queen street, toronto's urban treasure (excerpt)

$29.95

FISCHERARSENEAU

HUME

nimbus.ca

Fischer•Arseneau•HumeNIMBUS


In Toronto, all roads lead to Queen, thestreet of many colours. Starting in the eastat Neville Park, it cuts through the city allthe way to its western edge. Along the wayit passes through quiet residentialneighbourhoods, historic districts, high-riseenclaves and one of the most exciting andlively shopping areas in the world. MentionQueen Street to any Torontonian of any ageor background and he or she will tell you,it’s the place to be.

Lined with some of the city’s most imposingstructures, including both Toronto’s cityhalls, Old and New, as well countless low-rise buildings that are reinvented overand over again, Queen presents a differentface to every successive generation. Fortourists and locals alike, this is the streetthat never loses its appeal.

Fischer-QueenStreet_03-12_jacket 12-03-30 10:49 PM

In Toronto, all roads lead to Queen, the street of many colours. Starting in theeast at Neville Park, it cuts through the city all the way to its western edge. Alongthe way it passes through quiet residential neighbourhoods, historic districts, high-rise enclaves and one of the most exciting and lively shopping areas in theworld. Mention Queen Street to any Torontonian of any age or background and heor she will tell you, it’s the place to be.

Lined with some of the city’s most imposing structures, including both Toronto’scity halls, Old and New, as well countless low-rise buildings that are reinventedover and over again, Queen presents a different face to every successive generation.For tourists and locals alike, this is the street that never loses its appeal.

nimbus.ca

$29.95



Fischer-QueenStreet_03-12_cover 12-03-30 7:32 PM Page 1

Fischer-QueenStreet_03-12_end papers 12-04-02 9:49 AM Page 1

Fischer-QueenStreet_03-12_guts 12-03-31 9:03 PM Page 1

Copyright © George Fischer, Pascal Arseneau and Christopher Hume,2012

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may bereproduced or used in any manner whatsoever includinggraphically, electronically, mechanically or throughrecording or data storage systems without the priorwritten permission of the publisher or, in the case ofphotocopying or other reprography techniques, withoutthe permission of Access Copyright, 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1900, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E5.

Nimbus Publishing LimitedP.O. Box 9166Halifax, NS B3K 5MB902-455-4286

Printed in China

Graphics: Catharine Barker, National Graphics, Toronto, ON

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Fischer, George, 1954-

Queen Street : Toronto’s urban treasure / photos,

George Fischer, Pascal Arseneau ; text, Christopher Hume.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-55109-891-3

1. Queen Street (Toronto, Ont.)--History--21st century--

Pictorial works. 2. Queen Street (Toronto, Ont.)--Social life

and customs--21st century--Pictorial works. 3. Queen Street

(Toronto, Ont.)--Biography--Pictorial works. 4. Toronto

(Ont.)--History--21st century--Pictorial works. 5. Toronto

(Ont.)--Social life and customs--21st century--Pictorial works.

6. Toronto (Ont.)--Biography--Pictorial works. I. Arseneau,

Pascal, 1968- II. Hume, Christopher, 1951- III. Title.

FC3097.67.F58 2012 971.3'541050222 C2011-908716-2

DedicationSDedicated to my long time friend and publisher at Nimbus – DanSoucoup – who needed a little convincing but finally came aroundand without whom this book would not have been possible. Thanksand good luck in your retirement.

— George Fischer

To the firefighters at Kew Beach Fire Station No. 227, in particularLarry Lalonde for his dedication to preserving the history of thislandmark Fire Hall.

— Pascal Arseneau

To Eileen, Jessica and Alex.— Christopher Hume

AcknowledgmentsGEORGE FISCHER: First and foremost I would like to thankmy sponsors – Cary Green of Verdiroc Holdings. Ron Silversteinfrom Vistek and Bobby and Avi Ross of The Rex Hotel – all of theselong time Queen Street establishments were a major force inproducing this book.

To Ryan Fischer, Sean Fischer and Pascal Arseneau – thanks for thegreat photography and the time spent with me walking up and downQueen Street. To the tattoo model Kailey Miller and Lance Murray –thanks for allowing me the opportunity to photograph your artisticcreation. Thanks as well to David Liss from the MOCCA museumfor graciously allowing me to take interior photographs and to KarenGreen for modeling there. Sincere appreciation to Mike Geronimofor always having a fresh cup of Second Cup coffee and my favouritecookies available; and to my favourite restaurant, Epicure, to Mary-Ann Conly and Allison Dore. Thanks also to Harmony, whodanced for me at Jilly’s.

And as always – thanks to Jean Lepage for braving the cold winterdays to photograph the skaters at Nathan Phillips Square and toCatharine Barker for another great piece of work.

PASCAL ARSENEAU: I would like to thank the people ofQueen Street: the shop owners, the street lovers, locals and visitors.Especially, Chris and Christina Blougouras of Sweet Bliss BakingCompany, and Sharon Shoot of Chocolate by Wickerhead.

Additional CreditsSean Fischer: photos pages 14, 54, 67, 70, 80, 82, 91Ryan Fischer: photos pages 42, 66, 73, 81, 149Catharine Barker: photos pages 52, 63, 214, 222

Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, pages 32 and 33:Artwork in gallery by: Mat Brown, Jordan MacLachlan, Anders Oinonen, included in the exhibition Ineffable Plasticity.Exterior ants: Napolean Brosseau.


