The Black Squirrel

Last summer a neighbour brought over a little orphaned squirrel that I
took care of for a couple of weeks until he was strong enough to make it
on his own. He still comes around on occasion. This is some
footage I shot. Music by the Lettermen, "Hurts So Bad" 1968.

Parkdale Art Deco Apartments

A nice example of Art Deco architecture in Parkdale.
The Everglades Apartments on Tyndall Ave.
A good example of a low rise apartment complex with some excellent period design details.

Old House(s) on Dufferin

I don't know anything about this old house on Dufferin just north of King but I'm sure it has an interesting story.....
It's currently getting a makeover.

Farr House/John Cornell House/Queen West Update

I've decided to re post this piece due to a chance encounter with someone also interested in Toronto's history who has generously contributed some old photographs.

905 Queen Street West, this is from a 1991 report by the Conservation Review Board:
The property located at 905 Queen Street West is recommended for designation for architectural and historical reasons. The house was constructed in 1847 for John Farr, who established the Farr Brewery on the adjacent site in 1819. While the business was sold in 1858, the house was occupied by Farr's daughter, Mary E. Farr, until 1905. The buildings at 899 and 905 Queen Street West are operated as a community centre by the Polish National Union.

The John Cornell House
899 Queen West as it was in it's final days.

 An early watercolour of the house and the brewery to the east.

The smame corner in 2010.

There was another house immediately to the east that mysteriously burned to the ground shortly after the report was issued making room for the condos that now occupy the site.
This poloroid of the house was taken by Andrew Dziedziola who was kind enough to share it with me (and you).
Again, from the 1991 report:
The John Cornell House

The house is located on the south side of Queen Street, facing toward the park, former site of Trinity College. It is set fairly close to the street and approximately 5’ above the sidewalk.
The exterior is rough cast plaster over wood lath, 1” boards and undressed stud framing. The rear wing appeared to have pre-dated - or been added to - the late Gothic Revival main house. This section was reported to be older. At the north west junction, the exterior stucco of the rear section and adjacent house wall had fallen away. Both walls were constructed of stucco over wood lath nailed to wood studs. On the rear wing, the lath was hand split undressed wood nailed horizontally with square hand wrought nails to the wood boards. The main house had sawn lath nailed at 45 degrees to the wall studs.
The above indicated that the rear section probably pre-dated the 1870s main house, but by only 10 to 20 years.
The house appears to be quite original, inside and out. The bell shaped roof of the front porch, the heavy wood window and door trim, the "french doors" from the front parlour to porch are all original. The interior base board, trim and stair are all original and even the interior room divisions have been little altered, allowing the original room forms to be easily assessed. Much of the upper floor rooms show serious water damage and the roof and roof boards are in very poor condition.
Another poloroid from Andrew Dziedziola of the backyard looking towards Queen.
Another image of the two houses from the 1980's supplied by Andrew Dziedziola.
A somewhat current view.

He was also able to supply a copy of the original report prepared by the Toronto Historical Board in 1990.


You can see on this plan just how big the properties were for these two houses and why the condo developers were so keen to get their hands on them.
905 Queen is the Farr House and 899 is the Cornell house.

King Kong 1968

A great painted cover from Gold Key's Giant Classic King Kong published in 1968.

Yonge and Richmond/Then and Now

The N/E corner of Yonge and Richmond sometime in the mid 1960's.
The Confederation Life Building was built in 1892.

2010.

Another view.
A period postcard from Chuckman's Collection.
Another view.
An early view looking north up Yonge towards Richmond.
This is Pearl Street in St. Catherines showing another Seaboard Loans branch as well as a Woolworth's and Diana Sweets.
A menu from Diana Sweets, circa 1953.

Original 1966 Batarang

While living in LA, a friend of mine received this as a gift from legendary super fan Forrest J Akerman. This is an original Bat-A-Rang from the 1966 feature film. It's a little worse for wear but still a fantastic piece.
Among his many credits, Mr. Ackerman published the successful Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine.

A visit to the Akerman Museum (Akermansion) in Hollywwod in 1998.
Mr. Akerman died in 2008.

Queen and Dufferin/Then and Now

Looking east along Queen towards Dufferin and the newly completed subway in 1898. There's more on the building of the subway here. The Gladstone Hotel can be seen in the distance.

A similar view in 2010. This shot is already out dated since the Dufferin extention has been completed.

The Blue Swallow Motel/Tucumcari New Mexico

Obviously not in Toronto, the iconic neon sign outside the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari New Mexico has been inviting Route 66 travellers for the past 70 years or so.
From their website:

The Blue Swallow Motel was built in 1939 by W. A. Huggins. It features a unique, personal shell design on the exterior stucco. Garages, a signature of motor courts of the era, are another unique characteristic of this motel. According to Huggins' son, Phares, it was sold at a loss because of economic conditions at the onset of WWII. With gas and tire rationing in effect, people weren't traveling as much.

The best known proprietor of the Blue Swallow was Lillian Redman, who acquired it in 1958. She operated the motel for almost 40 years, but faced numerous difficulties including the interstate bypass, which drastically reduced her customer base. There is much information available about Lillian online and in numerous publications.

Your hosts, Terri & Bill, purchased the Blue Swallow Motel in 2004. They are keeping the tradition of hospitality alive and welcome you to this historic Route 66 landmark.

Some vintage postcards.

There's a great archive of vintage Route 66 postcards right here.
The Blue Swallow as depicted by artist Josh Heisie.

More Lakeshore Strip Motels/Then

There was a murder at this motel in the early 90's and we also shot a scene from Atom Egoyan's Spinner Spencer movie, Gross Misconduct, here.

1950's Crime Comics

By the early 1950's the popularity of superhero comics was waning only to be replaced by crime story comic books. A selection of great covers.