Microform, 1996. 30 microfiches (822 fr.) :
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/...:+Toronto,+Ont.)&Ntk=Subject_Search_Interface

The more I look, the more I can hear them whispering....

 

[adma]

Interesting, too, re the sharpness that we can see the entrance detail before acid rain etc eroded a lot of it...

 

[Goldie]

Mystery photo c.1929------- Where's this?

 

[r937]

it's got that Annex or Forest Hill feel... do you know the answer, Goldie?