Posts Tagged ‘clock tower’

intersections – King & Bathurst

Posted: January 20, 2025 in construction, history
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

below: 504 King streetcar on a snowy January afternoon

As you all know, Toronto is being demolished and redeveloped.  Almost every part of the city is affected by the construction of new condo buildings or the upgrading of public transit.  It can be difficult to keep up documenting the changes!  A few weeks ago I posted some pictures from Queen & Spadina where Metrolinx is building a new subway station for the Ontario Line.  The next stop west from there is at King and Bathurst.

Infrastructure Ontario wants to build what they call a Transit-Oriented Community (TOC) at King and Bathurst.  The gist of the plan is that these sites will feature high density development around transit hubs.  Some of the plans for condo and office may still be at the concept level but the new subway station work is well underway.

below: Looking south on Bathurst from King.  On the southwest corner is the Wheatsheaf Tavern  which has been here since 1849.  The exterior of the building hasn’t changed much in 170 years!  It remains untouched by today’s construction.

looking south on Bathurst from King, Wheatsheaf Tavern on the right, vacant lot where most of Banknote Bar was. now a metrolinx construction site

below: The Banknote Bar on the southeast corner is now gone, or at least most of it has been demolished.  The north facade will be incorporated into the new station, the King-Bathurst station (Are they really going to call it that?  So Dull. So Bland.).

southeast corner of Bathurst and King, vacant lot where most of Banknote Bar was. North facade saved and is held up with scaffolding, now a metrolinx construction site

This 4 storey brick building was previously a Bank of Montreal.  It was built in 1901/02 for the Canadian Biscuit Company.   It then had a series of tenants until 1923 when Bank of Montreal moved in.

Previously, a mixed use development rising above the old brick structure had been proposed for the site (prior to Metrolinx).  Cancelled.  At this point there is no other development on this corner.

below: Looking east on King

You can see that the corner (above picture) is now covered by a very big white temporary structure where construction of another station underway. What will be revealed? Plans suggest a mixed office/residential tower above with rebuilding of most portions of the TD bank that was on the corner, as well as the building directly east of it. No car parking spots, bikes only. Concept stage? Or further along?  One day we might find out!

Last, the northeast corner –

below: Clock Tower lofts dominates the corner.  There really are two clocks on the side of the building, both of which are difficult to see.  But that doesn’t matter since they don’t work anyhow.

clock tower lofts and condos on the northwest corner of King and Bathurst, with a clock tower at the corner, clock not working, ugly building

below: 1919 photo of the Clocktower Building.  It was in bad shape in 1980 and was demolished.  The Clock Tower Lofts (above) replaced it.  In 1919 it was home to Otto Higel Piano Company. The church in the background is St. Marys Roman Catholic church at Bathurst and Adelaide.

1919 black and white photo of a brick building on northwest corner of king and bathurst. 4 storeys, with small clock tower on one corner, church in the background

photo credit: City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 3008

The building dates from 1895; it was built for the Toronto Lithographing Company who used it until 1901.  Next, the Newell & Higel Co. Ltd take over the building where they manufacture piano actions, keys and hammers, and organ keys, reeds, and reedboards.  By 1912 they employed 450 people.  They developed a Player Piano that became famous around the world and business boomed.  They expanded the building north to the corner of Adelaide Street West.

By the way, a Player Piano is one that plays itself.  The 1920’s were their heyday but advances in technology, especially the introduction of radios and record players, helped kill the Player Piano.  By the 1930s production ceased.

below: A 1970s view of the northwest corner.

1970s black and white photo of Otto Higel Piano Company, now a furniture factory

photo credit: City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1526, File 7, Item 5,

below: Looking out the window of the Wheatsheaf Tavern.  How many people have sat here and looked out this window?  What did they think about?

looking out a window at the Wheatsheaf Tavern, looking northeast to corner of King and Bathurst where a large white temporary building encloses metrolinx work on a new Ontario Line subway station

around Yonge and Bloor

Posted: August 25, 2020 in construction, events, history, old buildings, public art, reflections
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
4

