The Royal Lunch at 301 Yonge Street, 1922.
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Yonge and Queen/Then and Now
For some strange reason, this building on the N/W corner of Yonge and Queen has been spared the onslaught destruction of this entire block through the last century, including the building of the Eaton Centre in the mid 1970’s. Below is a timeline of sorts up to the present day.
A classic Woolworth lunch counter below.
Roxy Theatre/Queen West Murder
WARNING! THIS POST CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT.
The original Roxy Theatre was situated at 75 Queen street West opposite the current New City Hall.
On March 3, 1935 Abraham Appleby was murdered in the theatre and the crime remains unsolved.
Abraham Appleby.
The Roxy would evolve over time to become the Broadway Theatre which was demolished in 1965.
The same spot today.
Dufferin Mall/Then and Now
Before Dufferin Mall was built (1956) the land was occupied by the Dufferin Park Race Track.
David Wencer writes:
The Dufferin Park racetrack traces its origins to the 1880s when the local land owners, the Denison family, created a riding track on their property for their own private use. Sometime around 1905, Abe Orpen began leasing the property and operating it as a public racetrack. Although the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame puts the first date of racing at Dufferin in August of 1907, it appears that races were held there at least several months earlier. The May 25, 1907 Toronto Star reported results for four races held at Dufferin Park over the long weekend, stating that “a fast track, favorable weather, and a good class of horses combined to make a fine afternoon’s sport at Dufferin Park yesterday… The attendance was large.”
The track at Dufferin Park was somewhat irregular in its dimensions. Abe Orpen’s son Fred, who ran the track from 1937 until its closure in 1955, considered the shape to be more egg-like than a traditional racing oval. “That track was virgin forest,” he also told the Star in 1936. “It was cleared right out of the bush and made a track by the Denison family for their own horses. It was a third of a mile but later it was increased and the result today is about a half [mile]… more or less.”
The full story can be found here.
The aeriel shot below shows just how much real estate the park occupied.
The track closed in 1955 and was quickly replaced by the original Dufferin Plaza.
Dufferin Plaza 1957.
A current view looking north.
Yonge Street 1950
The east side of Yonge south of Gerrard.
Includes Bassels, The Yonge Street Mission, The Bermuda Tavern, a Shoe Repair and the Rio Theatre.
Image
Murder at the Kum-C Theatre in Parkdale
The Kum-C Theatre , June 28th 1950. The bloody murder of Keith Hunter is being investigated.
2013.
To the west is the Parkdale Boxing Club and Billiards.
The Double feature is:
“Chicago Deadline” (1949) and “Stormy Weather” (1943).
These photos were taken as part of the crime scene investigation in the murder of Keith Hunter, June 28th, 1950.
Below, blood on the sidewalk…..
An old Highway 2 shield can be seen in the B/G.
Dundas and Pacific/Then and Now
A baby show in front of the old Junction Town Hall, 1917.
375 Yonge Street/Then and Now
Thanks to Eric V. of Silent Toronto for identifying this Yonge Street Theatre. Built in 1913 and originally called the Big Nickel (the admission price),
it later changed it’s name to the National and then the Rio.
The theatre finally closed in 1991.
Still a movie theatre, if that’s the sort of movie you like……..
A Yonge Street stitch up from 1950.
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The Hogarth House
Built in 1875 for Thomas Hogarth, a school principal, this house stayed in his family for over 85 years until a developer bought it in the ’60s, with plans to demolish it. Locals rescued it, and it was acquired by its current owner in 1974. The front of the house looks straight out of 19th-century Sussex: old wooden fence, English perennial garden, 100-year-old catalpa tree and two large porches. The Victorian farmhouse vibe isn’t limited to the exterior. There are cathedral ceilings in the bedrooms and a claw-foot bathtub in the washroom.
Yonge and Dundas Square/Then and Now
The east side of Yonge just south of Dundas Square in the late 1930’s. Childs was a popular restaurant chain at the time with four locations in the downtown core. They were in business form 1919-1963, founded by William and Samuel Childs.
In the 60’s and 70’s it was the Friars Tavern.
Nicholas Jennings writes:
“In 1965, Bob Dylan’s world was a-changing. He’d already recorded his electric masterpiece “Like a Rolling Stone” and performed his plugged-in set at the Newport Folk Festival. But he needed his own backup band. Enter Mary Martin, a Toronto woman who was working for Dylan’s manager in New York. At Martin’s urging, Dylan flew to Toronto on September 15 to check out her favourites, Levon and the Hawks, at the Friar’s.
He first heard them play on the morning of September 16 and for the next two nights, Dylan and the group rehearsed after hours and forged a thrilling, hard-edged sound. After touring the world with Dylan, and making a return appearance at Toronto’s Massey Hall in November, Levon and the Hawks relocated to Woodstock, New York, and became famous as The Band. With Dylan, they went on to generate bestselling albums and a sold-out North American tour in 1974 that included two nights at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens. But their fruitful partnership had begun at Friar’s Tavern, an event that Time magazine declared “the most decisive moment in rock history.”
