News   Jul 09, 2024
Trio of Project Settlements to Transform Danforth and Main
 423     0 
News   Jul 09, 2024
Dangers During the Occupancy Period in a Condominium Development
 246     0 
News   Jul 09, 2024
News Roundup for July 9, 2024
 423     0 

Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

Mustapha said:
More than likely this was the case.

What could you do on Sundays in my childhood (1960s)? You could eat out, see a movie, go to the AGO, ROM or Science Centre. There were lots of activities of the people watching variety - Toronto Island, watch the planes from the Terminal One observation decks. Gramps still held historical associations with Sunnyside as a poor man's local Riviera, so many Torontonians spent their Sundays there.

Retail and grocery was shut up tight as a drum. In the early 80s when the regulations were relaxed for supermarkets, they could sell 'staples' like milk, bread, meat and eggs, but they had to rope off the canned goods aisles. Everyone routinely ducked under the ropes. I can't remember whose gov't finally put a bullet into the neck of Sunday Shopping laws. Bless em
Click to expand...

A bit off topic, but speaking of days where everything was closed, has anyone ever heard of/can explain Wednesday afternoon closings. The only place where I know this happened is Campbellford, Ontario. Apparently, every Wednesday well into at least the 1960s if not the 70s the entire town would shut down at noon. My mother used to tell me about it when we would go visit family there, but she had no clue as to why this was. For all I know, she could have just been exaggerating, but I would be interested if anyone had any info on this strange practice.
 
lesouris said:
A bit off topic, but speaking of days where everything was closed, has anyone ever heard of/can explain Wednesday afternoon closings. The only place where I know this happened is Campbellford, Ontario. Apparently, every Wednesday well into at least the 1960s if not the 70s the entire town would shut down at noon. My mother used to tell me about it when we would go visit family there, but she had no clue as to why this was. For all I know, she could have just been exaggerating, but I would be interested if anyone had any info on this strange practice.
Click to expand...

This was very common in Britain and Ireland up to at least the 1970s and I suspect the fact that it was a practice here too comes from our 'colonial past'. From my experience it was not always Wednesdays and some towns had another 'early closing day'. I do not think it was a legislative requirement, at least recently, but was certainly quite common - at least in smaller towns. I found a BBC link to the practice, thanks to Mr Google.: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/messages/shopping/ Lots more examples if you search "early closing day", some Canadian and several current - it still exists.
 
Last edited:
Early closing has petered out in Britain, but some privately owned shops still practice it. (I live in what is officially known as a village--of 10,000 people.) There is much more cooperation now than there used to be so that there is not a vast area all closed on the same day. It was designed to shorten the working week so that shopworkers worked the same hours as office and factory workers, and also so that they had some time off to do shopping during the working week.
I can remember some shops in north Toronto that were closed on Wednesday afternoons during the 40s.
But let's get back to the pictures. They're the real story 'round here.
 
June 12 addition.

Market street looking S from Front towards Esplanade.

This building has been vacant for at least 15 years. I wonder what's up? Another branch of The Fish Market still does business in Ottawa's Byward market.

fo0124_f0124_fl0003_id0065.jpg


DSCF0709.jpg
 
It was going to be high end condo at one point a few years back. Didn't sell. The owner of this building owns the entire west side of the street from the LCBO to The Esplanade. I'm sure they are planning something.
 
DSC said:
This was very common in Britain and Ireland up to at least the 1970s and I suspect the fact that it was a practice here too comes from our 'colonial past'. From my experience it was not always Wednesdays and some towns had another 'early closing day'. I do not think it was a legislative requirement, at least recently, but was certainly quite common - at least in smaller towns. I found a BBC link to the practice, thanks to Mr Google.: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/messages/shopping/ Lots more examples if you search "early closing day", some Canadian and several current - it still exists.
Click to expand...