…

and red and white danger due to sign, danger due to covid-19

below:  He may be sitting on the bench but this hockey player is prepared.  He’s practicing social distancing and he’s got his mask on just in case.  He’s also a reminder that the NHL playoffs for the 2019-20 season are being played in a bubble here in Toronto at the moment… but the Maple Leafs didn’t make the cut.  After having to take a few months off because of Covid-19, the NHL scheduled the playoffs in only two cities, Toronto and Edmonton.  Games started at the beginning of August and are scheduled to finish the first week of October.   There is talk that maybe the 2020-21 season can begin after that but like everything else these days, who knows.

a metal statue of a hockey player in Toronto Maple Leaf blue sits on a bench outside a gallery, wearing a covid face mask, as a man walks past

below: ‘Love Negotiation’ on Scollard Street by Gillie and Marc.  Dogman and Rabbitgirl share a few minutes over coffee.   They too are outside are are socially distanced… or perhaps they have been isolating together are have escaped their tiny downtown condo for a bit of fresh air.  ” Rabbitgirl and Dogman invite the world to sit with them symbolically at their Table and take the first step to understanding and loving each other. The sculpture is where we sit, discuss, and solve problems. The world has reached a crisis where our differences are causing hatred and division.”

 

male dog in blue and female rabbit in red sitting face to face at a table with coffee, sculpture on Scollard street

sculpture on Scollard street, a dog in blue, sits at a table with a cup of coffee in his hands

below: The William Sexton houses on the NE corner of Bay & Scollard are being preserved and incorporated into a condo development.  They were built by Sexton in 1890 in a style similar to the Queen Ann Revival style.  Although it looks like one large brick house, it is actually a row of 4 houses.  In 1974 they were added to Toronto’s Heritage Register.  That was also the last year that all four were used as residences.

Bay and Scollard, old building boarded up with new construction behind

below: A slightly fuzzy 1974 photo of William Sexton houses.

photo from 1974 of William Sexton houses at the corner of Bay Street and Scollard in Yorkville, 4 row houses that together look like one large brick house

windows on the west side of William Sexton houses on Bay street, white paint is peeling to reveal brick below, rounded tops of window frames in black trim

below: Another hole in the ground.  I liked the bits of orange and black hanging around.

orange and black shreds of plastic along the edge of construction hole in the ground

below: Reflections of the clock tower on the Yorkville Firehall, the oldest firehall in the city, in one of the newer glass walls across the street.

reflections of Yorkville clock tower in the glass condo across the street

Yorkville fire hall clock tower and flags

below: Looking east on Yorkville Ave towards Yonge Street and the large Toronto Reference Library.

the Toronto Reference Library at Yonge and Asquith as seen from the west along Yorkville Ave

below: The Starbucks on Yonge Street just north of Bloor is now closed.  The sign in the window says “thanks for your loyalty over the past 20 years.”  For those of us who still remember Albert Britnell’s book store at that location it is a bit of a shock to realize that 20 years has past.

people in front of a closed Starbucks on Yonge street

below: Yonge Street at Hayden

some of the stores on Yonge at Hayden

below: looking northwest from Charles Street on the east side of Yonge.  The older black and grey building is the CIBC tower on the NW corner of Yonge & Bloor.  The cranes are working on the SW corner of that intersection.

backs of buildings on Yonge and Hayden, plus construction, looking northwest

below: Condo construction at the southwest corner of Yonge & bloor continues.

a man wearing a covid face mask walks past a construction site at Yonge and Bloor, black and white construction photos on the hoardings, old brick building in the background as well as a newer apartment building

reflections in a store window, legs of mannequins in cut off jeans, white cars traffic on the street

a workman sits outside beside hoardings on Bloor street in front of Holt Renfrew

below: One of the entrances to the Manulife Centre on Bloor Street.   It was decorated in flowers as part of a Fleurs de Villes event.

one of the glass entrances to the ManuLife center on Bloor street, decorated with flowers

below: Inside the Manulife Centre there were many mannequins decorated with flowers

mannequin in green and pink dress and pink hat, pinks are made of roses and she is holding a bottle of rose wine from the LCBO

a mannequin decorated with flowers stands at the bottom of an escalator at the Manu Life center, as part of Fleurs de Villes project

As the summer winds down but the covid lingers on, stay safe and stay sane

a white wall with an orange stripe on which graffiti words are written, coronavius and lime disease go great together, a play on corona beer and lime