Yonge and Gould Update/Then and Now

The Edison Hotel (formerly the Empress Hotel) in 1950.
Note that the restaurant sign says the New Empress Grill.

Now just a vacant lot ready for the developers to build on......

Edison Hotel R.I.P

A post card of the "Strip" from the 1960's from the Chuckman Collection.

A couple more shots of the late Edison Hotel at Yonge and Gould destroyed by a suspicious fire yesterday morning. The building to the right would later house the famous
le Coq d'Or Tavern.

A hand tinted postcard from Chuckman's Collection.
According to Lew, country music star, Tex Ritter (Father of John Ritter) played at the Edison bar in the 1960's.
There's an excellent article re: the Edison Hotel here.

Sad Day at Yonge and Gould/Then and Now

The S/E corner of Yonge and Gould in 1950 when this building (1888) was the Edison Hotel.
Formerly known as the Empress Hotel.
Before the wall collapse.
After the collapse.

By 2010 the building was empty due to a collapse of the north wall a year earlier. Although designated a historical site no repairs were made.
On January 2, 2011 a devastating fire that started early in the morning destroyed what was left of the structure and now there is absolutely no chance to restore this Designated Historical Site..
A convenient way to get around a demolition permit.
Jane Jacobs would be very disappointed....
Jane Jacobs.

Yonge and Gould/Then and Now

The Edison (formerly the Empress) Hotel in 1950.

The old Edison Hotel on Yonge at Gould has seen better days. So many years of neglect and renovation caused a partial collapse of the north wall last year with no repairs in sight.
The ground floor also housed a record store in the 1960's and 70's.
My friend Malcolm Glassford worked there.

Sam the Record Man/Then and Now

Yonge Street in the 1960's. Postcard courtesy of Chuckman's.

There was a time not that long ago, when buying records (vinyl) at Sam's was a Saturday ritual.

You'd take the subway downtown and walk the strip up to Yonge and Gould.

This is of course before the young shoe shine boy, Emanuel Jaques was cruelly tortured and murdered prompting a sweeping "clean-up" of the Yonge Street strip.

But that's another story.......

Back then a record cost anywhere between $1.98-$4.98 and were visually very impressive.

There was a big wall display with new releases and sale items covered in hand made signs.

Riding home on the subway, you'd review your purchases and be tempted to unseal the albums in search of the extras inside (posters, lyric sheets,booklets, stickers etc) or just to look at the

gatefold inner cover. Over time the actual records were getting so thin that even the new ones were warped and would skip when you finally got them home.

An early shot of the Sam's facade.

Looking south on Yonge with A&A Records as well as Sam's. The Empress Hotel is also visible.

Sadly it's all gone in 2010 and the Empress Hotel faces demolition as well.

Before Sam's in 1949.

This is all that's left and soon to be demolished as well.

Here's link to a vintage Sam's commercial on Youtube.

Here's another former customer's reflections on the store.

Does anyone remember the short lived "Sam the Chinese Food Man" restaurant that was located a few doors north in the early 1970's?
 Sadly Sam (the Record Man) Sniderman passed away yesterday at the age of 92.
Funeral held for Toronto’s Sam Sniderman | CTV Toronto News