Evocative Images of Lost Toronto

[lenaitch]

^ Yes, I think taking a picture of your furnace, waiting for the roll to be used up, then shipping it off for processing would have been considered the height of odd. Much like I view people today who take pictures of their food.

 

[Geogblog]

One of the problems of sandblasting was the way the old bricks were made. Most ordinary Toronto bricks were fired with wood before 1914. So when you sandblast, it just disintegrates.

 

[W. K. Lis]

One of the problems of sandblasting was the way the old bricks were made. Most ordinary Toronto bricks were fired with wood before 1914. So when you sandblast, it just disintegrates.

That's why some people have to stucco the sides of their homes, because of the deteriorating bricks.

 

[Goldie]

Wonder if anyone has old photos of their basements, with and without coal furnaces or boilers?

Doubtful, because taking such photos with film cameras would be considered a "waste" and expensive back then. Then lighting in the basement would be terrible as well.

I'm pleased that you asked that question.
And I was certainly amused by lenaitch's ironic comment about "odd" photography.
Here's my story, since you prompted me to search for the old photo:
When I returned in 1997 to have a look at my birthplace on Donlands Ave. after an absence of 42 years, the new owner allowed me inside for look around. I was so surprised to see the old, once-coal-fired furnace, that I shot this photo. It had been converted to fuel-oil about 1950.
I wonder if it's still in service today.

 

[Richard White]

I'm pleased that you asked that question.
And I was certainly amused by lenaitch's ironic comment about "odd" photography.
Here's my story, since you prompted me to search for the old photo:
When I returned in 1997 to have a look at my birthplace on Donlands Ave. after an absence of 42 years, the new owner allowed me inside for look around. I was so surprised to see the old, once-coal-fired furnace, that I shot this photo. It had been converted to fuel-oil about 1950.
I wonder if it's still in service today.
View attachment 207676

I highly doubt it would be in service today if the homeowner requires insurance.

This is the sort of thing that would now be so far away from code that the insurance companies would mandate it be changed in order to obtain coverage.

 

[W. K. Lis]

I'm pleased that you asked that question.
And I was certainly amused by lenaitch's ironic comment about "odd" photography.
Here's my story, since you prompted me to search for the old photo:
When I returned in 1997 to have a look at my birthplace on Donlands Ave. after an absence of 42 years, the new owner allowed me inside for look around. I was so surprised to see the old, once-coal-fired furnace, that I shot this photo. It had been converted to fuel-oil about 1950.
I wonder if it's still in service today.
View attachment 207676

I remember the mechanic coming over and using asbestos paste to seal the cracks. Something not done these days.

 

[lenaitch]

I'm pleased that you asked that question.
And I was certainly amused by lenaitch's ironic comment about "odd" photography.
Here's my story, since you prompted me to search for the old photo:
When I returned in 1997 to have a look at my birthplace on Donlands Ave. after an absence of 42 years, the new owner allowed me inside for look around. I was so surprised to see the old, once-coal-fired furnace, that I shot this photo. It had been converted to fuel-oil about 1950.
I wonder if it's still in service today.
View attachment 207676

Wow, that's an oldie-but-goodie! Looks like a boiler system and I wonder what its efficiency would be.
While it certainly wouldn't meet Code today (check out the clearance to the wood paneling), it would be grandfathered so long as it remains intact. Certain parts might tricky. How an insurance company might view it is another thing (if they bother to check); they can disallow any risk they like notwithstanding their 'legality'. When we moved to an old farmhouse, our then insurance company refused to cover the wood stove even though it passed a WETT test. We had to find another company, and I've heard others who have had their company drop them due to wood heating, even brand new ones.

 

[junctionist]

That's why some people have to stucco the sides of their homes, because of the deteriorating bricks.

You can replace the bricks outright, but sometimes people can't afford that option.

 

[Goldie]

lenaitch: "Wow, that's an oldie-but-goodie! Looks like a boiler system and I wonder what its efficiency would be."

It was hot-water heating with radiators in every room.
That furnace is the original from about 1930 when the house was built.
Here's an image from recent times, after renovations and before its sale......two radiators can be seen.

 

[gimbal]

Some dinosaurs have survived to this day

 

[W. K. Lis]

That heating boiler could be replaced by a high-efficency combination boiler that would heat the house AND supply on-demand domestic hot water. And free up a LOT of space and save a lot of heating money.

 

[AlbertHWagstaff]

Can anyone place this photo? Weston Road streetcar, 1948 at the latest, signed up Dundas so if it's correct we're looking north at the Acme Aluminum Foundry. I took a close look at the building and there's "429" above the sign. It looks like this would be north of Rogers based on the current street numbers, but there's presently nothing on the east side just north of Rogers. Was there a renumbering on Weston Road? Was there a separate numbering in the town of Weston?

 

[Isotack]

You stumbled upon a unique piece of automotive Canadian history. The famous 1981 Canadian built "Iraqibu". GM had a contract in 1981 to build 25000 Chevy Mailbu's taxi's for Iraq. because of sanctions the production was done in Oshawa, and the cars shipped from the port of Halifax... things didn't go as planned with Iraq canceling the contract and more than 10,000 of these cars ended up stranded in Canada with over-sized air conditioners, tiny heaters and manual transmissions.

Google Iraqibu and you'll find lots of trivia on it.

This Chevy Malibu Tells A Far-Out Story From A Far-Away Land

Welcome to Little Car in the Big City, where I highlight fascinating cars I found walking around a town that is known for being bigger than everything else, but where every car is fighting to stand out: New York, New York.

jalopnik.com

These cars were to be given to Iraq soldiers returning from the war with Iran. I convinced my girl firend's father (future father in law) to get rid of his 1968 Impala which was falling apart and had no dashboard lights...for one of these. He paid $4500.00 for it new! It had a manual 3 speed, dark blue and a tan interior...no rear defroster. It was okay to drive. Heat was fine. We called it the Iraqi taxi. It ran fine and lasted ten years. (My father-in-law was not big on cars "they were just transportation" to him. It looked like a police car of the time, so people got out of the way, which was a side benefit...lol

 

[Geogblog]

Can anyone place this photo? Weston Road streetcar, 1948 at the latest, signed up Dundas so if it's correct we're looking north at the Acme Aluminum Foundry. I took a close look at the building and there's "429" above the sign. It looks like this would be north of Rogers based on the current street numbers, but there's presently nothing on the east side just north of Rogers. Was there a renumbering on Weston Road? Was there a separate numbering in the town of Weston?View attachment 208258

View attachment 208258

The 1948 Might directory lists Acme Aluminum Foundry [G Thompson mgr,] 429 Main St N (Weston) Zone 4-249. It was on the east side of Weston Rd, next to the train tracks and north of Parke St. It is now 2387 Weston Rd, the Dream Nation storefront church:

 

[AlbertHWagstaff]

The 1948 Might directory lists Aluminum Foundry [G Thompson mgr,] 429 Main St N (Weston) Zone 4-249. It was on the east side of Weston Rd, next to the train tracks and north of Parke St. It is now 2387 Weston Rd, the Dream Nation storefront church:View attachment 208357

Thanks for the info! I will add this to the back of the photo. Much appreciated!