This is the story of one building at one intersection, Yonge and Belsize (just south of Eglinton) but it’s also a story that is being repeated over and over again in the city. The story of demolition and rebuilding. The story of loss of the older wood and brick structures as they are replaced by glass and steel.
By December 2016 all of the businesses had closed down.
below: The back of the building
Just over a year later demolition began in earnest.
Sometimes when you search for one thing you find another.
The other day I posted pictures of the Cliffside murals in Scarborough. When researching, them I discovered that there are other murals in Scarborough thanks to Mural Routes. Of course, I had to go exploring!
Murals are often in parking lots or in alleys. Last weekend I found one in a cemetery. “Building the Addition to the Wesley Methodist Chapel, Highland Creek, Winter 1867” is on the side of a building that abuts the Wesleyan Methodist cemetery on the east end of Old Kingston Road.
below: Most of the mural. Design and artwork by John Hood , assisted by Alexandra Hood and Zeb Salmaniw, 1994. There is a small portion of the mural missing in this picture. On the right is a panel that tells the story of the mural.
This is what the words say:
The following is an extract from the ‘The Christian Guardian’, a Methodist newspaper:
Your numerous readers will be glad to hear of the success of the Wesleyan Methodist Church at the Highland Creek, on the Scarboro’ Circuit. The above church was found to be entirely too small for the accommodation of its increasing congregation. The friends therefore decided to put an addition to the church 18 feet by 24 feet. It was re-opened and dedicated to God by divine service last Sabbath…” Wm. Tredway, Scarboro Dec 20, 1867
This mural depicts this event as it may have appeared from the northeast corner of this cemetery, looking southwest, across Old Kingston Road in mid November of 1867.
below: The William Tredway mentioned on the mural opened his first general store at the corner of Eglinton Ave & Kingston Rd. In 1865 he sold it and started over with a store on Old Kingston Road at Morrish Road. It is this second store that is shown in the mural. Tredway sold that store in 1878 to devote himself to politics as well as a career as a Justice of the Peace.
below: The bronze plaque near the entrance to the cemetery.
“This Highland Creek burying ground dates back to the reign of George III prior to 1800. On this site stood Wesleyan Methodist Church 1865-1891 merged with Bible Christian Methodist Church 1863-1891 which became Centennial Methodist in 1891 and later Centennial United Church 1925, plaque erected 1967, Centennial of Canada’s Confederation by Centennial United Church of Canada and Wesleyan Cemetery Board. “
The cemetery consists of a 1/2 acre plot. Back in 1834 it was part of 500 acres that was acquired by Jordan and Melinda Post in trade for their 15 acres at King & Yonge. Some of the stones predate 1834 and as mentioned on the plaque, there was a burying ground here before 1800. The oldest stone might be that for William Pearce, son of John and Susan who died 18 Aug 1813 at age 11 years & 5 months. Local legend says it became a burial ground when a passenger on a passing stage coach died there.
Jordan Post (1767-1845) and his wife Melinda (nee Woodruff, abt 1780-1838) were both born in Connecticut but were married in York (Toronto) in 1804. Jordan was a watch maker and when he arrived in York in 1802 he was the first watch maker in the town. He had other businesses as well but he probably made most of his money speculating in land. In 1834 he moved to Scarborough township, to the location of this cemetery, where he built a sawmill. Both Jordan and Melinda are buried here along with an unknown number of others, including other Posts and Woodruffs. There are stones for 76 people including Ann (d. 1903) and Edward Littlejohns (d. 1887) pictured above.
below: An interesting juxtaposition – The real monument on the left is for Edith, infant daughter of Henry and Eleanor Lanktree, died 26 Sept 1872 at age 16 months. The bottom part of other stone also mentions Henry and Eleanor Lanktree but I can’t read the inscription on the top part.
The church is no longer there. It once stood next to the location of the mural with the cemetery around it. Today the cemetery is maintained by the community.
I thought that I would see if I could find door pictures today. When I first stepped outside, I wasn’t sure what that meant. I just knew that it was a beautiful day and that I would find an answer to my doorish quest. “Que sera sera” as Doris Day once sang.
Well, what is a door?
door: noun. A hinged, sliding, or revolving barrier at the entrance to a building, room, or vehicle, or in the framework of a cupboard.
doorway: noun. An entrance to a room or building through a door.
Well duh, I think most of us know what a door is, at least in the literal sense. As an image just a door on its own is often blah, B O R I N G. There are exceptions of course, but if that was all I was looking for today, I wouldn’t be taking many pictures.
I also think that most of us realize that “door” is so much more. We find them intriguing. Door metaphors abound. Open doors are opportunities and invitations, think “My door is always open”, or “When one door closes, another one opens”. Closed doors are mysteries, obstacles, or dead ends. We talk about not knowing what goes on behind closed doors.
below: Closed for good. No mystery here, just a dead end.
With a smile for being upside down.
A closing door has a slightly different imagery – “slam the door in his face”, or “show someone the door”, or “don’t let the door hit you on the way out”. Can you picture the scene in a movie where the hero walks into a strange room only to have the door close behind him. Can you see the look on his face when he hears it being locked from the other side?
Doors, and their cousins gates, are both entrances and exits. Entrances to buildings and rooms. Entrances to other worlds such as “at death’s door”. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture to illustrate ‘entrances to other worlds’.
below: But maybe this entranceway leads to something exotic? That’s a better explanation than ‘someone went to Home Depot and bought lots of cheap corrugated plastic’. It juts out like a sore thumb from an otherwise well maintained, nice looking house.
