Posts Tagged ‘Yonge’

up and down, old and new, at Yonge and Bloor

Posted: June 11, 2016 in locations, old buildings
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Standing on the corner of Yonge & Bloor, looking south….  On one corner, a tower almost finished and on the other corner a tower another just started.  1 Bloor East and 1 Bloor West.

below: 1 Bloor East (7 photos)

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction, two men on a balcony, as well as a piece of plastic covering something part way up

below: The beginnings of an overhang at street level, NW corner of the building.

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction - reflections in the windows, looking up from the ground floor, the supports of an overhang at the first floor can be seen but the overhang itself is not finished

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction - parts of two adjacent buildings

below: The podium level as seen from the SW corner of the building.

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction - the edge of the podium levels as viewed from the street, looking up

below: The full height of the building is more easily seen from farther east on Bloor Street.

looking west along Bloor Street towards Yonge, with highrises on the left, and the overhang from the entranceway to the Marriott hotel on the right. people on the sidewalks as well as bright red umbrellas over seating at a patio.

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction - curves and diagonal lines as well as the usual rows of windows

below: As seen from across the street, under the protective covering over the sidewalk.

part of a glass wall of windows of a tall condo under construction as seen from under a covered walkway across the street
below: Once upon a time the old Stollerys store stood on the southwest corner.  Today it is a construction site wrapped in hoardings covered by a mural of a forest scene.  I’m not sure what they’re trying to say or who they’re trying to fool.  Oh well, it looks pretty for now.

looking across the Yonge Bloor intersection towards the south west corner where there is a construction site with hoardings covered by a green mural of trees. High rises in the background, a few people on the ocrner waiting to cross the intersection.

below: If you look behind the hoardings, you will see that all the buildings except one have been demolished.   No hole has been dug yet so it’s going to be a while before this tower is completed.  And when it’s completed it will be Toronto’s tallest condo building at 72 storeys.

view of a construction site where one old building remains, a digger is on the site as is a very large orange rubbish bin

Two blocks north, at Yonge & Yorkville, there is another hole in the ground.

below: The doors and windows of the old brick buildings on Yonge Street are boarded up.  These buildings date from the 1860’s.

Looking across the intersection of Yonge and Yorkville streets at a row of old three storey brick stores that now have their doors and windows boarded up.

below: Peek around at the back and you’ll see that the old stores have been demolished but their facades have been saved.  Again, this project is in it’s early stages and again, it’s going to be a tall one.  This time, 58 storeys tall.

construction site, orange fence, the back part of a row of old buildings has been demolished, facades saved, now they are all boarded up.

below: The stores have been stripped of their signs and decorations.  It looks a bit desolate at the moment but it will be interesting to see just what the developers do with the facade.

a woman walks on a sidewalk on Yonge St past old brick buildings with their doors and windows boarded up

below: No one can argue that the old buildings were in good shape.  At least there is an effort being made to preserve the front of the buildings.  Preserving some of our history is important and I think that the old architecture adds visually to the look of the street.

an old wood column decorative piece on the front of an old brick building

As I walk back down Yonge street towards Bloor, a sign catches my eye.  Another development proposal sign – Toronto’s most common sign I think.  This one is for a 64 storey building at Yonge and Cumberland.  Anyone feeling a touch of vertigo at the moment?

development proposal sign on Yonge street

 

 

 

on the corners of Yonge and Sheppard

Posted: March 17, 2015 in history, locations
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In the early 1900’s brothers George and William Dempsey bought a store on the northwest corner of Yonge and Shepard from the Sheppard family.  It became known as Dempsey Brothers.

 below: The store in the 1960s

An old black and white photo of Dempseys store which was on the NW corner of Yonge & Sheppard. It was a large 2 storey brick building with a porch across the front of the building. You can see Yonge St. in this photo and some of the old cars that were stopped at the intersection.

In 1989 the property was sold to developers but the store remained on that corner until 1996.  At that time it was moved a few blocks north to a site on Beecroft Ave; the site is now known as Dempsey Park.  The building was renovated and became the home of the North York Archives, an arrangement that didn’t last long.  In 1998 Mike Harris and the provincial Conservative government of the day amalgamated the old city boroughs into one City of Toronto.  North York ceased to exist and their archives merged with those of the new city.  Instead, the old Demspey Brothers store is home to Beecroft Learning Centre.

old Dempsey store, restored and now in a park setting. Two storey brick house with some yellow brick trim, porch that wraps around the front of the building. Surrounded by trees, winter time so no leaves and there is snow on the ground.

The restored Dempsey Brothers store, now at 250 Beecroft Avenue.

 

Where Dempsey’s once stood, there is now this….

Northwest corner of Yonge and Sheppard in March of 2015, low rise building angled across the corner with McDonalds and 7 11 stores. Tall apartment building behind. The intersection is of two 6 lane roads so it is big and wide.

… a 7 Eleven and a McDonalds. I doubt that anyone thinks “nice corner” when they look at it.

 

below: Looking southeast from the front of Dempsey Brothers store many years ago.

An old black and white photo from 1955 showing the intersection of Yonge and Sheppard. Not much development, an old car is waiting at a street light.

The billboard is an ad for Simpsons, a department store that is long gone.

 

For a long time, a grocery store stood where the billboard is in the above photo.  But now that corner is changing again.

 

below:  An attempt to replicate the location and angle of the above photo

Looking diagonally across an intersection towards two tall buildings with a midsize building with a curved front in between them.
below:  Looking south across Sheppard Ave. East at the north side new Hullmark Centre including the new subway entrance. 

looking at glass buildings where there is a lot of reflections. An entrance to Sheppard subway station is part of the building.

below:  Looking north up Yonge Street from just south of Sheppard Avenue.
The new Whole Foods store is the first building on the right.

view looking north on Yonge St. from just south of Sheppard Ave.
The southwest corner is also undergoing major changes.

below: The greenish coloured Emerald development is almost complete.  And yes, the tops of the buildings are meant to curve that way!

Two tall condos under construction beside a tall bluish colour commercial building. The condos are a greenish colour and they are curve outwards a bit at the top.

a section of Yonge Street

Posted: September 1, 2014 in locations
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Toronto is undergoing a massive amount of redevelopment these days.  When I walk around this city I see older buildings that I often wonder about – are they going to still be around in 2 years?  5 years?
….that is what happened yesterday when I was on Yonge St. between Bloor and College.  I took a few pictures, just in case these buildings disappear in the near future.

row of three storey buildings on Yonge St. Brick buildings with storefronts on the ground floor.

Looking south (and a bit west) from just below Bloor Street.

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At the intersection of Yonge & Wellesley.

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We’ll see what happens in the next few years!

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