Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[condovo]

Maybe it was philosophical/aesthetic change that swept aside the old school building given that it was replaced in the early to mid-70s, i.e. modern building, modern ideas. I mean, 40-odd years ago, how old would the previous school have been? Probably no more than 40 years itself. Would maintenance really have been that prohibitive? Also, would accessibility/safety codes really have been that different between the two buildings/eras? And weren't budgets bigger back then for those sorts of things anyway? In other words, these are major concerns today but would they have been four decades ago? Bear in mind that issues of safety/accessitbilty may have been part of said philosophical change rather than code...

 

[Mustapha]

Here's a view from the outside (1891):

Thanks thecharioteer. As I expected, it's a veritable web of timbers inside.

 

[Goldie]

inside the Legislature attic

Thanks thecharioteer. As I expected, it's a veritable web of timbers inside.

You previously wrote: "Those Victorian public buildings with their massive attic spaces must have been something to explore; assuming you could get in. I've always wondered what the space above the Queens Park Legislature looks like."

I have a photo of the discovery in 2003 of a gigantic photograph that was long forgotten in the attic of the Ontario Legislature Building. It's a huge panorama of Niagara falls.

I wanted to post it on this site for you but the "manage attachments" window no longer works for me.
As you know, I was able to post thumbnails before the site revision, but now it appears not to work with my Browser/and/or software.
I guess some of the changes, unfortunately, were not "backward compatable."

Certainly hope I don't have to abandon this wonderful site.

 

[adma]

Maybe it was philosophical/aesthetic change that swept aside the old school building given that it was replaced in the early to mid-70s, i.e. modern building, modern ideas. I mean, 40-odd years ago, how old would the previous school have been? Probably no more than 40 years itself. Would maintenance really have been that prohibitive? Also, would accessibility/safety codes really have been that different between the two buildings/eras? And weren't budgets bigger back then for those sorts of things anyway? In other words, these are major concerns today but would they have been four decades ago? Bear in mind that issues of safety/accessitbilty may have been part of said philosophical change rather than code...

Honestly, by the look of things, the present Ogden school is much older than "early to mid-70s"...

 

[Cast_Member]

Ogden school actually built in 1957. There is a cornerstone outside the gym that says "1957" on it.

 

[condovo]

Wow. Way off target on that one. I wonder how old the previous school was when it was replaced.

 

[Mustapha]

adma, Cast_Member, condovo,... found this at the TDSB site after a quick Google: " Ogden is a small inner-city school located near the intersection of Queen Street and Spadina
Avenue. The original building erected in 1855 on this site was called Phoebe Street School.
A second building was in place on this site from 1907-1957 and our current building was
constructed in 1957. Ogden Junior Public School is named after Dr. W.W. Ogden
in recognition of 43 years of service as a Toronto Public School Board trustee and Chairman
of the board. "



January 24 addition:



Then : 1922. Queen street, looking SW. Roncesvalles and King street in the distance - part of the trifecta that make up this famously old intersection - the original "Gateway" to Toronto before the Lakeshore Road and Gardiner Expressways were built.

Now: November 2009.

 

[condovo]

Thanks for the info Mustapha. And my theory goes out the window.

 

[Mustapha]

January 25 addition:

Then: "193?" according to the Toronto archives. Another school. Charles G Fraser Public. NE corner of Manning and Robinson. This isn't far NW of Bathurst and Queen. The scale of the school - it's quite big - surprises a bit as you walk around a corner and come upon it. All the houses around it seem to huddle underneath it.

Now: November 2009.

 

[Mustapha]

goldie's update today.

He asked me to post for him.

goldie is a member of the Photographic Historical Society of Canada. An article from their 2003 Journal reported the discovery of the the photos below:

"This amazing, huge panorama of Niagara falls was discovered during renovations in that attic [of the Ontario Legislature building] in 2003.
The Niagara scenics are credited to William Thomson Freeland. One photo, dated November 1, 1912, shows the area under a cover of snow; the
other, dated June 1913, was taken in the spring or summer. Both photographs bear an inscription that reads in part, "The Largest One-Piece-One-
Exposure Photo Enlargement iin the World."

The picture is supposed to be at the Ontario online archives but a link given in the article is dead.
http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/freeland/index.html

I undertook a search of the archives but had no luck. Someone else reading this should try, your luck may vary from mine.
http://ao.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/IMAGES?DIRECTSEARCH


Am I boring you already? Here are the pictures.


Thank you goldie.

 

[Mustapha]

Then: 1930? St. Josephs Hospital.

Now: November 2009. The outlying buildings are gone and a parking lot fills most of the view from the same perspective.

Another view of the building in the Then photo. It's quite surrounded now but still there - rather old, as hospital buildings in Toronto go.

 

[FURNIOJO]

A better link for the panoramas

Hello there -

I found you a better link:
http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/on-line-exhibits/freeland/panorama-summer.aspx
You can select the button below the small panorama to allow the image to start or stop scrolling. You can also click the link to switch to the winter panorama.

There are life sized reproductions on display of these images in the Archives of Ontario reading room. Each photograph is approximately 19 feet long.

Enjoy!

goldie's update today.

He asked me to post for him.

goldie is a member of the Photographic Historical Society of Canada. An article from their 2003 Journal reported the discovery of the the photos below:

"This amazing, huge panorama of Niagara falls was discovered during renovations in that attic [of the Ontario Legislature building] in 2003.
The Niagara scenics are credited to William Thomson Freeland. One photo, dated November 1, 1912, shows the area under a cover of snow; the
other, dated June 1913, was taken in the spring or summer. Both photographs bear an inscription that reads in part, "The Largest One-Piece-One-
Exposure Photo Enlargement iin the World."

The picture is supposed to be at the Ontario online archives but a link given in the article is dead.
http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/freeland/index.html

I undertook a search of the archives but had no luck. Someone else reading this should try, your luck may vary from mine.
http://ao.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/IMAGES?DIRECTSEARCH


Am I boring you already? Here are the pictures.


Thank you goldie.

 

[Mustapha]

Deliverance.

Thank you FURNIOJO.

In 1938 the bridge on the left of the panorama fell into the river below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeymoon_Bridge

 

[Goldie]

Honeymoon or FallsView Bridge

Many photos of the actual 1928 collapse at this site: http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/results.asp

 

[CityPlaceN1]

Thanks for the St Joseph's Health Centre photos.