Sunnyside Beach Bathing Pavilion - June 15, 1922 and Now

Last Sunday, Teena and I had lunch on the patio of the historic Sunnyside Beach Bathing Pavilion.

The pavilion opened to the public in 1922. It was built, according to a Globe article which ran the picture and is on the the Toronto Public Library website, as over 300,000 bathers visited the beach the year before.

Above is a photo of the pavilion taken on June 15, 1922. The building is still beautiful as this picture taken last Sunday shows. If I had known this picture would pop up on the Historic Photos from around Toronto website, I would have taken one.

This is one of my most favorite places to visit in the city. I'm glad nobody ever came up with the idea to have it torn down.

Doors Open - Old City Hall

Our third and final stop of the day for Doors Open was at Old City Hall. This is a building I have long admired. All the detail on the outside makes it one of the most beautiful and interesting buildings in the world. Built in 1899, it was almost demolished to make way for the Eaton Centre. Thankfully that never happened.

This is a building that every time I go by it, I spot a detail I have never noticed before. I plan to go back a few times this summer and concentrate on a single section of the building and photograph the all the detail.

It was great to have the opportunity to go inside as it is now used as a courthouse with lot's of security. Nobody is allowed inside unless they have business there.

Lions help to guard the entrance inside and out.

This is the great hall, shot from above. Usually security and metal detectors are at the front entrance way.

The architect E.J. Lennox put great detail into the interior too. The doorknobs all had the city's coat of arms on them and the top of the columns each had individual designs.

The huge stained glass on the staircase "The Union of Commerce and Industry" was done by Robert McCausland shows the progress of Toronto.

The original Council Chambers is now used as a civil court but none of the original features have been changed or removed. Desks and chairs have been added so it is a little crowded but I'm glad they left its original form. For security reasons photography was not allowed. Damn!

When we left, I had to take some shots of the faces that are all around the entrance. The story is that they are caricatures of city hall councilors of the day. E.J. Lennox did not get along with them and took the opportunity in his work to permanently make fun of them. I'll be back to take some closer shots in the future.

Teena and I both enjoyed the chance to get inside this great old building.

Doors Open - The Church of the Holy Trinity

Our second stop for Doors Open was the Church of the Holy Trinity tucked in behind the Eaton Centre. It was built back in 1847 for the poorer families of Toronto. Other churches in the city at the time catered to the more wealthy citizens of the city by charging  pew rentals. A generous donation of 5,000 pounds by an English woman Mary Lambert Swale and the land was donated by Colonel  John Simcoe Macaulay.

The church was almost torn down to make way for the Eaton Centre, which would have been a shame as it is well attended and a nice piece of architecture. It is quite beautiful inside.

Here is a view from the balcony above where the choir usually sings from. To get there, I was led up through the bell tower. Of course, I  pulled on the rope and rang the church bells. Teena did too when she went up.

The seats are the original seats from 1847.

Teena took much better pictures for her post which is here. The church was much bigger than I expected and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to explore it.

Doors Open - Massey Tower Presentation Centre

There are two beautiful old bank buildings on Yonge Street that have long sat empty and derelict. One of them is the old Canadian Bank of Commerce building located just above Queen Street across from the Eaton Centre. Finally something is being done with it. Behind this building, a 60 story condo called the Massey Tower will be built. The Bank of Commerce building will be left standing and serve as the entrance to the condo.

I think this is a great idea. Too many times buildings are knocked down and only the facade saved. I am for keeping the original building intact and re-purposing it's use, such as being done here.

Today Teena and I had a chance to view the interior as part of Doors Open Toronto, something I have always wanted to do.

It was disappointing that most of the interior had already been gutted. The wall coverings in the background is simply wall paper.

The cool thing though was that when the builders ripped up the linoleum flooring they found the original tile floor underneath, including the banks crest laid in the floor by the entrance

We saw a model unit called the Gordon Lightfoot Suite. It was 640 square feet and started at $456,000. Teena and I found it terribly small and no place for a TV. We live in a 750 square foot condo that is much more effectively laid out.

On each side of the outside of the building is engraved the date the bank was established and the date the building was built. It is something I love about older buildings.

It was an interesting tour. Now if we could just get into this place two doors north. Maybe someday!

Toronto Architecture - The Concourse Building

I was walking to work along Adelaide West, looked up and saw these Thunderbirds built into the top 16th floor of the building. I have seen this building before and thought it was cool. Then looking around the top of the building, I saw more beautiful colourful designs built in.

I just had to come back at lunch to take some pictures.

The Concourse Building stands at 100 Adelaide St W and was built back in 1928. It stands on a corner lot and 2 sides have great colourful designs and the west side has the Thunderbirds. Here is the view from Bay and Adelaide looking to the top east side of the building.

Here is the south side

 

Now, I don't know architecture but this is supposed to be an excellent example of Art deco and one of the few left in the city.

The doorway is quite colourful too.

 

In researching this building I found out there were plans to tear it down, plans that were approved by City Hall. What the hell were the dopes on council thinking. Now according to an article on Blog TO there are plans to just save the east and south facade and build an ugly building around it, and yes, it is ugly.

If your in the neighborhood of First Canadian Place, the building is across the street from it on the north side. Stop by, have a look and see why this would be such a shame.

Torontoist also has an article on this very bad idea.

Here is a look at the building the way it used to look and the way Oxford envisions it! Good God! What an ugly mess they want to make of such a good looking building. Bastards!

Downtown Toronto - 88 Years Ago and Today

I saw this on Historic Toronto Photos from Today website. This is looking north along Bay Street from Adelaide St back on this date, Saturday December 6, 1924. I love the cop with the traffic signal in the middle of the intersection. Seeing this I had to go out at lunch to the same intersection and take my own shot. Looks like everything on the west side of Bay is now gone. The Northern Ontario Building which is just being started still stands today. I hope you enjoy the comparison.