St. Lawrence Antique Market- Sundays

True Blue.

Green with Envy

Mauve Madness

Baby Blue
This week she had 2 tables set up.

More Old Motorbikes Around Town

These old Hondas are virtually bullet-proof and keep on going...

Gemini Spacecraft Model Contest

This ad ran on the back of comic books in 1967 and at the time seemed just too good to be true.
According to an old issue of Boys Life, the winner was Alen Hanshew (age 13) of Portland.
According to a Revell spokesperon:

To confirm for all, this was not a model. This was an actual replica that was produced by McDonald Douglas. The capsule had to be shipped via railroad direct to the museum. The prize was awarded via a sweepstakes type entry, in order to win; the winner had to agree that they would donate to a local museum for two reasons, (1) So that others may enjoy and (2) Because it had to be shipped via railroad direct to the donation site.

A little more trivia for you, the cost of building this kit was $5,000. In 1967 $5,000 was unheard for any type of prize. Plus the additional model kits that the kid won. At least the kid got to keep all the model kits as he watched his beloved capsule given away. There were numerous glitches along the way in production. At the last minute McDonald Douglas said they would not provide the capsule. However, after seeing all the press etc, they some how found a way to complete the project and deliver to the museum.

The capsule's current location is in the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

More Student Caricatures/Sheridan ATVF

Mike Nesbitt

Owen Devaney

Dave Hvizdos

More cruel and unflattering drawings of former students from Sheridan's ATVF Program.

New York Diner/Tribeca

This little diner, situated in Tribeca NY  may not be much to look at from the outside but the food is good and the ambiance is as well.

Old Mimico Barber Shop

This old barber shop on the Lakeshore in Mimico has been closed for several years but the owner (the barber's son) keeps it preserved as a tribute to his late father. It's been used in a number of period films. I put the vinyl graphic on the windows.

Nothing To Do With Anything

Most business' try to offer some incentives to their customers. Two for the price of one, buy two and get the third on free etc. This pizza joint in Arnprior has something new, order one pizza and they'll give you one....

Sam the Record Man/Then and Now

Yonge Street in the 1960's. Postcard courtesy of Chuckman's.

There was a time not that long ago, when buying records (vinyl) at Sam's was a Saturday ritual.

You'd take the subway downtown and walk the strip up to Yonge and Gould.

This is of course before the young shoe shine boy, Emanuel Jaques was cruelly tortured and murdered prompting a sweeping "clean-up" of the Yonge Street strip.

But that's another story.......

Back then a record cost anywhere between $1.98-$4.98 and were visually very impressive.

There was a big wall display with new releases and sale items covered in hand made signs.

Riding home on the subway, you'd review your purchases and be tempted to unseal the albums in search of the extras inside (posters, lyric sheets,booklets, stickers etc) or just to look at the

gatefold inner cover. Over time the actual records were getting so thin that even the new ones were warped and would skip when you finally got them home.

An early shot of the Sam's facade.

Looking south on Yonge with A&A Records as well as Sam's. The Empress Hotel is also visible.

Sadly it's all gone in 2010 and the Empress Hotel faces demolition as well.

Before Sam's in 1949.

This is all that's left and soon to be demolished as well.

Here's link to a vintage Sam's commercial on Youtube.

Here's another former customer's reflections on the store.

Does anyone remember the short lived "Sam the Chinese Food Man" restaurant that was located a few doors north in the early 1970's?
 Sadly Sam (the Record Man) Sniderman passed away yesterday at the age of 92.
Funeral held for Toronto’s Sam Sniderman | CTV Toronto News

Odeon Parkdale/Then and Now

The Odeon Theatre in Parkdale was located on the south side of Queen at Fuller Av. These photos were supplied by Eric Veillette, author of this blog: Silent Toronto and definetely worth a visit. This theatre is not to be confused with an earlier Odeon which was located across the street and a little further west.

Closed and for sale at $125,000 some time in the 1960's.

For sale again.

This was taken in 1976 by one of my neighbours. At the time it appears to called the Regal

and was demolished shortly thereafter.

By 2010 the theatre is long gone and has been replaced by a Shoppers Drug Mart.

Best Motel Sign-Ever

The Cadillac Motel in Niagara Falls.

Lost Parkdale

This map shows the area of South Parkdale that was obliterated in 1956. Lost streets include:

Lorne Ave., Rose Ave., Prospect Ave., Iroquois, Mississagua and Fort Rouille as well as the lower parts of Dowling, Jameson and Dunn.

This arial photo from the late 1950's shows how much of Parkdale was destroyed to make way for the Gardiner Expressway. My Grandparents had a house on Dunn just south of the train tracks that was demolished. Compare with the photo below from 1958 as the Gardiner is being built.
Lower Parkdale in 1958.

Yonge and Dundas/The Brown Derby

A vintage postcard of the long gone Brown Derby from the Chuckman Collection.

The Brown Derby, located on the N/E corner of Yonge and Dundas was open from 1949 until 1974.

The 1960's, Photo by R. Hill

Sometime in the late 1950's

In the 1970's the exterior had a "mod" face lift.

Another good shot from the 1970's. This is by Surfheart.

By the 1980's it's become a Mr. Submarine.
A Brown Derby matchbook from Chuckman's Collection.

Jamestown and Regent Park

This is what Regent Park looked like before the urban renewal of 1950.

This is after. More of a prison than a community.

This photo from the 1970's looks like a scene from the film "Up".

It's a good example of how the city planners managed to get it so wrong.

The old victorian homes of Cabbagetown that were torn down in order to build both Jamestown and Regent Park can never be brought back. If the city had simply allowed the natural progress of time to continue, these neighbourhoods would have re-gentrified

as they did in other parts of the city. The mistakes of urban renewal cannot be undone

and no doubt whatever replaces Regent Park will be as disasterous as the previous incarnation