Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[adma]

Given the present tenor of the nabe, it seems weirdly poetic-clairvoyant that it was Loblaws in its late 60s "rainbow letter" phase. (And I think there was one more ugly logo change before they definitively Don Watted themselves in 1972.)

I've been doing further thinking about this late 60s/early 70s Loblaws imaging morph--it'd seem that they "rainbowed" their signage as a response to whatever psych-era Dayglo in the air; and then, around 1970, came the now forgotten "first Loblaws makeover", where they shifted (and IIRC carried over the "rainbowing") to a Century Gothic-esque italic logo font
(sort of like this Loblaws?)
I don't know whether there's any evidence of this phase on-line, but it did come to define the new Fairview and Sherway shopping-mall locations, and I think a rooftop version adorned the Loblaws warehouse at the foot of Bathurst--but given how pallid (and silly, w/the rainbow colours and all) it was compared to the classic 50s/60s Loblaws logo, it's no wonder that the Don Watt makeover pulverized virtually all evidence of its existence within a short interval of time. (The last I saw of this version of Loblaws graphics was in the form of secondary signage at Fairview in the mid-late-80s or so.)

 

[Mustapha]

Then and Now for June 28, 2013.






Then. May 14, 1951. News Box. NW corner Front and Bay.

This is my favourite of all the photographs at the online Toronto Archives.


So many visual elements here:


• The Bay and Front street signs that establish a referenceable location, even though all the buildings in the scene are gone.

• The people.. perfectly - dare I even say it - posed.

• The car [it had to be a taxi] - poised to pull away off screen to the right. The blurred pedestrian rushing into our scene from the left.

• The attended newspaper box representing lost - and never to return - street furniture. The Toronto 'Telegram' - a ghost sign of newspapers past - and in 2013, we might think that this Pilgrim method of information delivery via paper still hangs on, but just, and to most of us, the daily newspaper is an anachronism.

• Two of vintage Toronto's most ubiquitous businesses (Laura Secord, United Cigars).

• The period 'players' as if in a movie scene, and their accoutrements. The news 'boy' alert to the activities around him. His cap and and his changemaking apron. The headscarfed [don't see those anymore] woman cyclist ready to mount and ride off; head tilted and smiling - a sure sign of interest in her companion. Her companion with rakishly pushed back cap...


all combine to make a charming historical tableau vivant.


It's late afternoon, judging from the shadows, and Toronto of May 14, 1951 has finished another day in the Life.

Now. May 2013.

Ha. I spent a good hour standing here before the call of nature (for me that would be a caffeine fix) prevented me from staying longer to capture a modern scene of remotely equivalent charm. I do reserve the right to return with a remotely better picture.

Hello everyone.

I'm going to take some time off from our thread.

Don't worry, I'm not mad at anyone at UT or anything about UT and I'm not starting my own Then and Now blog or going to another site to post pictures. It's such a nice online community here.

I'm helping a family member get a business off the ground. I will post occasionally in the future when things are settled.

-Moose

 

[UserNameToronto]

Hello everyone.

I'm going to take some time off from our thread.

Don't worry, I'm not mad at anyone at UT or anything about UT and I'm not starting my own Then and Now blog or going to another site to post pictures. It's such a nice online community here.

I'm helping a family member get a business off the ground. I will post occasionally in the future when things are settled.

-Moose

You'll be missed, Moose. I've been away from Toronto for 3 (going on 4...) years, and have enjoyed coming back to this thread in particular for my 416 fix. Thanks for keeping this going for so long, and best of luck on your sprog's new venture.

 

[k10ery]

Sad to hear it Moose. You've made the most interesting thread on the board. To call it a thread doesn't even do it justice ... more of a tapestry, really.