Doors are associated with privacy, protection, and control. We feel more secure when we lock our doors. Closed doors, especially locked ones, can keep things in or keep things out. Closed doors separate, open doors connect.
below: Waiting at the door. I can’t decide if he’s patient or impatient. Perhaps bored?
Back doors are private, hidden from view. The expression “through the back door” suggests sneaking around. Front doors are part of the face that we show the world. They can be welcoming or not, a lot like the people who live behind them.
below: Or they can just be a long way up. How are your knees feeling today?
below: A bright red chair brightens the picture. I wonder who usually sits there?
below: Another bit of cheerful red.
below: Another closed door waiting for demolition.
How many people have passed through those doors since 1913?
below: I’ve always been fascinated by the sign above this door.
below: This door seemed to be out of place on the Danforth… it’s an entrance to the apartment above, not to the hair salon on the left. I like to think that she keeps watch over the doorway.
below: These two doors (especially the green one) caught my eye as I walked along the Danforth. On my first pass I had the wrong lens on my camera. After changing lenses, I doubled back. Just as I was getting ready to take a picture of the two doors together, the one on the right opened. Dilemma – to shoot or not to shoot. I’m not brazen enough to shoot someone in the face so to speak; this over the shoulder and hope it works shot is only second rate (or third!). I only include here so I can briefly go off on a tangent and mention my #1 problem with door shots. People. Pointing my camera at someone’s house often makes me feel uncomfortable and I have no desire to have any kind of confrontation, even a friendly one.
below: What to do with leftover tiles.
below: A contrast in colours. The door is in the picture but it’s become just an element in the composition.
below: This is the last of the Danforth door photos that I took today. Again, the doors are just elements; the mailboxes provide the focus and the interest.
below: Doors are part of a building. What you can do with a door is often limited by the structure of the house.
Having said that, if you walk around the city there is a lot of variety. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go through all the permutations and combinations that I saw today! I’ll limit myself to a few (sometimes I can do that!).
below: A few stone steps lead to a simple white entrance.
below: A study in compare and contrast – the wonderful result of semis where next door neighbours with dissimilar tastes, habits, and decorating ideas share a common wall.
Many steps and many hours later I find myself nearing the end of this post. It’s been a bit of a ramble, both in the route that I walked today and in the thought processes that helped create this post. I hope that I have entertained you at least a little bit. And with one final photo I will close the door on this post. Last one out turns out the lights. Adios.
“Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.” John Barrymore
First, a big thank you for being welcomed into Gadabout to explore and take pictures. Gadabout is a store on Queen St East and it is home to “vintage clothing, nostalgia, ephemera, textiles and curios.” It is packed full of old things. Interesting things.
below: And when I say packed, I mean it! Floor to ceiling.
below: Who could resist a watering can purse? In pink even.
below: Containers and packaging for Mennen baby powder, 40 cents for J.R. for Athlete’s Foot, Silvo silver polish, a tire repair kit, 6-12 insect repellent, and wintergreen oil. The latter is used topically to relieve muscle aches and pains. It’s labelled as a poison as it is easy to overdose on it if ingested.
below: Knights Templar black bicorne hat with feather along with matching cuff.
below: All those drawers are filled with old photographs.
below: Vintage clothing
below: Fancy handbags and shoes.
Honest Ed’s
In 1948 Edwin Mirvish opened his ‘Honest Ed’s Famous Bargain House’ on the southwest corner of Bloor and Bathurst streets. Honest Ed’s was not only one of the first department stores in the city but also one of the first to offer discount prices on its merchandise.
below: Honest Ed’s, from across the intersection of Bloor and Bathurst streets.
photo taken 25 March 2015
below: The same intersection in 1948 when Honest Ed’s Famous Bargain House opened. As you can see, the exterior was covered with signs with humorous sayings from the beginning.
photo from Honest Eds store via a 2013 article in The Grid TO
Along with the discount merchandise, Ed Mirvish filled his store with pictures and posters, especially movie posters. The stairwell walls are covered.
You can buy almost anything at Honest Ed’s! Clothes, shoes, toys, household items, groceries, hardware, prescriptions, souvenirs, … and so on.
There are hundreds of pictures of actors and other famous (and no so famous!) people.
All of the signs in the store are hand painted. In March 2014, Honest Ed’s had a sale of all their signs and the profits ($17,000) from this sale were donated to Victim Services Toronto.
Another sign sale is scheduled for 11 April 2015 starting at 8 a.m. If you want to buy a sign, arrive early and expect to wait as it is a very popular event.
In October 2013, the property was sold to a developer but as you can see from the sign in the photo below, the store is still open. It will remain open until the end of 2016. It’s been open for 67 years and will remain open for another 21 months.
Honest Eds, a Toronto icon, at the corner of Bathurst and Bloor since 1948
Looking south from Bloor Street towards the parking lot behind Honest Eds.
There are a few murals on the buildings that back onto the parking lot.
Trumpet players on the back of the Victory Cafe at the corner of Markham and Lennox Streets
Woman with boxing gloves has been on the back of Trainers Fitness for a few years. The newer dog is painted on the back of A Leg Up Pet Services.
Purple behind Southern Accent restaurant and a mural painted by Christie Ossington Neighbourhood Centre through their LOFT program.
Fall colours in a lane near Queen West and Bathurst.
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sunny sunflowers
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autumn vine in front of a garage door
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A quiet corner of Mount Hope Cemetery in the late afternoon.
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parked in the alley
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shadows and grain
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straw men in the garden
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Bobs Garden Centre with pots of colourful autumn mums for sale
Their blog.
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Raining little yellow leaves in Scarborough
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leaves under the streetlights
as I walk Toronto 