Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

[Goldie]

King St. looking east from west of York St. 1914 TPL

Google street view:
https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.6477...4!1shbJ2Y-RLcd1CPLZLv78bWw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

[Goldie]

Danforth Ave. at Don Mills Rd. (now, Broadview Ave.) 1913 CTA

Google street view:
https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.6761...4!1sCBlvuZN5mu5ZD4OCbsDVeA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

[Goldie]

Front St. at Bay looking towards Yonge 1911 CTA

Google street view:
https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.6459298,-79.3793868,3a,75y,50.83h,89.95t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1spcqci9827oNeDOm9fehfcA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

[DSC]

No, not THAT kind of 'rubbers" :->

From Shoe & Leather Journal 1919

 

[Soop]

No, not THAT kind of 'rubbers" :->

My dad called the overshoes he wore over his dress shoes on rainy days 'rubbers'. And as a kid (once I had heard about the other kind of rubber) it would make me giggle.

 

[Blovertis]

I was wondering why McLaren & Dallas felt the need to maintain four separate brands of "rubbers" (per the wall sign above) until I realized that, back then, the term was probably used for any shoe that employed what was, at the time, a novel material for footwear.

 

[Goldie]

"Rubbers" were basically slip-covers that fit over leather dress shoes for wet weather protection.

 

[DSC]

You can still buy them (the foot wear kind), I saw someone wearing them last winter.

 

[lenaitch]

What, the newer generation doesn't know about these things? I still have a lower cut pair ('toe rubbers') from when I worked and actually wore dress shoes. What do people who have to wear business attire do now? Get wet feet?

I grew up with these:

And still always keep a pair of these around:

 

[Soop]

What, the newer generation doesn't know about these things? I still have a lower cut pair ('toe rubbers') from when I worked and actually wore dress shoes. What do people who have to wear business attire do now? Get wet feet?

We have indoor parking at my office. None of the guys need to be outside in the rain much. They go from covered parking at home (garage on house or parking in condo) to indoor parking at the office.

 

[lenaitch]

We have indoor parking at my office. None of the guys need to be outside in the rain much. They go from covered parking at home (garage on house or parking in condo) to indoor parking at the office.

Sounds like quite the life.

 

[Goldie]

City Hall in three stages...1959, 1962, 1965

 

[LPCI]

What, the newer generation doesn't know about these things? I still have a lower cut pair ('toe rubbers') from when I worked and actually wore dress shoes. What do people who have to wear business attire do now? Get wet feet?

View attachment 150406

I grew up with these:

And still always keep a pair of these around:

As a kid what amazed me visiting my father’s office at The Toronto Daily Star, were all the rubbers lined up inside the front doors to the building in the lobby. And I know my father’s rubbers did not have his name or initials in/on them!

 

[Goldie]

This panoramic image would have been so much better if the resolution were higher.
Unfortunately, the Ontario Archives provides only low-res online views.
Still, it's a wonderful view of participants in a once-popular pastime.

 

[Goldie]

Danforth opposite Jones Ave. no date -- TPL

The Imperial Oil Station is long-gone.

Google street view:
https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.6797...4!1sc2aQVxy4D8rpu4SoHuAljw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656