Looking southeast towards the corner of Yonge St and Alexander St in the Downtown Yonge area of Toronto.
The archive photo shows the streetscape from 73 years ago, when streetcars travelled along Yonge St. About a year after the old photo was taken, the Yonge Street Subway—now known as Line 1 or the Yonge–University Line—opened, marking the end of streetcar service on Yonge St.
The vintage photo also features the Grovenor Hotel (notice there’s no “s” in Grovenor). This building first appeared on the 1889 edition of the Atlas of the City of Toronto map and was previously known as the Grosvenor House. In the mid-1950s, it was briefly renamed the Hotel Torontonian. Shortly after, the hotel and the neighbouring buildings to the south were demolished to make way for the first phase of the Westbury Hotel, a 16-storey structure that opened in 1957. In 1963, the second phase of the Westbury Hotel, a 9-storey building, was completed at the site where the Grovenor Hotel once stood. By 1999, the hotel complex had become a Courtyard by Marriott.
Another item to note, visible on the left side of the archive photo, is a portion of a sign advertising the St. Charles Tavern featuring the slogan “Meet me under the clock.” The St. Charles was located directly across the street from the Grovenor Hotel, and the recently restored clock tower still stands today.
Then and Now
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register
- Heritage Toronto
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Mar 27, 1954, pg 7
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Feb 28, 1957, pg 5
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Aug 14, 1963, pg 2
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Oct 22, 1999, pg B7
- Photo: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photo: Toronto Public Library
- City of Toronto: Maps
- Toronto City Directory, courtesy of Toronto Public Library
