March 1950/May 4, 2024 – Looking southwest along Ossington Ave, from north of Queen St W, in the Beaconsfield Village neighbourhood of Toronto.
Notice Fire Hall No. 9 tower in the centre-right. Built in 1878, the fire hall was decommissioned in the late 1960s. The archive image of the structure reveals that there was once a clock situated atop the hose-drying tower. The fire hall and tower still stand today; however, the clock is absent. The heritage-designated former fire hall is leased from the City of Toronto to Unity Health Toronto and provides support for community members.
The domed building in the distance of the archival image is what was known at the time as the Ontario Hospital, Toronto. The building was constructed in the mid-1800s and torn down in 1976. Today, it’s the site of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) (Toronto Public Library Pictures-R-6169 – Maurice E Roberts artist)1900/August 20, 2023 – The Ferris wheel at the Canadian National Exhibition has been part of the annual fair for over a century. The ride was invented by a civil engineer named George Washington Gale Ferris Jr and debuted at the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893 (CNE Archives) Late 1920s/June 8, 2024 – Looking northeast along Danforth Ave from west of Main St in the Danforth Village neighbourhood of Toronto. The archive photo captures the Grover Theatre in the streetscape. The Grover opened in the late 1920s and closed in the mid-1950s. Except for the stores, the streetscape has retained much of its original character during the past century (City of Toronto Archives, E.L. Ruddy Company fonds, Fonds 1488, Series 1230, Item 2960)May 15, 1914/April 16, 2023 – The southeast corner of Broadview Ave and Queen St E in Toronto’s Riverside neighbourhood used to house a public underground lavatory from 1910 until the early 1980s.
In a 1914 archive photo, you can see that the ventilation pipes on either side of the washroom entrances also functioned as street lights. The photo also captures a horse trough and the Dominion Bank that once stood at the corner (City of Toronto Archives, Toronto Planning Board fonds, Fonds 2032, Series 841, File 25, Item 20 & Fonds 1231, Item 648)May 28, 2022/May 22, 1979 – Looking southeast towards the Albany Club at 91 King St E, just west of Church St, in the St Lawrence neighbourhood of Toronto.
The Albany Club was founded in 1882 and moved to its current address in 1898. With designs by architect Charles John Gibson, in 1930, the building was torn down and replaced by the 4-storey, Modern Classical style structure at the site today. The building received heritage status from the city in 2012 (City of Toronto Archives, Harvey R. Naylor fonds, Fonds 1526, File 64, Item 5)1972/June 8, 2024 – Looking northeast towards the corner of Broadview Ave and Dundas St E, in the South Riverdale neighbourhood of Toronto. Not much has changed in the last 52 years except for the stores (City of Toronto Archives, Toronto Planning Board fonds, Fonds 2032, Series 841, File 25, Item 10)Circa 1950/June 8, 2024 – Looking north up Bay St from Wellington St W in the Financial District of Toronto. The archival photograph captures the Toronto Telegram sign midway down on the right at 81 Bay St and Melinda St, back when Melinda St intersected with Bay St. Furthermore, in both photos, Old City Hall is visible in the distance (City of Toronto Archives, Strathy Smith fonds, Fonds 1128, Series 380, Item 308)1972/May 4, 2024 – Looking southwest towards the corner of Broadview Ave and Thompson St, north of Queen St E, in the South Riverdale neighbourhood of Toronto. The red brick building on the left is part of the Broadview Hotel (City of Toronto Archives, Toronto Planning Board fonds, Fonds 2032, Series 841, File 25, Item 17)Between 1970 and 72/June 1, 2024 – Looking south along Yonge St from Dundas St E in the Downtown Yonge area of Toronto. The archive photo shows a street scene with a flower vendor, and the sign of the former Eaton’s Queen Street store is visible in the distance. The Toronto Eaton Centre, shown on the right of the present-day photo, opened in 1977 (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 1465, File 312, Item 64 – Urban Design photographs)May 1984/June 1, 2024 – Looking northeast towards the corner of Yonge St and Dundas St, in the Downtown Yonge area of Toronto. The archive photo shows an organ grinder with Mr Submarine in the background (City of Toronto Archives, Ellis Wiley fonds, Fonds 124, File 8, Item 206)March 15, 1979/July 13, 2024 – Looking northeast along King St E from west of Jarvis St, in the Old Town, St Lawrence neighbourhood of Toronto.
In the vintage photograph, the pillars of The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce stand on the left, while the Daniel Brooke Building, which used to house the Sportsman’s Shop, is in the centre. In the distance, George Brown College, originally the site of Christie, Brown & Company, occupies the right side of the image.
