The N/W corner of Wilton (now Dundas) and Victoria in 1919. Note the O'Keefe Brewery building in the background. More on that below.
A similar angle in 2010.
That's the old O'Keefe Brewery behind the
Edison Hotel.
A map of the neighbourhood.
The Black Creek Growler has this to say about O'Keefe's:
"I had an interesting comment from a reader about the fire at Yonge and Victoria streets in downtown Toronto. The reader commented about the destruction of the O’Keefe brewery as a result of the fire. While the reader was close, the fire actually destroyed the mortal remains of the Empress Hotel, which was built in 1888. Heritage Toronto has a great
article about the Empress and the legacy of the building’s various inhabitants. O’Keefe’s brewery was located next door, to the east of the Empress. The buildings were once separated by a laneway originally called Victoria lane, and later changed to O’Keefe lane. Prior to becoming O’Keefe’s brewery, the brewery operated under several names including the Victoria brewery and the Hannath & Hart brewery. The original brewery building dated back to 1840, but underwent major renovations in 1872, 1882 and 1889. In 1891 the original building was torn down and a new building was constructed that included larger facilities and an on-site malthouse. Another major renovation followed in 1911. O’Keefe’s brewery was purchased by Carling Brewing Co. in 1916 and changed hands many times eventually ending up as part of Molson Coors Brewing Company. The brewery buildings were demolished in the 1980s to make way for the Ryerson University building that houses a parking garage, bookstore and AMC theatre that now stands on the site."
The Edison Hotel can be seen on the right in this photo taken during subway construction in 1950. Looking east along Gould.
From the late 1970's when Music World was there.
I'm sure I've posted this before but still a great, iconic photo of Yonge Street in the mid 60's looking south towards Dundas at Edward. There's also a nice early Corvair (59-64) in the shot
The N/W corner of Wilton (now Dundas) and Victoria in 1919. Note the O'Keefe Brewery building in the background. More on that below.
A similar angle in 2010.
That's the old O'Keefe Brewery behind the Edison Hotel.
A map of the neighbourhood.
Looking north. The Edison Hotel in the distance.
Looking south down Yonge from Dundas 1950
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
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.
The S/E corner of Yonge and Gould in 1950 when this building (1888) was the Edison 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..
Jane Jacobs.
A great photo from the archives looking south down Yonge from Elm in 1950 as the subway construction works it's way north.(Note the crane in the background and Steele's Tavern on the left.)
2010 and we can see the collapsed wall of the old Edison Hotel at the corner of Gould.
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.
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