So that's where it's from. I know that several independent schools (all schools with more than 30% boarders) in towns just outside of 416-Toronto used to have half days on Wednesdays. Of course, to make up, they have Saturday morning classes as well. I think this was done well into the 90s. I recall boys from St. Andrew's College in Aurora telling me about Saturday classes.
 
These are the photos that have given me the greatest surprise over the expansion of Toronto's waterfront.
The Harbour Commisssion Bldg. was once at the water's edge!
 

Attachments

  • waterfront:1919-2002.jpg
    waterfront:1919-2002.jpg
    58.8 KB · Views: 549
Goldie said:
These are the photos that have given me the greatest surprise over the expansion of Toronto's waterfront.
The Harbour Commisssion Bldg. was once at the water's edge!
Click to expand...



Goldie,


Quite right, being the "Harbour Commission", it was located at the waters edge back in the day. Landfill pushed the shoreline south.


Here is another picture from the Toronto online archives. This one strangely enough shows German U-Boat "UC97" moored in front.


fo1244_f1244_it0743.jpg





And here is the story about that U-Boat.



http://www.eastlandmemorial.org/uc97.shtml




-Moose
 
Why do my photos display only as "attached thumbnails"?

What am I doing wrong?

Any assistance will be appreciated.
 
Does anyone have an "inbetween" Then photo of the northwest corner of Simcoe and Queen, where there was a diner and George's Bourbon Street, among other things? This would be around 1980.
 
Goldie said:
Why do my photos display only as "attached thumbnails"?

What am I doing wrong?

Any assistance will be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Goldie,

I'm no expert, but I think you are using the 'HTML linking' instead of the 'IMG (image) linking' option at your photo host.

Perhaps others or the mods can chime in with suggestions. Just one persons opinion but I'm more than good with the thumbnails..





A couple of recent blends. Photos provided by Toronto Archives & Mustapha.

vsblend72.jpg





Thanks Andrew. That theatre was quite the loss.




TheWestofCanada said:
Does anyone have an "inbetween" Then photo of the northwest corner of Simcoe and Queen, where there was a diner and George's Bourbon Street, among other things? This would be around 1980.
Click to expand...

Welcome TheWestofCanada. Alberta?:):) Just kidding.

If any UTers have private photos of this corner in that time period, lets see them. Or, you can scan them and send to me and I'll host and post them.








June 13 addition.


University and Dundas NE corner.


fo1231_f1231_it1827.jpg


DSCF0650.jpg
 
"Welcome TheWestofCanada. Alberta? Just kidding."

Gabriola Island, BC. Moved here in 2003. However, "A Torontonian I was born, a Torontonian I will die", to bastardise the words of Sir John A.

I've been having a grand time at the Toronto Archives website looking at photos of McCaul/Dundas and McCaul/College. If I'd found this site before I went to Toronto in May, I would have taken some "after shots" in the area. Due to time constraints and an injured knee I was only able to visit the Tollkeeper's Cottage at Davenport and Bathurst for "Doors Open". There were so many other places I would have liked to visit - like the Phoenix Place at King and Dunn where the Dunn Avenue Methodist Church used to be (my great-great-grandfather was the contractor for that church; he and his brothers and son built numerous buildings in Parkdale and Whitby in the late 1800s/early 1900s).

Wow, Toronto was pretty shabby-looking with all those wooden houses with the plaster falling off and the lath showing through. Probably the best thing that ever happened was the Great Fire of 1904 so that new buildings had to be brick or stone (or that's my understanding of it).

Any photos of the original Don Mills Plaza other than the four I found on this site would be great, too.
 
West of Canada:

There are "architectural" photos of Don Mills Plaza here : http://caa.ucalgary.ca/panda. Since you're in West of Canada they will let you look at them.:D
They appear to be earlier than the ones you saw on the other thread - of the strip mall phase - 1955-1960 - pre Eaton's.

Search for Don Mills Shopping Centre in the building name field, but there are lots more you might want to look at.

You might also want to see what's been done to it here
http://www.urbantoronto.ca/showthread.php?t=3831&page=8
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top