Toronto Laundromat Photos

It's been many years since I graced a laundromat with my presence. I remember them as dreary places to be avoided in all but the most dire emergency (i.e. I'd run out of clean or even slightly soiled underwear). I once had a boyfriend with access to a washing machine and I stayed with him longer than was good for me because being able to watch tv with my feet up while my dirty clothes cleaned up their act seemed like luxury in those bygone days.

Photo by byronjyu

Photo by byronjyu

Photo by Metrix X

More lovely Toronto laundromat photos at blogTO

Toronto of the 1960s

BlogTO has a huge collection of photos from Toronto's past. Here are a few from the 60s.

View from Cliffside Drive in Scarborough 1961

Gerrard Street ca. 1966

Skyline 1967

More photos of 60s Toronto here

501 Queen Streetcar

Photo: Toronto Star

When I first moved to Toronto I was advised to live either on the subway line or along the Queen streetcar route. The streetcar route offered cheaper options so I spent many of my early days in TO traveling on the Queen car. I lived in Parkdale, Leslieville, the Beach and finally High Park.
A few years ago National Geographic magazine named the route one of the best streetcar lines in the world. The 501 Queen Streetcar travels across Toronto from the Long Branch Loop  in the west to the Neville Park Loop in the east. The Toronto Star has a special section that takes you on a trip along the route.  
Visit some of my old haunts like the Horseshoe Tavern and others I've never been to like Wicked Club. Check out Dangerous Dan's Diner, a carnivore's dream. Read some poems.
I learned that there are 300,000 bees call the roof of  the Canadian Opera Company home.

Photo: Toronto Star

Photo Richard Lautens/Star
Author Robert Priest waits for the Queen streetcar while trying to keep out of the rain.

If you're visiting Toronto a ride on the 501 is one of the best ways to see the city.

Toronto explosion

Mr. Nag reports from the scene that there is unbelievable destruction and that he tried to lure a cat out of the basement of one the houses but no go..left a can of tuna and a bottle of water in a bowl.

What is proper attire for a booze can?

TheStar published an article today on the Brunswick House dress code which some are calling racist:

No Urban Wear (e.g., G-Unit, Phat Farm etc.)," reads one bullet. "No baggy pants," reads another. "No do-rags or bandanas," stipulates a third. Alongside rules about no tracksuits, jerseys or tank tops, there's an edict that baseball caps be worn forward only.
"Some dress wear, either hip-hop or urban or whatever ... is just not appropriate," says manager James Webb. "It can be intimidating. The last thing you want is anybody being uncomfortable in your place.

It just so happens that The Nag spent much of the 1970's getting wasted at The Brunswick. It was a very "relaxed" place, meaning we could do an inordinate amount of acting out there and no one would bat an eyelash. I was a tough little cookie and I wasn't put off by the vomit in the toilet stalls, the bad music or being groped by drunken strangers. I'll tell you what made me feel uncomfortable: a bellyful of pizza, wings, potato chips with sour cream and onion dip and quarts of cheap beer.

Snow In Toronto!

Via Squandrous

Toronto 1977-2007

A collection of photos of Toronto taken 30 years apart























Remarkably little has changed in Toronto since 1977. The trees have grown and the vehicles are modern but the streetscapes pictured here were ugly then and are ugly now.
This project reminds me of Christopher Rauschenberg's re-do of Atget's Paris photos.

T.O. Will Miss You, Honest Ed

Honest Ed" Mirvish, 1914-2007

Hues of huge proportions

CN Tower takes on a new look
Over the past week, the CN Tower has been testing its new $2.5 million lighting system after dusk. Ribbons of colour have spilled down the 553-metre-tall structure, ebbing and flowing like water.

Everyone needs at least one of these

Sam the Record Man's signature neon sign to be sold
Imagine this bit of hyperactive neon history flashing on your own front lawn!

Bye bye Sam the Record Man

Sam the Record Man finally signs off:

It was an iconic landmark in Toronto – both culturally and musically. Everybody who was anybody in Toronto went to Sam the Record Man on Yonge St. to get the latest music, hang out and, if you were lucky, maybe catch a glimpse of a burgeoning music star.

I spent many hours and lots of money at Sam's when I was young. It was a destination and it was easy to spend an afternoon checking out the acres of music, much of it unavailable anywhere else. I built up a prodigious collection of rock, blues, folk and country albums. In those days we listened to music with more diligence (I suspect pot may have enhanced the listening experience). Our record collections were important. It was a sign of true commitment when Mr. Nag and I finally got rid of our duplicate records after five years of cohabiting. When we moved to Niagara on the Lake from Toronto we decided we no longer had room for all the albums and sold off 80% of them at a garage sale. That was the end of something. This, too, is the end of something.




"

Toronto Design Guide!

Wanna shop, see art, eat/drink in Toronto? The Design*Sponge Toronto Design Guide tells you where to do it all.

Via Metafilter

And The Marquee Came Tumbling Down

My friend, Blogless Barry, who lives around the corner from The Revue, sent me this photo. Apparently the chains holding the sign gave way. I've blogged about the demise of this neighbourhood theatre a few times (here and here). Now that the sign is gone I guess it is truly au revoir.

A Piece of Toronto's History

For Sale
The Revue Cinema
400 Roncesvalles
Avenue
Toronto,

opportunity:
To acquire a landmark commercial property within the "Roncesvalles Village" area of Toronto. The property is ideal for users, investors, and in-fill developers looking to take advantage of the property’s prominence in this vibrant neighbourhood.

My buddy, Barry (so far blogless but that could change), sent me this real estate ad for the Revue Cinema, romantic haunt of the young Nag and Mr. Nag (I pray those walls can't talk!). It would be so cool to own the place although I know how hard it is to make a go of it with a small independent theatre.

TOBuilt

TOBuilt is a database of images and information about buildings and certain other structures in Toronto such as bridges, gates, lamp-posts, and statues. The general term 'buildings' is used on this website where 'structures' might be more accurate, but buildings is more user friendly and is accurate about 95% of the time.

I checked out my old neighbourhood, High Park, and got a kick out of viewing buildings I used to see every day, like the Runnymede Library which was right next door to where I worked.

Via Torontoist

So Long Revue Cinema

It comes with much heartache that we announce that the Festival Cinemas will cease operations of The Revue, Kingsway and Royal theatres at the end of June. It is because of your support we have been able to stay in business for almost 30 years, thank you.

This is sad news. When Mr. Nag and I were in the first throes of our romance, back in the days before VCRs and DVDs, we used to go out several times a week for vegetarian Indian food and then to the Revue to catch whatever was playing and to make out. We spent many happy evenings there. The loss of these neighbourhood theatres is symptomatic of a shift in Toronto - not for the better, I think. It's a shame.

The Suburban Amusement Company Ltd. built the Revue Cinema in 1911. Its original address was 320 Roncesvalles Avenue. At this time, much of the Parkdale/High Park was in its early stages of development. John Wright built (the very oldest house in this neighbourhood, on Wright Avenue, in the 1870s.)
The Revue has never closed in its eighty-some years, making it one of the oldest continuously running cinemas in the country.

A love-in for Miller, the board of trade and Layton's NDP

Will wonders never cease?
"Glen Grunwald, president of the Toronto Board of Trade, loves Jack Layton, Leader of the federal New Democrats. Mr. Layton is the one federal leader 'who has done most for the city lately,' Mr. Grunwald, the voice of the city's business community, announced this fall."