Looking southeast along Yonge St, from Grosvenor St and Alexander St, in the Downtown Yonge area of Toronto.
The archive photo prominently features the Hotel Torontonian. 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 and later the Grovenor Hotel. In the mid-1950s, it was briefly called the Hotel Torontonian before this stretch of the block was torn down to make way for the first phase of the Westbury Hotel, a 16-storey structure that opened in 1957. The second phase of the Westbury Hotel, a 9-storey building, was completed in 1963 at the site where the Hotel Torontonian once stood. In 1999, the hotel complex became a Courtyard by Marriott.
A few other items to point out in the vintage photo are the Globe and Mail newspaper box in the right foreground and the streetcar tracks along Yonge St. The Yonge Street Subway, now known as Line 1 or the Yonge–University Line, opened on March 30, 1954, which marked the end of streetcar service on Yonge St. The tracks along the street were removed later that year.
Then and Now
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register
- Heritage Toronto
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Mar 27, 1954, pg 7
- The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Oct 21, 1954, pg 17
- 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
