Looking northwest towards the corner of King St E and Parliament St in the Old Town, St Lawrence neighbourhood of Toronto.
The archive photo features a three-storey, Second Empire-style building, where Zoksim Andonoff’s barber shop and billiard parlor once operated. This building dated back to the 1870s, when it served as a grocery store and hotel run by John Lawson. Over time, it became known as McCormick’s Tavern, and later, the Palmer House. For a couple of decades around the turn of the 20th century, it was called the Parliament House before transitioning into various barbershops. The building was last listed in the 1973 Toronto City Directory, after which the site was converted into a parking lot. Since 2013, the corner has been occupied by a mixed-use building known as The King East.
Another interesting item to note in the vintage photo is the painted sign on the side of the building on Parliament St. It reads, “Since 1843/8 Smith Bros Body Works.” The company first appears in an 1856 Toronto City Directory as “William Smith, waggon maker and blacksmith” at an address just around the corner, at what we know today as approximately 571 Adelaide St E. Throughout the years, descendants of William Smith took over the business, which evolved from making wagons to carriages to manufacturing bodies for motor vehicles, including those for TTC buses. The business closed in 1954.
Then and Now
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register
- Heritage Toronto
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada
- Photo: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photo: City of Toronto Archives
- City of Toronto: Maps
- Toronto City Directory courtesy of Toronto Public Library
