Looking northeast toward the corner of Yonge St and Bloor St E in the Yorkville neighbourhood of Toronto.
The archive photo features the Royal Bank Building, an impressive six-storey structure constructed between 1906 and 1907, initially known as the Trader’s Bank Apartments. Designed by architect Francis S. Baker, the building originally housed the Trader’s Bank of Canada, along with retail shops on the ground floor, dentist and doctors’ offices on the second floor, and luxury apartments on the upper floors. The top floor included a café that offered panoramic views of the city.
In the early 1910s, the Royal Bank of Canada acquired Trader’s Bank. By 1914, the building was referred to as the Royal Bank Apartments until the 1940s, when it was named the Royal Bank Building, which by then primarily served as office space. In the mid-1970s, the building was demolished, and within a few years, it was replaced by the current RBC branch. Since then, the block has also been home to a complex formerly known as the Hudson Bay Centre, which is now called 2 Bloor East.
A few other items to point out in the vintage photo are the green 1970 Dodge Challenger and a white circa-1970 Chevrolet Nova.
Then and Now
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register
- Heritage Toronto
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada
- Photo: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photo: City of Toronto Archives
- City of Toronto: Maps
- Toronto City Directory courtesy of Toronto Public Library
