Historic photos from Toronto on this day

[seemsartless]

All these photos are just gorgeous.

Don't you wish you had a time machine and took each location with a modern camera? =)

I know what you mean, but then also find that the feel of the old photographs add so much as well... Of course it would be fascinating to see the colour of some of the buildings, when they were new, or even the green trees. What I'd really love is accurate 3D models of some of the buildings, with a time-slider to run through the various structural changes.

January 2nd: One photo to start off the new year from Collations, of the George Bowling house - 113 Hazelton Ave Yorkville - built in 1880. I couldn't find an older picture, but this one is from 1988 at a time when the brick was painted, before the addition was added:

Then again from Flickr, June 15th, 2009, a photo from John Fitzgerald:

 

[seemsartless]

January 5th: One photo today from 1932, of the demolition of the last St. Andrew's Market building. From the Heritage Toronto website:

This city block was set aside in 1837 for a public market, the third of its kind after the St. Lawrence (1803) and St. Patrick’s (1836) Markets. Built in 1850...destroyed by fire in 1860, and ... replaced in 1873 by a grander St. Andrew’s Hall and Market designed in Renaissance Revival style.

Here's another view of the building from 1921:

Details on these photos on the Historic Alexandra Park webpage

 

[seemsartless]

January 6th: I don't know much about the history of these little gas pumps, but here's an example from Bickford Park at 594 Ossington Ave in 1932, looking south from just south of Harbord St. All the house seem to have survived, unchanged for the most part (the gas pump is gone, though...):

Details on this photo, including a link to the map location and other photos nearby, on the January 6th version of the Historic Toronto Photos page.

 

[rocker]

that's neat... did they drop in a coin and get gas? ha.
also, I wonder what happened to the tank when it was removed -- would those houses still have a gas tank lurking beneath their driveways today?

 

[jn_12]

They have these in Paris stil (sorry about the size of the image. Could a mod resize it please as I don't know how? thanks)l:

 

[Goldie]

January 6th: I don't know much about the history of these little gas pumps, but here's an example at 594 Ossington Ave in 1932, looking south from just south of Harbord St. All the house seem to have survived, unchanged for the most part (the gas pump is gone, though...):

Here's an earlier gas pump on Danforth Ave. in 1919
Not much more than a hose attached to the post!

 

[adma]

For some reason, I may remember a streetside gas pump as recently as the early 1980s on Davenport t/w Old Weston Rd...

 

[Anna]

that's neat... did they drop in a coin and get gas? ha.
also, I wonder what happened to the tank when it was removed -- would those houses still have a gas tank lurking beneath their driveways today?

I think this is at Harbord & Ossington where there has been an auto repair shop for ages - so it's possible the driveway in the foreground led to a 'garage' and the gas pump belonged to it.

 

[seemsartless]

I think this is at Harbord & Ossington where there has been an auto repair shop for ages - so it's possible the driveway in the foreground led to a 'garage' and the gas pump belonged to it.

Good call, Anna, here's the location: http://wholemap.com/map/index.php?pin=TORARCHV-554 which is currently the Harbord Auto Centre.

January 8th: Two photos today, from The Annex in 1931, 79 years ago. M. Wolfe Drugs and Ryckman committee room at 149-151 Dupont Street. The building still stands, although the building on the left (to the east) is gone, when they changed the path of Davenport?

And then the duplex next door, which was a wonderful example of the Annex style - rounded windows and a turret. Unfortunately it is gone, replaced with s little supermarket which took over part of the house to the right (west) with its triangular roof line facing the street:

Details on these photos are available on the Historic Toronto January 8th photos page.

 

[adma]

The building still stands, although the building on the left (to the east) is gone, when they changed the path of Davenport?

Changed path, or widening? (Davenport *seems* terribly wide, as if it underwent a widening concurrent with the Dupont-ing of Dupont...)

 

[seemsartless]

Of course, sometimes I forget to look at my own map of historic photos from Davenport and Dupont... here's a shot of the building that was next door, from October 2nd, 1930. Scotts' Meats, Fish, Poultry...:

 

[seemsartless]

January 9th: One photo from 86 years ago, of the newly completed St. Clair bridge to replace the old Avoca bridge. The weather back on Friday, January 9th, 1925 looks remarkably similar, but unfortunately the light stands haven't remained quite as fancy:

Details on this photo, with all the other photos of the two bridges, is available on the map of Moore Park.

 

[seemsartless]

January 10th: A pair of photos today, from 1935, of the west side of Yonge Street on either side of Craighurst in Lytton Park. The south corner has been replaced with a newer building, but 76 years ago there was a Bicycle stored (Art Watson), a Laundry, Watson Drugs, and a Red and White store. In a smaller building right on the corner was an automotive tire and battery place:

Then on the north side of Craighurst the block hasn't changed much - A Starbucks on the corner where the bakery was, and the buildings have been painted white and blue and orange... the butcher has moved one store north....

Details on these two photos on the Historic Toronto photos of January 10th page.

 

[seemsartless]

January 12: Another shot of St. Clair, this time from St. Clair west at the 'spadina fill' almost complete in 1912:

Details on this photo is available on the January 12th Toronto Historical photos page

 

[seemsartless]

January 13th: Two photos of a snowy January 13th, 1938. The first, on Davenport looking north to Dupont Street:

and the second on Avenue Road looking north from Yorkville:

Details on these two photos is available on the Historic Toronto photos from Jan 13th page.