A later incarnation when it was the Nickleodeon in the 80’s.
And now the hard Rock Cafe.
Below another view.
The Flame Restaurant/Then and Now
I don’t know where this was…..
Thanks to some detective work by Mark Moore, the mystery has been solved.
Peter Alexopoulus says:
This is Yonge Street north of St. Clair in between the two theatres, (the Hollywood and the Odeon Hyland) you can see part of the sign for the Odeon to the right. It later became the New Flame and my Dad owned and ran the business in the 60’s. I will get you the exact address on Yonge street later. After the New Flame it became a Howard Johnsons and then a Shoppers Drugmart. Not sure what it is today.
1507 Yonge Street 2010.
The Hollywood Theatre.
In this early photo you can see the Hollywood Theatre to the north and the building that would become the Flame Restaurant just right of the Dominion Store.
The impressive lobby.Dundas and Chesnut/Then and Now
The S/E corner of Dundas W. and Chesnut in 1937 when this was known as the Ward. Toronto’s slum district.
A year later and a very stylish Good Rich gas station has been built on the site.
Only 59c to lubricate your car.
Only 59c to lubricate your car.
2010.
Bathurst and Wellington/Then and Now
The N/E corner in 1939.
One year later, the entire block has been replaced by this Art Moderne showroom for International Harvester.
By the early 1980’s it was operating as an auto/truck collision repair shop.
Recently the building was demolished and The Thompson Hotel built in it’s place.
The facade of the original showroom has been replicated.
Queen and Bay /Then and Now
Click on images for a better view.
From Old City Hall looking west along Queen Street towards the old Broadway Theatre.
This was Toronto’s first burlesque house with “Girlie” shows and movies.
In 1935, the manager was murdered in his office and his son-in law, Murray Little took over the management.
The infamous Casino Theatre (The Festival in the top photo) was located five doors west and operated until 1963.
In 1965 to preserve the architectural integrity of the new City Hall, the City expropriated three and a half acres on the south side of Queen Street and all of the buildings were demolished.
In these photos the work has already started.
This was Toronto’s first burlesque house with “Girlie” shows and movies.
In 1935, the manager was murdered in his office and his son-in law, Murray Little took over the management.
The infamous Casino Theatre (The Festival in the top photo) was located five doors west and operated until 1963.
In 1965 to preserve the architectural integrity of the new City Hall, the City expropriated three and a half acres on the south side of Queen Street and all of the buildings were demolished.
In these photos the work has already started.
Looking across the south east intersection of Queen and Bay. . The film playing at the Bay Theatre is “The Small World of Sammy Lee”, released in 1963.
The Bay opened in 1919 as The Colonial and the facade was built with material rescued from the demolished Customs House on Front Street.
The Bay opened in 1919 as The Colonial and the facade was built with material rescued from the demolished Customs House on Front Street.
The Bay Theatre closed in 1965 and was quickly demolished.
This block has been replaced by the Simpson’s Tower.
This block has been replaced by the Simpson’s Tower.
Window detail of the Bay Theatre
The same window from the Customs House demolished in 1919
The original Colonial Theatre
Another early view of the Colonial (far left) before the second story addition.
From the steps of Old City Hall the Broadway Theatre can be seen in the distance.
Similar views today, looking south/west from Old City Hall.
The S/E corner, originally a Bowles Lunch and a Laura Secord.Looking south/east in the mid 60’s.
2010.
Below an early shot of the Colonial/Bay Theatre showing Broken Blossoms starring Lillian Gish.
Queen and Peter/Then and Now
The north side of Queen just west of Peter Street in the 1930’s
The stores looked better with the awnings…
Dundas and Spadina/ Then and Now
The N/E corner of Dundas and Spadina in 1921, the home of Dr.H.H. Moorhouse will soon be demolished to make way for the Standard Theatre.
Looking north from the corner, 1930. When it was the Standard Theatre.
Looking north across Dundas sometime in the late 1960’s. The car in the foreground is a post 1965 Corvair. The Victory Theatre, formerly The Standard Theatre opened in 1921 and was one of the finest Yiddish theatres in North America. In 1935 it was renamed The Strand and re-opened as a movie house and was again renamed The Victory after the war. It continued to operate as a burlesque house until 1975.
Miss Kelly Barton!
Today.
Another shot of the Victory from an excellent site, Silent Toronto.
For more on the Toronto Burlesque scene in the 50’s and 60’s click here.
A map from 1910 shows the house on the corner of Spadina and St. Patrick (Dundas).
Buildings in red are brick, those in yellow are wood.
Lost Toronto 