 

[thecharioteer]

Anna: Thanks for introducing us to the Harvey R. Naylor fonds. What a treasure trove! Here are some of them, which fill in the gaps on the evolution of a block that has always fascinated me, namely the King/Toronto/Church/Court block:







From the Naylor Fonds:







Court Street 1950:



By Naylor:

No these are not shots of Berlin after the war. They are some more shots from the Nayor fonds documenting the replacement of one of the most historic blocks in the City with a 2-storey parking garage in the 60's:

 

[adma]

One interesting reminder in those shots: the party-wall back of Imperial Oil was *huge*.

 

[Koolgreen]

Yes the Whitby Cafe was gramp's place.

Thank you bkeith for being persistent with this. Thank you Anna for your collaboration.

There will be some reminiscing in the Quan and Low households over the next few days.

I wish the families had saved a menu or something...

gee, my dad had a chop suey restaurant for 35 years in east york. recently talked to the owner of hong kong bean sprout and says that bean sprouts which is the main ingredient in chop suey is not what it used to be. wayyyyyy down from it's hay day.
I really don't see how anyone can eat a whole order of that.... but to each his own.

btw, with lows and quans, are you a lung konger?

 

[Koolgreen]

The top picture looks like the main floor.

The bottom picture looks like it was taken in the "Annex" store, where the Bell Canada building is now, at the NE corner of Bay and Albert.

Thanks thecharioteer. I spent some time going over the pictures at your link. I entered "Eatons" into the search field. A nice resource.



I miss the Toyland that was in the old Queen street store. And the Christmas train that took you for a spin...

my mum has some pots and pans branded haddon hall. perhaps an in house brand for eaton's products vis a vis viking.

 

[FAW]

Gee, sure is quiet around here without Mustapha at the wheel.

Paul

 

[UserNameToronto]

Originally Posted by HamiltonTransitHistory
For more on the Blitz and what it did on a neighbourhood scale, take a look at this episode of Time Team

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buS8203B1Dg

Found this interesting comment on the page: "Something very cool: Go to Google Maps, type in 'Shoreditch Park London UK'. Zoom in to the north end of the park, south of Poole St. You can actually see in the park the crop marks (lines in the grass) of the former house foundations and the former Dorchester St running between Bridgeport Place and New North Rd."

Well, it turns out I can return the favour pretty easily on this one. Shoreditch Park is part of my everyday commute - I cross from the NW corner to the SW corner, crossing the former Dorchester St halfway.

A better picture of the foundations during a 2006 dig here: http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/Collections-Research/LAARC/Community-excavations/ShoreditchPark.htm

Google map: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=sh...ditch+park,&hnear=London,+United+Kingdom&z=18

Here is a picture standing at Bridgeport Place, looking NW:View attachment 9957

You might recognize the Gainsborough building. Alfred Hichcocks' old studio, now refurbished into yuppie flats. Just behind it, to the North, sits the Regent's Canal.

It's been a wee bit dry around London lately. The barely submerged foundations from the former Dorchester St. houses displace water, so even decades after demolition, they're still visible in the summer. Here's a picture I took yesterday looking along the back of the south row of houses, facing the West:

 

[Koolgreen]

" an unintended shrine to another example of Canadian industrial progress - the Avro Arrow. " QUOTE Mustapha.


'Never was at the TAM, but worked at the engine plant for 3 years during the mid/late 60's. (ORENDA ENGINES LTD)

We R+O the J-79's and the J-85's; the MOHAWK was long gone.

Regards,
J T

Hi JT
I work on orenda road in the dixie steeles area in brampton.
do you know if that area has any link to the engine plant???

 

[Goldie]

Yonge at Esplanade - Grand Trunk RR Terminal 1907


1922


Site of former RR terminal is now location of L-Tower construction - 2013

 

[Goldie]

Grand Opera House on Adelaide W. 1921


The remaining Lane 2013

 

[MDV3]

Wow! These losses get me so depressed when I see them. Great find though! This truly helps the imagination form our long lost city. Imagine what the differences would be today if we had saved these beauties! Amazing.

 

[Goldie]

Yonge at Shuter 1939


2013