Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[r937]

Drumsnab House, aka No 5 Drumsnab Road.

i've been to drumsnab and i believe it is oriented to the south, with another building to its east... and it sure looks a lot closer than .44 miles (distance given by ruler function on google earth)

 

[Goldie]

 

[Anna]

That's it. (And boy, the building it stood on was tiny.)

Further questions...

(a) I'm trying to deduce from the photo, but would there have been an identical sign facing the opposite (W) direction?,
and
(b) what was that monster sign facing the Viaduct (of which we see the backside)?

Based on the shape, I'd say yes to a), and based on Goldie's photos the building was tiny because it was chopped in half.

And, when would all this have been dismantled/vanished?

Some time between 1962 and 1965 - probably for subway construction

I do know that there was a near-identical 7-Up sign at Bloor & Jane as late as 1968 (though it's interesting to see the differences: thicker outlines and softer curves in the B-J example), paired off with an immense Goodyear sign that dominated the westward Bloor vista for years...

 

[railmus]

Can anyone help with a childhood memory??
I am looking for an area that we used to drive by as a child.

We would travel east on Bloor/Danforth, cross the Don and then turn left (or right) and pass by a very long whitewashed wall with thick brick bases. There were some type of doors but for me this was in the mid 50's. I figure the wall was about ten feet tall.
Thanks to any one who can help.

 

[Goldie]

Further questions...

(a) I'm trying to deduce from the photo, but would there have been an identical sign facing the opposite (W) direction?, and
(b) what was that monster sign facing the Viaduct (of which we see the backside)?

This photo (c.1920) shows some of the earliest signs (at Broadview) facing the Viaduct. - unfortunately, unreadable.

 

[r937]

We would travel east on Bloor/Danforth, cross the Don and then turn left (or right) and pass by a very long whitewashed wall with thick brick bases. There were some type of doors but for me this was in the mid 50's. I figure the wall was about ten feet tall.

is this it? -- http://goo.gl/maps/jC93A

that's the jones avenue cemetery, south of the danforth

 

[railmus]

is this it? -- http://goo.gl/maps/jC93A

that's the jones avenue cemetery, south of the danforth

Thanks, but no, I do not think so. I recall the road having several curves and longer.
Was there an industrial site in the vicinity that might match?

 

[Anna]

Thanks, but no, I do not think so. I recall the road having several curves and longer.
Was there an industrial site in the vicinity that might match?

Was it one of the railway overpasses - like Gerrard and Carlaw?
Most of the industrial sites would have been close to the tracks - like Carlaw and Dundas (which is curvy and longer).

 

[Goldie]

Peter's Cleaners & Dyers at 980 Queen St. W. c.1940s

Will someone in the neighbourhood show us the current view?

 

[Zeiss]

The picture is from Google street view

 

[Riverman]

Pardon my ignorance but how do you capture an image like that from Street View?

 

[r937]

Pardon my ignorance but how do you capture an image like that from Street View?

if you're on a windows computer, press Alt and PrintScreen, this places a copy of the screen image on your clipboard

then go to some image editing tool and paste into a new image, crop as desired, and vwalah

 

[Anna]

if you're on a windows computer, press Alt and PrintScreen, this places a copy of the screen image on your clipboard

then go to some image editing tool and paste into a new image, crop as desired, and vwalah

or use the Windows Snipping tool, if you have it, et voilà!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipping_Tool

 

[driverso]

Peter's Cleaners & Dyers at 980 Queen St. W. c.1940s



View attachment 21342

I thought the sign in the window read "cats cleaned and pressed"

 

[wwwebster]

I dunno, I'm still waiting for wwwebster's confirmation that it's the same fire hydrant

They hydrant has since been replaced with a new McAvity Brigadier, so the model wouldn’t match, but the location of the hydrant matches.

I do have a concern about the utility pole, though. In our mystery photo the pole is ahead of the front of the house, with the lamp facing us, but in the Archives image the pole is behind the front line of the house and the lamp is facing the wrong direction. However, the Archives image was taken in 1913, and road work could have been done later. If the pole was moved from Hamilton to Dundas it could explain why the house has an unused walk-up. Having said that, I think this intersection remains an excellent candidate as I review further evidence.

My many thanks to all the members of the UT History Squad who gave up personal time to chase my obsession!