It was made effective April 1, 1982. The federal government designated Metropolitan Toronto as a bilingual service area. With a bit less than two years beyond it and the 1980 Quebec referendum, the government’s decision to take out some of the billboards en français seulment – in Toronto of all places – was seen by some as a political move. While it was to some degree, it was also a move that also recognized the presence of a Francophone community in the Toronto area.
The former Canada Tavern at the southwest corner of Queen East and Sherbourne, 1981 and 2016. The stories some have shared at Vintage Toronto are pretty well expected. Though clearly on the dive side of the establishment ledger (and Moss Park had long been mixed), it was at least enough on the up to be the site of the Star’s New Years’ reporting in the late 1970s.1”First baby greets New Year,” Toronto Star, January 1, 1978, A1; “Sunday goes with a swing in hotels and taverns,” Toronto Star, January 3, 1979, A3. By 1999, however, fortunes had waned, and the corner became better known for poverty and substance abuse.2Catherine Dunphy, “Crack corner: Drugs are turning a vibrant slice of Toronto’s downtown into an urban wasteland,” Toronto Star, February 20, 1999, B1, B4.
In more recent years, it was slated for replacement-by-condo, but things have since quieted on the site and it has been boarded up for years. Much like Norm’s Open Kitchen, the Canada Tavern has figured into the memories and imaginaries of Toronto writers.
Notes
| ↥1 | ”First baby greets New Year,” Toronto Star, January 1, 1978, A1; “Sunday goes with a swing in hotels and taverns,” Toronto Star, January 3, 1979, A3. |
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| ↥2 | Catherine Dunphy, “Crack corner: Drugs are turning a vibrant slice of Toronto’s downtown into an urban wasteland,” Toronto Star, February 20, 1999, B1, B4. |
The four-tower Main Square development was planned in 1968/69 and was part of an effort to deliver quality housing at an affordable rate. Situated on land that was held by the CNR, Main Square was expected to house 1115 families at completion. Half of the units were reserved for so-called “$5000 a year families” costing $125 per month at opening. The shopping concourse was expected to help depress the costs further.1Mack Parliament, “East end high-rise expected to house 1,115 families,” Toronto Star, May 7, 1969, B38; “Housing Costs: Villains and Answers,” Toronto Star, April 13, 1971, 6.
A Google Maps approximated view.. Image: Google Maps, July 2016.
Notes
| ↥1 | Mack Parliament, “East end high-rise expected to house 1,115 families,” Toronto Star, May 7, 1969, B38; “Housing Costs: Villains and Answers,” Toronto Star, April 13, 1971, 6. |
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The second instalment of sharing these CMHC plans is a housing project located a five hour drive west of the first in Antigonish.
Continue reading CMHC Presentation Drawings, 1970 (Part 2: Bathurst, NB)
Admittedly, I’m something of a document packrat. If a document, file, or collection is interesting to me and I am able to collect, I will. It’s partially why I have terabytes of digitized materials collected and why I haven’t yet found a way to stop. One source that I check on a near-daily basis is the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC’s) FTP site. It first came to my attention a few years back when they began to allow Google to index it and I have been watching since.
Continue reading CMHC Presentation Drawings, 1970 (Part 1: Antigonish, NS)
I don’t have much to say with this one, other than I am an absolute sucker for images of Canadian cities with two or more modes of transportation visible. It’s in part why, when on business this year, staying at the Holiday Inn Yorkdale (at Dufferin) has been a joy.
It must have been all of those 1960s 16mm Ontario booster filmstrips I saw during the 1980s and 1990s in school. Far from bitter or even cynical, I actually cherish those memories and am always excited when I can get a glimpse.
Since this image was just taken immediately to the south of Toronto’s Parkdale, I’ll just link to the two things I’ve written about that neighbourhood. There will be more, of course.
One of the frustrations that I had writing about the south-west corner of Bank and Sparks last year is that great visuals were surprisingly difficult to come by. Earlier this week, Trevor Button shared with Lost Ottawa a much better one taken by his grandfather in 1974 as the block was being prepped for construction of the C.D. Howe Building.
Although I don’t have anything in particular against the C.D. Howe Building, I do prefer a finer-grained urban fabric myself.
(7)-9-11 Putman, 2009 and 2017.
This weekend Kathleen and I went out to take in the sights and the deals at the New Edinburgh Garage sale. It was an interesting walk for my own part. About four years ago, I moved back to Centretown from Vanier North and have not spent so much time wandering around the area, so this was a bit like visiting an old friend.
A whole lot of things have changed in my life in the last little while that have resulted in me spending time rearranging things. In the middle of all of that, I have also tried to not let this whole blogging enterprise fall by the wayside. It’s one of the more enjoyable things that I have going. In between all of the other things, I’ve been continuing to pick at the long story I have going about the Canada Square project in Toronto at Yonge and Eglinton. That should come soon enough.
When you grow up in South Porcupine, one of the early historic lessons learned is about the Great Fire of 1911. In addition to burning more than 200,000 hectares of Northeastern Ontario and killing 70, it also levelled the two young mining settlements in the area, Pottsville and South Porcupine.
We’ve seen it happen a few times recently here in Ottawa. A business attracts a clientele that the neighbourhood feels is a threat and works to have the business removed through regulatory measures. In Toronto, Norm’s Open Kitchen was one of those establishments.