Evocative Images of Lost Toronto

[adma]

A busy Honest Eds 1984 TPL
View attachment 165390

Was this the grand opening of the expansion?

 

[Goldie]

Toronto Public Library's caption:
"For the love of Mr. T…….. Rain-soaked Mr. T fans milled around Honest Ed's giant department store. When the doors finally opened for the celebrity's book-signing stint a lucky few were ushered in to receive autographed albums and books."

 

[Goldie]

John Tingle's dairy was at 314 Gerrard St. E. 1910 TPL

 

[Goldie]

Queen's Own Rifles, in battle square formation, perhaps in grounds of Normal School ......cannot be 1800 (as captioned) invention of photography was 1839.... TPL

 

[Goldie]

Toronto Golf Club, Gerrard St. E., n. side, e. of Coxwell Ave. 1895 TPL

 

[Goldie]

Watering trough, fountain c.1900 TPL

 

[Goldie]

A magnificent and detailed map of the city in 1874..........from the Toronto Public Library Archives

Of particular interest to me is the apparent drop-off in the topography between Front St. and the Esplanade.
The Great Western Railway Station is at the foot of Yonge St. (image centre).
Detail from above map:

 

[44 North]

Swimming in the Don River at "Bare Ass Beach" - Riverdale - 1923 TPL

View attachment 156676

Awhile back Goldie posted this image. Found some photos via Sidewalk's OldTO website. It appears to be looking up at the Cul de Sac of Eastmount Ave. That rickety wooden retaining wall and eroded slope had a bit of a landslide sixteen years later.

Notice that last house on the left in Goldie's image are these same houses. From streetside they appear as single-storey, but they had full walkout basements. Eventually a hop out basement heh.

 

[Goldie]

Excellent, 44 North.........good observation!
The west end of Eastmount Ave. has certainly changed......

 

[DSC]

A magnificent and detailed map of the city in 1874..........from the Toronto Public Library Archives

Of particular interest to me is the apparent drop-off in the topography between Front St. and the Esplanade.
The Great Western Railway Station is at the foot of Yonge St. (image centre).
Detail from above map:
View attachment 166185

And here is a photo of the station from 1890-1910 and another of its next incarnation!

 

[Goldie]

Those two old RR Station buildings were side-by-side until a fire in 1952.

Great Western Railway Station c.1866-Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library U. of T

Great Western RW Station after fire 1952

 

[Goldie]

Photos of "Town of North Toronto" published in The Toronto World of Sept. 15 1907 ....Toronto Public Library

 

[gimbal]

It's nice to see at least one of those survived

 

[pman]

What a beautiful original pretty much destroyed by renovation. Why does almost everything we touch in this town turn to shit? What makes us so collectively horrible?

 

[adma]

Aside from the storefronts (and how long ago would the original have been obliterated?), it isn't *that* destroyed--at least the upper facade is basically intact, not slathered in EIFS or anything...