University Theatre

This is the University Theatre, that once sat on Bloor Street West.


The 1300-seat cinema opened in 1949; and the first film to be shown was Joan of Arc with Ingrid Bergman. (The above picture is courtesy of The Archives of Ontario).

I remember lining up in '76 to see the premier of the new George Lucas film "Star Wars - Episode IV - A New Hope".

We were all suitably impressed with the opening scene depicting the Imperial-class Star Destroyer chasing Princess Leia.

It closed in 1986, just after the Toronto Film Festival wrapped up it's tenth year; despite efforts to keep it intact by film buffs, heritage groups and Mayor Art Eggleton.

The building was demolished completely, except for the facade.

The owners were unable to sell the property to any developers because the market was experiencing a bust.

Later, in the nineties, the deteriorating wall needed to be torn down, and with downtown property now at a premium, the owners were able to capitalize on their empty lot.

Originally, the plan was to built a nine screen theatre complex with condos on top, but it ended up being a retail store.

The facade was replicated and the fake facade is now the entranceway for the Pottery Barn.


The above image is from Wikipedia and is used with permission.

Old York

Next Saturday, April 25, in celebration of Toronto's 175th Anniversary, Heritage Toronto, in conjunction with Spacing Magazine, will kick-off their 2009 Walk season with a special self-guided tour.

The walk, known as "Beating The Bounds", will take participants around the boundaries that shaped Toronto in 1834.

For those of you unfamiliar with Toronto's history; 1834 was the year that the Town of York (population 9,252) was incorporated as the City of Toronto.



You can pick up a map between 1:00 and 2:30 PM at the start point and walk the route at your own pace.
Alternately, you can drop by the Heritage Toronto office after April 25 to pick up the map and do this tour at your own convenience. Their office is on the 3rd floor of the St. Lawrence Hall (157 King St. E.).

The starting point is at 157 King Street East, on the west side of the St. Lawrence Hall,



The finish point is Parliament Square Park, 1 block south of Front Street East, near the Distillery District.

This area was the site of the first parliament buildings, when the capital of Upper Canada moved from Niagara to York in 1793.

The buildings were set on fire during the occupation of York by American troops in 1813.

And for trivia buffs, it just so happens that in August of the following year, British troops set the White House ablaze in retaliation for the damage done to our buildings.

It will take approximately 4 to 4 1/2 hours to complete the 9.5 km walk/tour.

For a complete online schedule of the 2009 Heritage Toronto Walks, click here.

Yonge and Temperance

The picture below is Yonge Street. looking north from Temperance St. circa 1903.

The photo is courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.




There are no streetcar tracks down the centre of Yonge anymore, and all of the overhead wires are now buried; but there are still some buildings that are intact.

The building on the left with the sign designating that it is a development site can be seen in the first photo as "Dineen's Hats".
This site currently houses an optical store.

The obvious one, that has survived, is the building on the right at the top (situated at Richmond Street).

It's the Confederation Life Building that was built in 1890.

Bay and Queen Streets

Below is a photo of Bay Street looking north, at Queen West, with the "Old City Hall" on the right, circa 1923.

Picture is courtesy the City of Toronto Archives

If you roll your mouse over the black and white photo, click on it, and look just behind the southbound Bay Street trolley, and you will see "Shea's Hippodrome".

I think the intersection looks wider, and the little island(on the north west corner) is still there some 84 years later.

Notice the traffic cop in the lower right hand corner.

This is a colour photo of the same intersection, taken in August of 2007.

You can see the "New City Hall" peeking out from behind the "Old City Hall".

Notice that there are no streetcars on Bay Street, but there are street cars or Canadian Light Rail Vehicles, on Queen Street.

And we have electric traffic lights, instead of a cop with signs.