Bay and Walton/Then and Now

Looking north on Bay from Walton in the mid 1950's withe the Art Moderne Herman's Furs building on the left.
My father has this to say:

I looked at your Lost Toronto blog just now and saw the Bay and Walton photos. The first one brought back some memories.

The second car in the approaching queue is a 1949 Austin A40 Devon. The A40 was our first car. I don't think the one in your picture is it because the left headlight is missing and the licence plate is askew (not my car!).

I was in my second last year at U of T (1954) and your mother was working at Connaught Labs nearby. We were engaged and she decided we should have a car. I could drive and had my licence, but she couldn't and never did learn. She had saved most of her meagre salary for over a year and had a grand total of $400. We went shopping with her dad and bought the A40. Although it was in relatively good condition, Austins were not very well built. It was a 4-cylinder (40 HP) with a manual gearshift - 0 to 60 took 32 seconds! But we had a lot of fun in that car - several trips to Ottawa and all around Toronto and the "Golden Horseshoe". One winter trip to Ottawa is particularly memorable - there and back with the heater not working. That was uncomfortable.

We kept the Austin for a few years (until we had saved our $1,000 down payment for a small house in Scarborough) and then in 1957, I think, traded it in for a used 1956 VW Beetle. I can't say it was any more reliable, but I enjoyed driving it (even though the heater was virtually useless in the Toronto winter until it had been driven for 30 to 40 minutes). Traction in snow with the rear engine was great and I could snake around all the stranded American cars that had spun out. Ah, the simple joys of youth.

A contemporary view.
The original blueprints courtesy of Urban Toronto.
For more info on Art Moderne please visit:
ontarioarchitecture.com
An Art Moderne Cafe on Route 66 in Missouri.

1887 City Directory Advertisements

Queen and Soho/Then and Now

315 Queen Street (now 367) as it appeared in 1878, W.J. Burroughes Plumbing

As it appears today, The Silver Snail.
The full story can be found here on Urban Toronto.
An advert from the 1887 City Directory.
Was W.J. related to F.C. Burroughes who opened his furniture store on Queen West in 1907?The answer according to Right Here in Niagara is yes, they were brothers.There was also a Burroughes Furniture store in Niagara Falls Ontario, pictured below.

Edward and Elizabeth and Bay/Then and Now

This is a re-post but deserves a second look. It's amazing how much quality work was accomplished in a short time back in the 1930's. People were eager to work and projects were completed on time with a high level of craftsmanship.
The Empire State Building in new York was built in just over a year......

The S/E corner of Edward and Elizabeth Streets looking towards Bay in the Summer of 1931 prior to construction of the new Bus Terminal.

2010.
Looking west along Elizabeth from Bay.
Although the Terminal had not yet been built the site was still being used to ferry passengers.
Note the diner in the background. Even in the 1930's people wanted a "Quick Lunch"
Looking south down Bay.
An artists rendering of the new terminal.

Coming soon! The sign says it will be ready in three months!Two weeks later ....Completed on time! No wonder everyone wanted a "Quick Lunch", they had to get back to work!
As it looks today.
Some shots of the Art Deco interior when it was new.
The Grand Staircase.
The ticket kiosks.
The first bus to depart from the new terminal.
It's a testament to the men and women that worked on the new terminal that it was built on time, to a high standard of craftsmanship and that it's still standing and functional eighty years
later. How long does it take to get new cabinets in a kitchen these days?
A vintage matchbook from the Terminal Restaurant courtesy of the Chuckman Collection.
Looking north on Bay, 1950's.
A Greyhound Vista Cruiser from the early 1960's departs from the terminal.

Dundas and Bay/Then and Now

Looking north on Bay from Dundas in the mid 1950's past the Bus Terminal.

2010.

Keele and St. Clair/Then and Now

Looking across Keele to the N/W corner of St. Clair in 1931. Notice the hint of a rail car to the right. There was a Beltline train station here.

2010.
A shot of the former train station.
And it appears that the Bank of Montreal in the first photo has been re-purposed as a gas station/garage.
The former bank/gas station in it's final days.
Photo by Patrick Cummins.

Bloor and Keele/Then and Now

The N/E corner of Keele and Bloor was formerly a City dump and appears to have been closed down by the time this photo was taken in 1914. It was cleared to accommodate a growing city and the building of new homes. The newly built Keele Street Public School
is on the right.
By 1940 these 3 had been built across the street from Keele Street Public School.

Where they remain today.

The school was replaced sometime in the 1970's or so.
The original school.
The back as seen from Mountainview Road which seems to have been regraded at some point.
The new school was built without windows to prevent students being distracted by things like the sun, fresh air and nature. Progress is a wonderful thing...