The M. Wintrob & Sons Ltd. ghost sign is located at 260 Spadina Ave (at Grange Ave, south of Dundas St W) in the Kensington-Chinatown neighbourhood of Toronto.
On the north-facing wall of the building, there is a ghost sign for “M. Wintrob & Sons Ltd,” which also features the words “Welgroom combs, hair curlers, Sun-Rite sunglasses, housewares, Wave-Set.” This company, operated by Moses Wintrob and his sons Hart and Irving, produced hair products and other items from the building between 1945 and 1970, as noted in the Toronto City Directory.
The five-storey warehouse-style building was constructed between 1912 and 1913 and designed by architect Isadore Feldman for the Cooper Cap Company. As of this writing this article, this century-old building, which currently houses various businesses, does not have a heritage designation.
Too Interesting To Miss
- In a 1947 article from The Globe and Mail titled “Toronto Man Introduces Sex Into Hollywood’s Sun Specs,” Hart Wintrob announced his plans to design a line of sunglasses specifically for women with the help of movie stars Barbara Stanwyck and Hedy Lamarr. This initiative marked a significant development in the optical industry. The article also noted that the Spadina Ave plant employed over 400 people and produced 3.5 million pairs of sunglasses in 1946.
- In a 1964 edition of The Globe and Mail, it was reported that “a 35-year-old blond secretary” who worked for M. Wintrob & Sons Ltd was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling over $33,000 from the company over a two-year period.
M. Wintrob & Sons Ltd. Ghost Sign Photos
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register
- Heritage Toronto
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Feb 10, 1947, pg 13
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Dec 2, 1964, pg 5
- Engineering and Contract Record: Dec 1911, Volume 25, pgs 64 & 65
- Photos: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- City of Toronto: Maps
- Toronto City Directory courtesy of Toronto Public Library
