Queen and Dovercourt/Then and Now

This building at the S/E corner of Queen and Dovercourt was originally a YMCA.
This postcard from 1914 courtesy of Chuckman's Postcard Collection shows it as the Royal Templar Headquarters.

The Great Hall today.
A brief history from their site:
The Great Hall was built in 1889 by the founder of the Moore Corporation, Samuel J. Moore, Architects Gordon & Helliwell were chosen to design this four storey building. is approximately 30,000 sq ft. with a full basement. It housed the first west end YMCA in Toronto. The "Y" offered athletic facilities that included a gymnasium with a raised running track, and a basement swimming pool. Canadian native marathon star Tom Longboat worked out here when he won the Boston Marathon in 1907, as did chocolate magnate and accomplished amateur wrestler, Morden Neilson, it was also home to some of the earliest basketball games ever played in history.

In 1912 the property was sold to the Royal Templars of Temperance, who conducted business in the building until 1940's when there was a major shift in the buildings use. It was acquired by the Polish National Union, and soon, presses on the ground floor were rolling out copies of The Polish Voice newspaper. On the top floor, rooms were pressed into service as temporary shelter for Polish refugees fleeing the war in Europe.

In the mid 1980's the rumble of the presses were replaced by the sound of experimental music and avante-garde art. The Toronto School of Art eventually helped to establish 1087 Queen St. West as an important address for Toronto's arts community.

Why Not in Schools?

I've never seen a vending machine that sells worms...
This was in Cambridge Ontario.

Queen and Dufferin/Then and Now Update

After nearly 115 years Dufferin Street has be re connected with itself north of Queen..

When the original subway was built in 1897, Dufferin was severed at Queen to accommodate the underpass.. Last week the renovations were finished and traffic was able to cross Queen and move north. The cost of this new tunnel was $40,000,000. The original cost of the subway in 1897 was $20,000.00.
Dufferin looking north to Queen in 1897.
The same view in 2010 with the newly completed tunnel.
The Tunnel!

Queen and Dufferin/Then and Now

Two similar views nearly 100 years apart. The S/W corner of Queen and Dufferin in 1917. When the subway was completed in 1897 the road was graded to this level leaving several established earlier business' high and dry. The Union Hotel continued to operate for several years until it was demolished and the property was graded to match the new road level.

2010
An earlier shot of the Union Hotel from 1896. This brick hotel replaced an earlier version that was destroyed by a devastating fire in 1880. At the time the nearest fire hydrant was at Queen and Stachan and hoses were run from the. In this photo the road has been lowered but the sidewalks remain at the original street level with stairs leading down to the street.

Crime MUST Pay the Penalty

Another fine cover from Crime Must Pat the Penalty Feb. 1955. Nice use of dramatic perspective and colour. It looks like the Holland Tunnel in New York. The green car is a 1950 Ford and the red one looks like a Chrysler or a Desoto.

Farmhouse Survivors/The Hendry House in Mimico

The Hendry House on Mimico Avenue was built in 1850 and is the original farmhouse.
It is currently for sale and listed at $529,000.

Vintage Batman Toy from Mattel

Switch N' Go were a series of battery powered cars/tanks/trucks that ran on a closed circuit track. The operator could squeeze a set of bellows and as the car moved over a switch cause it to change direction or trigger a missile etc. I've never seen the Batman set before.

Old Signs in the Junction

John's Color TV on Dundas West has a nice hand painted sign on the east side of the building.

Some Sad Old Houses in the Junction

It's hard to tell from the photo but this wood frame house in the Junction has quite a serious lean to it. It's been condemned by the city and plans have been made to demolish it and build some modern townhouses.

This solid Victorian is right next door but is also slated to come down.

Baby Point and Jane/Then and Now

These two photos were taken almost 100 years apart. I suspect that at some point the road was widened along with the stone gates, specifically the one on the right.

Ellis Avenue/Then and Now

These two photos were taken about 100 years apart. Sometimes things don't change that much.
Ellis Avenue looking north, just north of the Queensway.

Bad Day at the Seven Eleven

These shots, supplied by Andrika Lawren, illustrate why it's important to pay attention.
This 7/11 on Dundas and Euclid is a little worse for wear and I'm sure the Mercedes got the worst of it. Photos by Laura Quinn.

Yonge and Shuter/Then and Now

A series of shots around the intersection of Yonge and Shuter.

You can click on any of the images for a better view.

One Minute Lunch sounds good...

East side of Yonge looking south to Shuter.

Here we're looking south on Yonge from Shuter towards the old Eaton's building on the right with Simpson's farther south. John Catto is also the name of the guitarist for the Diodes.

From Shuter looking west across Yonge.
The buildings coming down to make room for the new Eatan centre in the mid 1970's

Yonge and Gerrard/Then and Now

This photo from 1956 looking west along Gerrard to Yonge Street. The WCTU sign on the right is for The Women's Christian Temperence Union.

The same view today.

Bloor and Islington/ Then and Now

This photo was taken in 1958.Sometime later the second floor was added and it's been
the Black Angus Steakhouse since the 1964.

I recently found some information about Joseph Sankey and Sons:
Sankeys had always been into export in a big way. In 1943 they set up Sankey Electrical Stampings Ltd. in Bombay (Mumbai) to produce electrical laminations. In 1950 another factory for electrical laminations was set up in Calcutta (Kolkata). In the same year an electrical laminations factory was started in Newcastle, Australia, and steel furniture factory was opened in Johannesburg. In 1952 a factory for both electrical laminations and steel furniture was opened in Canada.

Dundas and Six Points/ Then and Now

The house in the middle is where my Grandparents lived from about 1958-1968. Previously they had lived in a house on Dunn Avenue that was demolished to make room for the Gardner Expressway. These photos were taken in 1975 before the construction of the Kipling TTC station and surrounding parking lots.

My Grandfather's shed.

The back porch and sun room upstairs.

As I was driving by a few years ago the workmen were demolishing the house. When I told them it had been my Grandparents they stopped for a few minutes.
This is all that remains...nothing.
I did manage to salvage a light fixture which is in my home now.
The same spot today.
Just to give you an idea of how undeveloped this area was before. That's my Grandparents house circled backing onto the huge fields leading down to the train tracks.
This area is now the parking lot for the Kipling Subway station plus condos etc.
This is the last of the three houses and it looks as if it's ready to go as well.

Dundas Farmhouse /Then and Now

This old house on Dundas near Burnhamthorpe has managed to survive.