Looking northeast along Yonge St, from south of Shuter St, in the Downtown Yonge area of Toronto.
The building in the right foreground, shown as Catto’s in the archive photo, was constructed in 1886. Initially a commercial building, it was later home to the Yonge Street Mission, followed by various theatres. When Catto’s took over the building in 1920, they retained the theatre’s overhang and repurposed the sign to feature the store’s name. The shop, which specialized in fine linens and dry goods, was founded on King St E in 1864 (where the King Edward Hotel stands today) by John Catto, who was born in Scotland. After Mr. Catto passed away in 1928 at the age of 96, the store continued to operate for five more years before closing in 1933. Currently, the building’s storefront houses easyfinancial Services.
The taller building in the centre is called the Ryrie Building and was constructed in two phases from 1891 through 1914. The archive photo shows this building’s corner storefront when it housed the Toronto Hydro Electric Shop. Today, that same storefront is home to Sweat & Tonic.
Another item to point out is the tall sign in the far left distance of the vintage photo for the Imperial Theatre. Today, it’s known as the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, and it features a similarly shaped sign visible in the present-day photo.
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 (Ryrie Building, northeast corner of Yonge St & Shuter St)
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Apr 22, 1933, pg 10 (Catto, looking northeast along Yonge St from south of Shuter St)
- The Globe Newspaper Archives: Sep 8, 1928, pg 17 (Catto, looking northeast along Yonge St from south of Shuter St)
- Photo: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photo: City of Toronto Archives
- City of Toronto: Maps
- Toronto City Directory, courtesy of Toronto Public Library
