Looking northeast towards the Ryrie Building at the corner of Yonge St and Shuter St in the Downtown Yonge area of Toronto.
The archive photo shows the building when it was home to the Silver Rail Tavern, Town & Country, Williams Hat Shop, Personal Finance Company of Canada, and Maclean Linens. This structure dates back over a century and was built in two phases. The first was in 1891; the northern portion of the building, which faces Yonge St, was built for George Pears. The second took place between 1913 and 1914, at a cost of $250,000. During this phase, jeweller James Ryrie had the building extended to the corner, added an additional storey, and modified it to match the design of the new construction.
The ground floor has served as retail and commercial space, while the upper floors house offices—a function that the heritage-designated building continues to operate as today.
Then and Now
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register
- Heritage Toronto
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Jan 30, 1913, pg 8
- Photo: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photo: City of Toronto Archives
- City of Toronto: Maps
- Toronto City Directory, courtesy of Toronto Public Library
