Looking southeast towards the corner of Bay St and Adelaide St W, in the Financial District of Toronto.
The archive photo shows the F.W. Woolworth Co., a five-and-dime department store that opened at the corner on November 30, 1949. Dubbed the “New Wonder Store to Serve the People of Toronto,” the seven-storey building featured two sales floors with a total of half a mile of store counter space, luncheon counters with 181 stools, and a stand-up lunch counter for those in a hurry. The store was air-conditioned and included an escalator connecting the two floors. It sold a variety of items, including jewelry, cosmetics, handbags, lingerie, men’s accessories, housewares, toys, office supplies, and more. The upper floors housed several departments for Woolworth’s Canadian Head Office.
Even in 1985, Bay Street executives lined up at Woolworth’s popular lunch counter for a quick bite; at that time, an “all-dressed” hamburger and a medium Coke cost $2. The Woolworth’s store was last listed at this location in the 1993 Toronto City Directory.
The property was sold for $4 million, and the building was demolished in 1997, making way for a parking lot. In 2008, construction began on what was originally the Trump International Hotel & Tower, which opened in 2012. Today, it is known as The St. Regis Toronto.
A notable building visible in both photos is The National Club, which features columns and can be seen in the right background.
Then and Now
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register
- Heritage Toronto
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada
- The Toronto Daily Star Newspaper Archives: Nov 29, 1949, pg 7
- The Toronto Star Newspaper Archives: Jun 26, 1985, pg E3
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Apr 20, 1998, pg B5
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Apr 17, 2012, pg B6
- Photo: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photo: City of Toronto Archives
- City of Toronto: Maps
- Toronto City Directory, courtesy of Toronto Public Library
