Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[thecharioteer]

And Goldie, we can also remember the number of buildings that came and went at King & York between 1890, particularly the old Globe & Mail Building on the NE corner:

Demolished in the early 1970's for the Exchange Tower. Intersection in 1979:

 

[thecharioteer]

Let's also remember that King and York was known for its hotels on each corner.

The grande dame Rossin House on the SE corner, which became the Prince George Hotel:

The Iroquois Hotel on the SW corner, which became the Metropole:

1954:

1960's:

The Palmer House on the NW corner:

1910:

1922:

And the Imperial Hotel on the NE corner:

All four in 1919:

 

[Goldie]

Amazing pictorial review of Toronto's hotel history at a single intersection - thanks thecharioteer!

Makes me wonder what can be implied by counting the number of hotel rooms in any particular city.
Do they indicate - a tourists' centre?
- a business centre?
- a convention centre?
- all of the above?

 

[thecharioteer]

Amazing pictorial review of Toronto's hotel history at a single intersection - thanks thecharioteer!

Makes me wonder what can be implied by counting the number of hotel rooms in any particular city.
Do they indicate - a tourists' centre?
- a business centre?
- a convention centre?
- all of the above?

Probably all of the above!

Hotels in the 1901 book 100 Glimpse of Toronto: Queen City of Canada:

 

[adma]

Funny how the de-cornicing of the Iroquois/Metropole single-handedly washed out its character and all but prepared it for the inevitable wrecking ball...

 

[thecharioteer]

Funny how the de-cornicing of the Iroquois/Metropole single-handedly washed out its character and all but prepared it for the inevitable wrecking ball...

And de-trimming of all architectural ornament around the windows, doors, and roof, similar to the process that preceded the demolition of the building that once stood on the NE corner of Front and Scott:

 

[adma]

And de-trimming of all architectural ornament around the windows, doors, and roof,

Though even after all the de-trimming, the Metropole retained "something" in 1954--a lesson in how, when it comes to c19 streetfront Italianate, the cornice is the most critical element.

Also don't forget that the Rossin House itself underwent a pallid Moderne reskinning in the decades before its demise.

 

[the lemur]

Let's also remember that King and York was known for its hotels on each corner.

The grande dame 1922:

View attachment 29125

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray-Dort_Motors

 

[thecharioteer]

--a lesson in how, when it comes to c19 streetfront Italianate, the cornice is the most critical element.

Good point, adma. The cornice is usually the first to go, and rarely put back...

 

[thecharioteer]

The Case of the Missing Cornice:

 

[AlbertHWagstaff]

The Case of the Missing Cornice:

View attachment 29466

View attachment 29467

Sorry, even Perry Mason can't successfully defend this!

 

[nostalgic]

Good point, adma. The cornice is usually the first to go, and rarely put back...

I wonder if they were deteriorating, or bits falling off… Less expensive to remove than to repair or replace?

 

[railmus]

If the cornice supports were made of wood, I can see them rotting and easier (and less expensive) to remove than replace.

 

[thecharioteer]

Interesting articles on the phenomenon:

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/19/r...ngs-for-utility-alone-a-restored-cornice.html

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/25/r...law-10-scalping-predates-the-legislation.html

http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5063

Stripping the Ansonia Hotel, New York, of its cornice, 1942:



http://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/stripping-the-grand-ansonia-hotel-of-its-cornices/

 

[adma]

For the sake of discussion, the final "stripped" incarnation of Rossin House