Evocative Images of Lost Toronto

[adma]

Wasn't there another row of Thomas buildings that didn't survive the demolitions preceding BCE Place? I seem to recall some sort of outcry in the late '80s, and a last ditch attempt to save them. Maybe adma knows.

Don't recall precisely. More generically, I think there was concern about some of the facade-shuffling that took place along Wellington (and, of course, the CanCom bank facade driven inside), or just the "facadist" approach in general...

 

[LowPolygon]

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[thecharioteer]

Great drawings, deepend! There are some wonderful Owen Staples paintings at City Hall, one in the Rotunda near that dusty, outdated model of downtown, the other, I believe, either in the entrance to the Councillors' Offices or in the Mayor's Office.

http://www.toronto.ca/175/images/zoom_owen_staples.htm

Another, more contemporary, painting of Staples was of the Dundas Street bridge under construction:

Interesting link about Owen Staples' house in Riverdale:

http://www.alanbrown.com/TorontoHistory/Pages_MNO/Owen_Staples_House.html

 

[kool maudit]

I'm not sure it is automatically "unfortunate" that we didn't get residential rows like Landsdown Crescent, handsome though they are. After all, we've got a legacy of nice little semi- and detached dwellings almost in the heart of our downtown that is distinctive for a major city. Neither London, New York, Paris, Rome, nor Berlin etc. have anything like them - land prices were already high enough in the Georgian and Victorian age that larger row house developments were called for.

a brave and articulate attempt to turn a weakness into a strength.

 

[LowPolygon]

Queen's Hotel, Front Street, 1920

Government House, King and Simcoe, 1912 (year of its demolition)

 

[Urban Shocker]

a brave and articulate attempt to turn a weakness into a strength.

Well, it's not as if Toronto didn't have rich people. They just didn't do what Londoners did - spend their time in town in a grand Georgian or Regency row house and the rest of the time at their country seat. Here, they built big mansions on Jarvis that brought the country to the city. Rosedale was laid out as an upper middle class version of that same approach - detached homes with gardens around them. And, although there were row houses, they were generally for lower-income Torontonians.

 

[LowPolygon]

Great drawings, deepend! There are some wonderful Owen Staples paintings at City Hall, one in the Rotunda near that dusty, outdated model of downtown, the other, I believe, either in the entrance to the Councillors' Offices or in the Mayor's Office.

http://www.toronto.ca/175/images/zoom_owen_staples.htm

Another, more contemporary, painting of Staples was of the Dundas Street bridge under construction:

Interesting link about Owen Staples' house in Riverdale:

http://www.alanbrown.com/TorontoHistory/Pages_MNO/Owen_Staples_House.html

thank you Charioteer! speaking of Monet---that's a fine painting of the Dundas Street bridge.

i was actually unaware of this artist's story. i've always loved that insanely great house in Riverdale (i am SO jealous of whoever lives there) but never knew the backstory....

he seems to be an important part of the unwritten history of Bohemianism in Toronto.

 

[J T CUNNINGHAM]

Humber Bay!

Regards,
J T

 

[Urban Shocker]

Very Death In Venice.

 

[thecharioteer]

Very Death In Venice.

Without the cabanas, the Lido and the Grand Hotel des Bains? I think to really catch that fin de siecle vibe, one would have headed to Hanlan's Point:

 

[Tewder]

I'm curious to know when it became socially acceptable for men to go shirtless in public?

 

[LowPolygon]

I'm curious to know when it became socially acceptable for men to go shirtless in public?

“Under the "Bathing Suit Regulations" of 1917, suits included a skirt that was worn outside the trunks. Another option was flannel knee pants with a vest front. A "speed suit" was designed that had armholes and closed leggings.”

“Synthetic rubber yarn, known as Lastex, revolutionized swimwear during the 1930s. Athletic supports were sewn directly into the trunks, providing comfort and a trim appearance. But showing the chest in public was not accepted until 1933. A convertible-style suit, the Men's Topper, gave men the option to remove the top. Unfortunately, removing the top resulted in arrests for indecent exposure on beaches across America.”

“That same year, the B.V.D company teamed with Olympic swimmer Johnny Weismuller, later of Tarzan movie fame, to promote swimsuits. He needed special cuts around the arms on tank tops, and he wanted to show off his natural waist and other features. This created the first pair of bathing trunks. The line was introduced in France while America still demanded suits with a top. Finally, in 1937, men got the right to go topless.”

“Shorts, also called swim trunks, finally became the typical swimwear for men during the 1940s. During the 1950s, terry-lined cabana sets became popular. Hawaiian prints were common. For the1960s, vinyl and plastic found its way into everyday clothes and swimwear. Cutoff shorts became popular during the 1970s and Lycra briefs were the suits of the 1980s.”

 

[LowPolygon]

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[thecharioteer]

Never realized how stylistically similar (though far bulkier) the original Royal York was to the lamentably demolished Savoy Plaza on Fifth Avenue:

 

[adma]

Though the Savoy Plaza as built was classicistic, as opposed to the Veneto-Romanesquoid Royal York. (Interesting how the original Hugh-Ferris-I-presume rendering indicated a less conservative Saarinen Tribune Tower paraphrase.)