Sunday, April 1, 2012
Dundas and Keele Arcade Storefront
This is one of my favourite storefronts in the city. Located on Dundas just west of Keele.Formerly May Brothers Hardware.
To the left of the main display window is a separate hall with entrances to, the apartments upstairs, another small space (bar/coffeeshop) and stairs to the basement.
Glass block (Vault Lights) in the tiled entrance way allow light into the basement which I think used to be a barbershop. These same glass blocks are found in Seattle as part of their Underground City. The blocks were originally clear but have dis-coloured over time.
Seattle Prism Glass
May Brothers is visible in this photo from 1923Queen and Spadina/Then
The S/E corner in 1983 before Queen Street was "hip". It was mostly used book stores and cheap furniture. This photo is by Patrick Cummins.
Dundas and Runnymede/Then and Now
Looking east along Dundas across Runnymede , Christmas Eve 1924.
2010 and the intersection remains quite intact.Remnants of an Arcade Store Front
The "ghost" of the old arcade window display can be seen here on Queen West.
This former shoe store on Dundas near Dufferin has an arcade display storefront. These are harder and harder to find in the city as interior floor space becomes more valuable.They allowed the customer a good view of the merchandise available before entering the store. I think this was a shoe store. It's now a coffee shop.
New Signs Are Expensive
Instead of changing the sign, the new owners of this former Embassy Cleaners outletjust covered the "Y" and added a "K".
Sterling Avenue /Then and Now
Sterling Ave as seen from Dundas Street looking north, November 1923.
1912
2010
This building on Sterling Avenue is one of my favourites. It was opened in 1919 by the Northern Aluminum Company and was Canada’s tallest building until the Royal York Hotel opened downtown 1929. In fact, I believe it was the tallest building in the British Empire. It actually had one the first elevators in the country, and the only manufacturing facility to have one at the time. Later on it became the Aluminum Company of Canada and then Alcan over the years. It was a continuous sheet casting facility that was employed in making products for the automotive industry. Tower Automotive's largest client was Daimler Chrysler before closing its doors in 2006 and auctioning off everything in May 2007.
As seen from an alley on Lansdowne.There's a good photo essay here.