Mustapha
Senior Member
I can't look up at that thing; I'd have to take up Yoga first.
|
|
|
Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now
- Thread starter Mustapha
- Start date
I can't look up at that thing; I'd have to take up Yoga first.
junctionist
Senior Member
They're usually the ugliest storefronts in every neighbourhood. I figure the immigrant owners make do with narrow profit margins and possibly don't even have alarms or insurance for their merchandise. They always bar and clutter up their windows so no one breaks in overnight to steal cash or cigarettes, which would be devastating to their businesses.
J T CUNNINGHAM
Senior Member
"not a single one cares about 'dressing' their windows."
Mustapha.
Isn't this a mirror of most present day personal clothing wear?
Regards,
J T
Mustapha.
Isn't this a mirror of most present day personal clothing wear?
Regards,
J T
adma
Superstar
And more subtly/modestly, the happily resurrected now-Starbucks on the E side of Yonge. (And the ex-Bassels Gerrard Building might count as "proto-Moderne".)
A not wholly original thought, 'cause thecharioteer mentioned it: we have much to be thankful for to the S. S. Kresge Company. They brought - while it lasted - some eye catching architecture to Toronto [here,, Yonge and College, Yonge and Richmond...].
As well as extant ex-stores like Roncy, Coxwell-Gerrard, etc.
Goldie
Senior Member
I'm not sure, Mustapha. It may be owned by the City.
It's been under renovation for a few years and I've never seen any sign of life.
I wish now that I had gone to the door with your questions.
Maybe when I next pass by.
P.S. I've just discovered these pages (Heritage Designation) that give a concise history of that house:
http://www.toronto.ca/involved/statutorynotices/archive2007/oct/id-hl_101707.htm
http://www.thegridto.com/city/places/derelict-delights-171-midland-ave/
Last edited:
thecharioteer
Senior Member
...' "Moderne district" ' ... adma, this turn of phrase; and thecharioteer's panorama picture bring into perspective what was lost here. Now we only have College Park to the north, and the former TD bank at Yonge and Gerrard to the south.
A not wholly original thought, 'cause thecharioteer mentioned it
Now if the Yonge/Carlton Kresge and the Odeon Carlton were still with us; there's a Moderne District!
thecharioteer
Senior Member
I guess we could always include MLG, or would that be late Deco vs. early Moderne?
Mustapha
Senior Member
The decor - within - of Bassels was a visual delight of 1930s cues: black tile, mirrors, wood veneer, red banquettes, indirect lighting built into curved and coved vaulted/trayed ceilings. Stainless steel trim everywhere, from the counter seats to the menu holders. And yes, they had a counter; running in a U shape from the back of the restaurant to the entrance and doubling back again.
And there doesn't seem to be a single d****d picture anywhere on the internet.
Forgive my monomania for bringing up Bassels over and over in this thread on any backhanded pretext, but Toronto lost a magical interior when it closed.
Good food too.
Goldie
Senior Member
I guess we could always include MLG, or would that be late Deco vs. early Moderne?
Another missing storefront has magically appeared - thanks, charioteer!
That's a wonderful shot of Maple Leaf Gardens. Specifically because it includes the only image I have ever seen of McCutcheons Camera Shop where my Dad bought our 8mm home-movie camera around 1940 - I still have the films!
Mustapha
Senior Member
I guess we could always include MLG, or would that be late Deco vs. early Moderne?
Uh uh, doesn't count. No curves or swoops.
And it's brick.
Last edited:
Mustapha
Senior Member
I always enjoy looking at Mr. Bob Whalen's pictures of 1970s Toronto. Does anyone know him?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/queenstwest/sets/72157626729708368/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/queenstwest/sets/72157626729708368/
adma
Superstar
MLG still counts--it's Deco, after all. And don't forget Toronto Hydro, too
Even the 2 Carlton building might count as a tailfin/Googie-era continuation of the kind of joie de vivre that once might have been Moderne...
Even the 2 Carlton building might count as a tailfin/Googie-era continuation of the kind of joie de vivre that once might have been Moderne...
thecharioteer
Senior Member
There's also the former Warner Bros building on the NE corner of Church and Carlton, which brought a tiny bit of Hollywood glamour to Toronto. My googling this building brought me to this image of movie ads from 1932/1933 which is worth sharing:
http://silenttoronto.com/?tag=toronto-movie-theatres
http://silenttoronto.com/?tag=toronto-movie-theatres
Attachments
Goldie
Senior Member
GECO munitions plant in Scarborough
A mural, commemorating a WWII Scarborough munitions plant that filled over 256 million fuses for the Allied Forces, was unveiled in October, 2014. The GECO (General Engineering Company) mural is located in the railroad underpass on St. Clair Ave. E. just east of Warden. The vast wartime project was south of Eglinton, between Birchmount and Warden.
1942 photo:
A mural, commemorating a WWII Scarborough munitions plant that filled over 256 million fuses for the Allied Forces, was unveiled in October, 2014. The GECO (General Engineering Company) mural is located in the railroad underpass on St. Clair Ave. E. just east of Warden. The vast wartime project was south of Eglinton, between Birchmount and Warden.
1942 photo:
Riverman
Active Member
Bomb girls!