Posts Tagged ‘Filmores Hotel’

in transit

Posted: August 1, 2022 in old buildings, people, transportation
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Yesterday, Sunday of the long August weekend, I was sitting on a streetcar after walking around downtown.  I was in no rush; I was enjoying the scenery and the people watching.  The streetcar detoured off route so I didn’t end up where I expected to.  But no problem, I had my camera with me.

very front of a TTC bus at a bus stop with a streetcar turning in front of it, also reflections of turning streetcar. Some people standing on the sidewalk

These photos are glimpses of life in the city as seen through a streetcar window as it passes by.  Most of them were taken through glass…  and often the streetcar was moving…  so please don’t expect technically perfect shots!

hot summer day, people waiting for an arriving TTC streetcar on College Street, woman in a wide brim blue hat and flowery skirt, man in blue Hawaiian shirt with orange and yellow flowers

below: Northeast corner of Spadina and College streets.

northeast corner of Spadina and College streets, people crossing Spadina, low rise old brick building

below: “The Best in Town”for banana boats! cones!  sundaes! shakes!

an ice cream truck on College Street,

a person in orange t shirt and white shorts running to cross intersection of Bay and College

below: Dundas at Bay. Ryerson School of Management, Best Buy, and Canadian Tire.

intersection of Bay and Dundas, westbound traffic and bikes, some pedestrians ready to cross Bay as well.

below: Reflections on Dundas

reflections of a TTC streetcar in the window of a building on Dundas

below: Surfacing from Dundas subway station

people exiting Dundas subway station on the northwest corner of Dundas and Yonge, a couple trying to figure where they are

below: The newest mural near Dundas and Victoria.

large black and white mural on Dundas Street, white car parked in front of it. Mural features portraits of people

below: University buildings at Dundas and Church – and the rebranding of Ryerson as TMU (Toronto Metropolitan University).

corner of Dundas and Church streets, looking northwest, Ryerson University buildings, a man on a bike waiting for a green light

below: Ran out of gas, northeast corner of Dundas and Church

northeast corner of Dundas and College. Old gas station that has pumps and most of buildings removed, overhang structure still in place, taller buildings behind

below: Dundas and Mutual.  An old building put to a modern use.

corner of Dundas and Mutual, two men on bikes, older house on corner with yellowish brick and mansord roof, now a cannabis shop

below: The sign says it all. Every time I pass Filmores I am surprised to still see it standing. I thought that it was supposed to be torn down months (years?) ago.  I was also surprised to see Filmores on sites like Expedia, Hotel.com and Booking.com.  You can’t actually book one of their “straight forward rooms” on these sites, you have to call or email the hotel directly.  If you want to know more than that, you’ll have to do your own research!

front of Filmores Hotel on Dundas Ave., with sign over front entrance that says the rumours of our closing are greatly exaggerated

below: You might be able to stay at Filmores, but you can’t eat at The Love Cafe anymore.

old sign for the love cafe, bent and slightly broken above heart shaped sign, on exterior of the restaurant

below: Christmas wreaths on the doors of Dunhill Electric Co.

Dunhill electric, a very narrow storefront on Dundas

below: Dundas and Ontario Streets, Royal Oak Inn

Dundas and Ontario streets, Royal Oak Inn, Hydra Tattoo

below: Dundas and Parliament, north side

Dundas at Parliament

people sitting on a TTC bus

a young woman in black hajib and white bag walks past closed doors of a bus

Happy trails!

Dundas, Jones and a bit of Gerrard

Posted: April 19, 2019 in general Toronto
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This blog post is a result of a walk from last week, from Dundas and Jarvis to Jones and Gerrard – from downtown into Leslieville/Riverdale on a beautiful day for a walk.   As usual, I strayed onto a few alleys along the way.   The pictures below may or may not be in sequential order but it doesn’t matter, does it?

below: Although many of the buildings around it have been demolished, Filmores Hotel remains.  I’m not sure if that’s a comment on the ownership of the building, or its use.

Filmores Hotel with large sign above the hotel and a black and white sign over the front entrance, old brick building

Once upon a time, e.g. in 1916, Dundas Street only existed westward from Ossington.   There was no Dundas Street downtown or in the eastern part of the city.  After WW1, a collection of smaller streets were widened and joined together to form Dundas Street as far as Broadview.   That is why there are these curves in the street between George and Sherbourne.

construction on dundas street, a vacant lot where a building was demolished, construction equipment and a dump truck working at the site, old building beside

below: Maybe it was once someone’s large house?  Now it’s looking a little run down but it’s still home to George’s Pizza and George’s BBQ.  The one on the corner is Piassa Injera and Takeout which is Ethiopian.

a large old victorian brick building, once a large house now divided up, 3 restaurants at street level, Georges Pizza, Georges BBQ, and one in a foreign alphabet, Ethiopian restaurant Piassa Injera

below:  Looking back towards downtown and the wall of glass and steel that has been erected.

