UrbanToronto has partnered with Heritage Toronto to capture a moment in Toronto's past. On a weekly basis, we highlight historic photos of the city's people, places and events, and tell the stories behind them.

With the holidays right around the corner, it’s no surprise that Torontonians have already started to shop. So, this week we’ll look at one of the hottest shopping corners in Toronto history.

Seen here is the corner of Yonge and Queen in the 1930s. In the background is the Robert Simpson Department store that, by this time, was well known across Toronto. Simpson’s was first established in 1872 by an enterprising Scotsman, Robert Simpson who emigrated to Canada in the 1850s. In 1872, he opened a dry goods store near the corner of Yonge and Queen that has since disappeared from the landscape. Later, Simpson’s was known across the country with several stores and a Canada-wide mail-order business.

Yonge and Queen, Toronto, in the 1930s

Due to the overwhelming success of his business, Simpson built a striking new store on the southwest corner of Yonge and Queen in 1896. The new building was the work of renowned architect Edmund Burke who created a masterpiece in the contemporary Chicago style of architecture. It was also the first fireproofed store in Canada. Later additions complemented the original creating an elegant landmark in the downtown core bound by Yonge, Queen, Bay and Richmond streets.

Part of what drove Simpson’s success was his rivalry with storeowner Timothy Eaton. Eaton, born in Ireland established a dry goods store in 1869 and later built a large store on the west side of Yonge, north of Queen in the 1880s. Today known as a retail genius, Eaton expanded his store so that it took up several city blocks. It was eventually the largest department store in Canada and the British Empire. Eaton’s had an entrance on the north side of Queen opposite Simpson’s that resulted in traffic between Canada’s two largest department store retailers.

In the right-hand side of the photo can be seen a building that was occupied by Woolworth’s for many years. It was never incorporated into the Eaton store or later the Toronto Eaton Centre and today it offers passersby a window into late-19th century architecture.

Today, Simpson’s is occupied by the Hudson’s Bay Company which has maintained its many architectural features. The Eaton store was eventually demolished to make way for the Toronto Eaton Centre that, since the 1970s, has been among Canada’s most famous shopping centres.

Source: http://torontohistory.org/Pages_PQR/Robert_Simpson_Company.html

Many thanks to both Gary Switzer of MOD Developments and Maya Bilbao for putting together the photos and research.