Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[Mustapha]

Really want to thank TKWizard and Mustapha for those cinema shots.
I loved those places as a youngster.
Here's some of my collection (posted earlier, naturally!).
I really need an original photo of the Iola where I saw my very first movie.
Please, Ontario Archives, upload the Iola to your site!

Goldie, perhaps a trip in person to the Toronto Archives is in order? If they have it, there is a 25$ charge for the image. I'm assuming no charge if they don't have it. I've never been there myself.

 

[Mustapha]

March 15 addition.



Then. Yonge and Edward. NW corner. March 12, 1950.

Now. February 2011.

 

[J T CUNNINGHAM]

"this house, in common with many of it's vintage in the older parts of Toronto, still retains the ineffective bathroom vent pipe." QUOTE Mustapha.


This may come rather as a suprise, the pipe as mentioned does not release air from the bathroom, it being the vent

for the plumbing (drains) system.

(I HATE (well really, really, really, for real, dislike) doing plumbing. I would sooner fit 10 miles of black-iron pipe - than 1 inch of "plumbing".)


Regards,
J T

PS To "top off ", my plumbing rant, only a plumber would use copper on a steam system!

 

[ReiwaMagi]

I have another to upload once I get to work. Saving this space for it.

-edit-

Then: 60 Manning Avenue, July 21st 1945. I believe this house was torn down for what you see on Google maps.

Google Maps perspective:

Now: March 2011, undergoing a THIRD evolution.

 

[wwwebster]

Then. Yonge and Edward. NW corner. March 12, 1950.

Apparently, the appliance store (324 – 326 Yonge, with the “McClary†sign) was originally the Cosmopolitan Theatre:

http://data2.archives.ca/e/e431/e010761943-v8.jpg

 

[Goldie]

Amazing changes in Agincourt.

 

[ReiwaMagi]

March 15 addition.



Then. Yonge and Edward. NW corner. March 12, 1950.

Now that I look at this. This building is probably the Empress Hotel's cousin? The front looks almost similar. Too bad it was the first to go.

Heres the same building from another perspective

 

[J T CUNNINGHAM]

This building is not ageing well. Note the painted brickwork, but of more import are the areas of parged masonry at the tower areas;

this points to a failure. Also, the new flashing which has been installed points to where the major problem has lain.

The "panel", of new work above the billboard signage is rather remindful of the Empress Hotel, "problem", is it not?

Regards,
J T

 

[ReiwaMagi]

The "panel", of new work above the billboard signage is rather remindful of the Empress Hotel, "problem", is it not?

Regards,
J T

Thats exactly what I was thinking about..

 

[J T CUNNINGHAM]

For some reason, and I know this is not the "korect", thread, but was not & maybe this property be of curtain wall construct?

If the above is for certain, the repair of the Empress Hotel was rather small potatoes.

Regards,
J T

 

[seemsartless]

Apparently, the appliance store (324 – 326 Yonge, with the “McClary†sign) was originally the Cosmopolitan Theatre

Here's a night time photo ca 1920 of the corner when it was dressed up as a theatre (I have a long way to go with my Historic Toronto Theatre page, but every addition is a step in the right direction):

 

[Mustapha]

"this house, in common with many of it's vintage in the older parts of Toronto, still retains the ineffective bathroom vent pipe." QUOTE Mustapha.


This may come rather as a suprise, the pipe as mentioned does not release air from the bathroom, it being the vent

for the plumbing (drains) system.
!

Um, yeah, it does come as a surprise actually. This means that the hole in the ceiling of those 1890s thru 1940s houses vents into the attic. Not good.

 

[Mustapha]

I have another to upload once I get to work. Saving this space for it.

-edit-

Then: 60 Manning Avenue, July 21st 1945. I believe this house was torn down for what you see on Google maps.

Google Maps perspective:

Now: March 2011, undergoing a THIRD evolution.

The old girl is finally getting a second floor - movin on up. Nice.

 

[Mustapha]

Apparently, the appliance store (324 – 326 Yonge, with the “McClary” sign) was originally the Cosmopolitan Theatre:

http://data2.archives.ca/e/e431/e010761943-v8.jpg

There's more than a few rich details to study in this map. I didn't know that the church on the NE corner of Bay and Dundas (Terauley and Agnes in your map) was a "Jewish Theatre" for a time. There is an online Toronto Archive picture that shows a sign marked "Lyric" hanging out front.

It's late as I type this but I believe it was St. Basil's Church for awhile. Then it was torn down for the Ford Hotel and that in turn became a parking lot for many years until the present day "Atrium on Bay" building.

 

[Mustapha]

This building is not ageing well. Note the painted brickwork, but of more import are the areas of parged masonry at the tower areas;

this points to a failure. Also, the new flashing which has been installed points to where the major problem has lain.

The "panel", of new work above the billboard signage is rather remindful of the Empress Hotel, "problem", is it not?

Regards,
J T

I guessing that in 1950 this building was only about 75 years old, if that. Perhaps the mortar between the bricks was mixed improperly - accelerating damage by water - hence the parging. Many of the four-plexes built on the site of the old Scarborough Beach Amusement park exhibited early failure of the mortar - as early as the 1960s, many of them had little piles of mortar powder that needed to be swept up from time to time.