Fern Avenue School Then and Now

Fern Avenue Public School was built in 1894.
My Father attended this school in the early 1940's.
Photo courtesy of Chuckman's Postcard Collection
The school as it stands today. The west tower and cupola are gone as well as
the central chimney and much of the ornamental decoration.
A voting card from 1913 courtesy of Chuckman's Postcard Collection.

How Buildings Learn/ The Ryrie Building/Silver Rail

The N/E corner of Yonge and Shuter in 1913. The Ryrie Building (1891) is seen before the
additions that extended the structure south to the corner and the addition of another floor.
Architects drawing showing the proposed changes.
The realization. Not quite as decorative as the plan.
A few years later.
Sometime in the 1930's when Muirhead's Grill occupied the S/E corner

The 1950's when the Silver Rail occupied the space. The cornice is
already gone at this point.
Today

Fern Avenue Then and Now

A shot of Fern Avenue looking east towards the School on the left. The year is
unknown but note the absence of parked cars on the street.
These houses were all quite new when this photograph was taken
Photo courtesy of Chuckman's Postcard Collection.
The trees have grown and so have the cars.

Dundas and Ritchie, Then and Now

This image from 1913 shows Dundas Street West looking West across Ritchie Street.
On the right is the Feather Factory Building (see previous post) and on the left a TTC streetcar is turning south onto Ritchie. Not a car in sight.
Back in 2010 the same view. The Feather Factory has gained an additional 2 floors
while the strip of row houses on the right remains virtually unchanged.

Ritchie Street Then and Now

Ritchie Street off of Roncesvalles looking N/E in 1959

The same view today. The gas station on the corner was converted to
a KFC some years ago and then knocked down to build
the condo, the 5 story Feather Factory building at the end of
the street is also in the process of being converted to condos as well as another
big development on the opposite side of the street.
The Feather Factory Building

The design of the B. F. Harvey Factory involved the work of two Toronto architects. When the original three-storey factory was commissioned in 1910 and built in 1911, manufacturer Benjamin Harvey engaged James Walker, who had received awards for interior and graphic designs. After the Toronto Feather and Down Factory began a long-term occupancy of the site, two floors and a cornice were added according to the plans (1922) of William F. Sparling.

In practice since 1905, Sparling was associated with Samuel Curry during his early career, and gained expertise in designing Classically inspired buildings, including the Toronto Trust and Guarantee Building in the Financial District. Beginning in the late 1920s, he was a partner in the firm of Sparling Martin and Forbes. However, it was during his solo career between 1917 and 1928 that Sparling received his best-known commission for the Masonic Temple (1918) at Yonge Street and Davenport Road. The varied projects that followed included the unexecuted plans for the conversion of Casa Loma into residential apartments.

TTC Garage at Howard Park Then and Now

Here's a TTC bus maintenance garage from June 1928 located on Howard Park
just east of Roncesvalles. Howard Park is named after John Howard who "donated"
High Park to the city in 1873
.
The same building today. Now surrounded by condos and
broken down cars.

Vintage snow plows on Howard Park with the garage on the left in 1924
John Howard

Queen and Fuller/ Then and Now

The N/W corner of Queen and Fuller in 1935.
Note the delivery bicycle leaning against the telephone pole.
The same intersection today. The Fish and Chip shop is long since gone
but there's still a butcher shop in the same location.
The Cattlemen Meat Market opened in 1965 and is still going
strong today.
My Father who grew up in Parkdale writes:
" That butcher shop was a butcher shop in the 1940s (I think it was called Ontario Meats). When I was 12 to 14 I had a job as a delivery boy for the Red & White grocery store on Roncesvalles between Marion and Pearson. It was a small store and the owner would take orders for meat from his customers and then buy the meat from that butcher on a Saturday. I was sent to pick it up, usually on the store's delivery bicycle. I remember the big snow storm of 1944 when I had to walk there through waste deep snow in many places and haul the box of meat back to Roncesvalles. My memory says I carried it (maybe about 20 pounds?), but perhaps I had a toboggan to pull. I do remember it as a strenuous journey."

Occident Hall/Holiday Tavern/The Big Bop

This is Occident Hall at the South West corner of Queen and Bathurst.
The first recorded work of renowned Toronto Architect E.J. Lennox,
"Builder of Toronto"
Built in 1876 as a Masonic Lodge with shops on the ground level.

During the 60's and up to about 1984 it was known as the Holiday Tavern and helped to give the intersection it's now famous name of "F*ck Face City" as coined by Chris Houston. The Big Bop is about to close and be taken over by Crate and Barrel.
Currently there appears to be some restoration of the facade under way.
As of January 2010 the renovations have started with the
removal of the angel stone cladding and gutting years of
insensitive alterations to the interior. It will be interesting to watch the progress.

Parkdale Odeon/ Now and Then

I've lived in the neighbourhood for the past 25 years and had always suspected that this small grocery store was a former movie theatre. A little research on the City's archive turned up this photo.

The Odeon Theatre 1919

The movie or Photo Play showing is Cecile B. DeMille's "Don't Change Your Husband".

Released in 1919 and starring Gloria Swanson.
Another view with the Odeon in the foreground looking east towards Fuller Ave.

This is Progress? Five Corners

The north-west corner of Queen and Roncesvalles or as it used to be known, Five Corners.


An old streetcar shell used as a waiting room before the diner was built.
The B&G Coffee Shop and Milk Bar.

This is Progress?

1923

Early 1980's

2010

A short photo essay on the evolution of the N/W corner of Queen and Roncesvalles
here in Parkdale. My Father tells me that when he was a boy they would go skating on Grenedier Pond and if he had enough money (5 or 10 cents) they would stop in here for some hot chocolate to warm up a bit.

The Guv'nor/Path Racer

Vintage Path Racer

My new old vintage path racer.
Last year I became quite obsessed with the new Pashley
Guv'nor bicycle, but at a price of $2,300.00 it was
beyond my reach. I decided the next best thing would be to build my own. It's not finished yet but almost there.

Muirhead's Grill/The Silver Rail

A postcard of Muirhead's Grill before the Silver Rail took over the space.

Another postcard showing the Silver Rail Bar (upstairs) and the more formal restaurant in the basement.

Silver Rail Update

The same building at Yonge and Shuter today.....

The Silver Rail

Some vintage postcards form Chuckman's .

The Silver Rail first opened in 1947 and was the first bar in Toronto with a liquor licence from the LCBO. A grand New York style bar on the ground floor and a very respectable restaurant in the basement.
Always a favourite of mine, we were there the night it closed in 1997. It's been replaced by a rather boring clothing store. I did go to the auction after it closed and bought a couple of light fixtures that are now stored in my basement. The best manhattans in the city.

From the historical plaque:
The Silver Rail was one of Toronto's first licensed cocktail lounges. It has remained at the same location on Yonge Street since April 2, 1947. Curious Torontonians would ride the streetcar along Yonge Street to catch a glimpse of patrons lined up, waiting to enter. For the first time in Toronto, it was possible for diners to drink a glass of wine or enjoy a cocktail with a fine meal. The interior has remained almost unchanged for 50 years while the face of Yonge Street has changed. The Silver Rail took over the space originally occupied by Muirhead's Grill and Cafeteria. The interior was designed by architect N.A. Armstrong in 1934. The Silver Rail is an early example of mixed use, incorporating a bar upstairs and a restaurant downstairs. It became a central fixture of downtown Toronto night-life.
During subway construction.