Today, the old bank building and the Daniel Brooke Building are occupied by various businesses, while the building in the distance still serves as the home to George Brown College (City of Toronto Archives, Harvey R. Naylor fonds, Fonds 1526, File 61, Item 23)1958/June 23, 2024 – The storefront at 3438 Yonge St in Toronto’s Bedford Park neighbourhood. The archive photo shows when the building was the Loblaws store. Today, it’s home to commercial space (CU110500612, by Panda Associates, Courtesy of Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary)1950s/2024 – Looking towards 1224 St Clair W, west of Dufferin St in the Corso Italia-Davenport neighbourhood of Toronto. The archive photo shows when the building was Danforth Radio, and today, it’s home to Aamara Indian Restaurant (City of Toronto Archives, Alexandra Studio fonds, Fonds 1257, Series 1057, Item 462)1981/July 13,2024 – Looking east from Parliament St, just south of Winchester St in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto. The archive photo shows the men’s entrance to the Hotel Winchester. Today, the storefront is home to Church’s Texas Chicken (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 620, Item 203 – Avard Woolaver photographer)1972/June 8, 2024 – Looking east from Broadview Ave towards Allen Ave in the South Riverdale neighbourhood of Toronto (City of Toronto Archives, Toronto Planning Board fonds, Fonds 2032, Series 841, File 26, Item 1)June 15, 1971/ January 21, 2024 – Looking towards 518 Church St at Maitland St in the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto. The archive photo captures when the building was Harry’s Steak House. Today, it’s home to O’Grady’s Restaurant on Church (City of Toronto Archives, Harvey R. Naylor fonds, Fonds 1526, File 8, Item 30)July 24, 1913/July 13, 2024 – Looking north towards Gwendolyn MacEwen Parkette at Lowther Ave and Walmer Rd intersection in The Annex neighbourhood of Toronto. The park was named in honour of the Canadian poet and author (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 372, File 52, Item 56 – Dept. of Public Works photographs)1972/July 13, 2024 – Looking west towards the intersection of Parliament St and Prospect St, in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto.
The archive photo shows the building on the left as the former location of Parliament Restaurant Fishe and Chipe, while on the right, stood Charlie’s Auto Service. Presently, Luis H Restaurant and the Butter Chicken Factory occupy these respective spaces (City of Toronto Archives, Toronto Planning Board fonds, Fonds 2032, Series 841, File 31, Item 14)March 14, 2020/July 13, 2024 – Looking towards 502-508 Parliament St between Winchester St and Aberdeen Ave in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto.
The properties are Second Empire-style row houses constructed in 1879 by builder J Bowden and listed on the city’s heritage registry since 1975. Dixon Hall, an agency that supports tenants in Toronto Community Housing, is renovating the Parliament St houses, as shown in the photo on the right, to provide affordable housing options for those in needJune 16, 1980/ July 13, 2024 – Looking southeast towards Roy Thomson Hall from King St W, just west of Simcoe St in Toronto’s Entertainment District.
The archival photograph captures the construction of Roy Thomson Hall. This architectural marvel required several years of preparation before construction began in 1979. In 1982, the venue received its official name, Roy Thomson Hall, in honour of the $4.5 million donation made by the Thomson family towards the construction of the $39 million concert hall. That same year marked the grand opening of this iconic venue (City of Toronto Archives, Harvey R. Naylor fonds, Fonds 1526, File 42, Item 37)January 15, 1942/July 13, 2024 – Looking west towards Sherbourne St from Howard St, in the Upper Jarvis and St James Town neighbourhood of Toronto.
The building on the left with the staircase was built in 1902 by Thomas Cruttenden, a local builder and contractor. The mansion in the background was constructed in 1882 for Charles H Gooderham and, in later years, became the Selby Hotel. The two buildings received heritage designation from the city (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 200, Series 372, Sub Series 1, Item 1600 – Dept. of Public Works photographs)1972/July 13, 2024 – Looking northeast toward the corner of Parliament St and Winchester St, in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto (City of Toronto Archives, Toronto Planning Board fonds, Fonds 2032, Series 841, File 31, Item 16)July 12, 1973/July 13, 2024 – Looking southwest along Yonge St from north of Charles St in Toronto’s Bay-Cloverhill neighbourhood.
The three-story brick building on the right was built in 1889 for Robert Barron, a Scottish-born grocer. It features Romanesque Revival architectural details designed by the architect George W Gouinlock. The archive photo shows when the building was home to Coles Book Store. The city granted the building heritage status in 1974. Today, the Robert Barron Building serves as the location for Shopper’s Drug Mart (City of Toronto Archives, Harvey R. Naylor fonds, Fonds 1526, File 2, Item 8)May 8, 1931/July 13, 2024 – Looking southwest towards the corner of St Clair Ave and Lansdowne Ave, in the Earlscourt neighbourhood of Toronto.
According to the 1932 Toronto City Directory, a few of the shops in the archive photo from left to right include Lansdowne Sweets, St Clair Shoe Shine Parlor, Brookes Cigar Store and Kilvington Bros monuments (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 16, Series 71, Item 8367 – Alfred Pearson photographer)
These ‘Then and Now’ photos and tranport me in time – such a joy!
Thanks Denise Marie
Thank you Todd! I’m glad you’re enjoying the photos.