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Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

Streetview 2009:
summerhill-01b.jpg

2022:
summerhill-01.jpg
 
A closer look at the now demolished hotel in Goldie's post, the Rosedale Hotel at Yonge and Shaftesbury. I can't find much information about it, in fact it's the first I'd even heard of it. Has the archetypical look of Toronto hotels from the era.

photo-toronto-yonge-street-at-shaftsbury-ave-rosedale-hotel-chinese-laundry-1914.jpg


The now view, courtesy Google Maps. Demolished (obviously lol)

screencap1.jpg
 
From Transit Timewarp on Facebook, this interesting then and now; looking down Runnymede 65 years apart:

View attachment 434638


In the above shot, one sees the old CP roundhouse for Lambton Yard, built in 1913 and demolished sometime around 1970


Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=519355720201922&set=a.445715797565915

What a terrible loss. They didn't demolish the Runnymede Roundhouse for the current Smart Centre on site, though. There was a company called Fastfrate, which had an office building at this corner and a freight shed further west along St. Clair before the Smart Centre.

Fastfrate would transfer freight between trains and trucks. Here's a photo of what the corner looked like between the days of the roundhouse and the Smart Centre.
 
It actually lasted until the early 80s or so--in its latter days, incorporated into the Ports restaurant that took up the whole blockfront...
A few more years and it might've been saved... I actually like its replacement, albeit I'd take the Rosedale if given a choice. It's a shame its twin on the south side of Shaftesbury is undergoing a ham-fisted renovation which ruins the nice symmetry the two had. Unfortunately this city has to fuss with everything in the shortsighted name of "modernization".
 

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