dundas street east, looking back towards downtown from Sherbourne street, new condos and highrises in steel and glass overwhelming the older shorter buildings on Dundas such as Filmores Hotel and Georges pizza

below: The True Love Cafe at the corner of Sherbourne and Dundas. It’s had a fresh coat of paint and the hearts on the exterior wall have been fixed up. Only the sign needs a little TLC.

the True Love Cafe on the corner of Dundas and Sherbourne, purple walls on exterior ground floor, large red awning over entrance,

a man with a cane in one hand, and pushing a bike with other walks down an alley. he also has a backpack on his back

below: The redevelopment of Regent Park continues.

reflections in hoardings that are covered with a picture of yellow curtains and brown wood, sidewalk beside the hoardings and a wood structure over the sidewalk

below: New buildings in Regent Park.

looking through the window of a building under construction, concrete walls, some black pipes, also in orange paint the word exit with an arrow


below: I stopped for a drink at Daniels Spectrum where I came across an interesting exhibit…. A sample of some of the photographs on display at Daniels Spectrum. They are part of a project, #ShootForPeace, by Yasin Osman. Each features youth from Regent Park with the theme of the exhibit being family and how family can be defined.

6 black and white photos of people on a wall in a gallery, photos of Regent Park residents, by Yasim Osman

below: One of the stained glass windows from St. Bartholomews church, in memory of Sister Theresa, 1891-1988.  I’ve walked past this church many times but this was the first time that I went inside.   It is a small, quiet church with some nice stained glass.

stained glass window in St. Bartholomews church

below: Graffiti on a wall.

graffiti on a red brick wall that says Space is Fake

below: Walking her dog on the Don River trail.

looking down from a bridge, a woman walks her black dog along a path beside the Don River, also train tracks running parallel to the path and river

below: Looking north towards the Gerrard Street bridge.

brige over the Don River, earl spring, no snow or ice but no leaves yet on the trees, Don Valley Parkway, road, to the right of the river, looking north towards Gerrard street

below: Looking south along the Bayview Extension to the new development in the East Don Lands.

looking south on Bayview street from Dundas as it passes large metal hydro poles, also new development (condos) in East Don Lands, fire truck on road

below: Just east of the DVP a truck was offloading new cars including this black Rolls Royce.

a brand new black Bentley car being unloaded from a truck

below: Same car, looking east towards Dons Milk store

new rolls royce parked on the side of a street after being unloaded from a truck

below: Waiting for summer

a faded red canoe leans against a wood fence in a backyard

In the early 1950s, the City of Toronto began a new road project to extend Dundas eastwards from Broadview to Kingston Road to serve as a new four-lane traffic arterial, intended as an alternative to Gerrard and Queen. Nine streets were widened to form the new Dundas street and in some cases, alleyways were used to connect these streets, and this is clearly visible as garages and backyards continue to front on to Dundas near Jones Avenue.

row of garages facing onto the street, backs of houses and a very large tree

open garage door with a window at the back of the garage, other garage beside it has closed door, can also see back of the two houses

a blue bike leans against a chainlink fence, behind it is a piece of street art that says happy days are here again, with painting of a man walking

Dundas Street is a major thoroughfare in the city – there aren’t many family homes that front onto it.    Jones, other hand, is a residential street.  The houses are an eclectic mix, most of which are fairly modest – or less.

an open gate leading to an entrance, a few stairs up to a porch

below: Flat roofs on small, narrow rowhouses with tiny front yards.

two storey row houses with flat roofs,

below: Half white and half yellow.

a semi-divided house, one side white and the other side yellow

porches on houses

below: Once upon a time, Toronto street signs were these blue and white metal signs that were attached to the buildings on the corners.  They are hard to read from the street!  Beginning in the 1950’s they were replaced with the signs that we are more accustomed to seeing.  There are still quite a few of these old ones spread out around the city in older neighbourhoods.   It is rare to find a house with two signs.

two old Toronto street signs, blue metal, attached to a house at Jones Ave and Sproat Ave

below: An ad for W.N. McEachern & Sons Ltd. that appeared in the Toronto Star on 26 April 1912 (online source).   They developed a few areas in the east part of Toronto including Eastmount Park which was between Danforth and Gerrard on the east side of Jones.

newspaper ad from 1912 in the Toronto Star

row houses in brown, white, and grey

below: Near the corner of Jones and Gerrard, surprise, surprise, a hole in the ground.

a construction site, a hole in the ground, with backs of houses behind the find surrounding it

below: Before I end this post, one last cute little white house tucked in between two larger brick residences.

a tiny, narrow, two storey house beside a larger brick house

Safe walking everyone!

below: Sometimes I love fences!

a medium sized black dog stands behind a chain link fence beside a white pickup truck

a red truck parked in an alley with a lot of stuff beside it