GEORGE FISCHERPASCAL ARSENEAUCHRISTOPHER HUME


Queen Street

Spadina AvenueBathurst Street

Ossington Avenue

Dufferin Street

Lansdowne Avenue

Jameson Avenue CAMH

The DrakeMOCCAGladstone

Cadillac Lounge

Trinity BellwoodsPark

Cameron House

HorsTa

St. Nicholas

The road to the heart of Toronto

runs along Queen Street. It may not be

the most imposing thoroughfare in

town, nor the longest, but it is the

liveliest, the most vibrant, successful,

and popular. More than any other, it is the street t

hat

defines Toronto, and that has led t

he way to the re-

urbanization of the downtown cor

e, a process that

continues today.

In contrast to many North American cities, especially in

the U.S., Toronto never emptied out during

the great

post-war, middle-class flight to the suburbs. T

hough large

swaths of downtown were abandon

ed to the poor, most

neighbourhoods remained intact if no

t entirely healthy.

But by the 1970s, when the transf

ormation of Queen

Street and Toronto began, suburb

ia was starting to lose

its appeal. The city beckoned.

The role of Queen Street in the revitalization of

the city

and, more importantly, of the idea of the city, ca

nnot be

underestimated. It became Toronto’s path to urbanity, its

route to the post-modern world of de

nsity and diversity.

That’s why for several decades, Queen has been m

ore

than a street, a way to get from one place to ano

ther. It is

the stage on which Torontonians h

ave

discovered a new way of inhabitin

g the

city. Queen Street raised possibilities

that still intrigue us.

But if Queen is the road to the future,

it’s also a direct link with the past.

As

one of the city’s oldest streets, it da

tes back to the

earliest days of the Town of York in

the late eighteenth

century. Originally known as Lot Street, it wa

s the main

east-west route along which the ci

ty was organized.

Large lots, each approximately one hundre

d acres, were

handed out to loyal servants of the

fledgling nation.

These huge properties extended n

orth from Queen to

what is now Bloor Street. Eventua

lly, these estates were

developed and a city would emerge.

From the start, Queen was a major thoroughfare. Horse-

drawn trolleys quickly appeared to

service the growing

population. They were eventually

replaced by primitive

electric streetcars, whose rather m

ore sophisticated

modern descendants still ply Queen today. As early as

the 1940s, city officials were talkin

g about constructing a

subway beneath Queen, but that wa

s not to be. Instead,

Toronto decided to stay with stree

tcars—or LRVs

(Light Rail Vehicles) as they are n

ow known. Running


UniversityAvenue

BayStreet Parliament Street

King Street East

BayviewAvenue

Don Valley Pkwy.

St. Patrick

StreetetRiverStreet

Jarvis

Street

ChurchStreet

Yonge Street

The Rex

CampbellHouse

HorseshoeTavern

CTV

OsgoodeStation

OsgoodeHall

Queen Station

NathanPhillipsSquare

EatonCentre

OldCityHall

CityHall

Four SeasonsCentre

St. Michael’sHospital

Moss ParkArmoury

Moss Park501

501

aaVistek Jilly

St. Paul's

The DominionHotel

twenty-five kilometres from east to

west, the Queen

Line, the 501, ranks among the mo

st celebrated in North

America. Regular users complain a

bout over-crowded

cars and traffic congestion, but the

route remains one of

the most heavily used in Toronto.

Despite its problems, the streetca

r knits the street

together in a way that no subway c

ould. And given

Queen’s endless variety, the sheer d

iversity of uses, the

need for surface connection canno

t be underestimated.

After all, Queen includes City Ha

ll (New and Old),

office towers, heritage buildings, lo

w-rise residential

neighbourhoods, high-rise housing

projects, shops, and

restaurants. Fortunately, the 501 p

erforms its task

brilliantly and manages to bring a s

ense of order and

coherence to the street.

The corner of Queen and Yonge, T

oronto’s main street, is

still among the city’s busiest. Build

ings are numbered,

both east and west, starting at Yon

ge. At its eastern

extremity, Queen is a quiet neighb

ourhood road, lined

with houses, parks, and local store

s. It

soon reaches the Beaches (the Be

ach to

purists), the lakeside neighbourho

od

much sought after as a place to liv

e and

play. The buildings here date largel

y

from the early decades of the twen

tieth century. The

most impressive structure, the R.

C. Harris Filtration

Plant, is better known as the “Palac

e of Purification.”

This extraordinary piece of archite

cture combines

Byzantine-style mosaics and Art D

eco flourishes not

usually associated with civic infrast

ructure.

The 1905 Fire Station 227, at 190

4 Queen Street East,

adds a note of elegance to the neig

hbourhood. Like the

filtration plant, it dates from a tim

e in Canadian history

when facilities such as this were se

en as fitting symbols

of a burgeoning civilization in the

Great White North.

We see infrastructure differently to

day—the cheaper the

better—but Toronto is fortunate t

o have a critical mass

of civic heritage, enough to make

things interesting.

Heading west from the Beaches, Q

ueen becomes almost

entirely residential. Modest two-storey

houses line much

of the street, which could be a qui

et neighbourhood road

at this point. But that soon change

s as Queen turns back

into a main artery. Sharp-eyed visi

tors will start to notice

the occasional roadhouse; typicall

y these are

nineteenth-century hotels built to

cater to

people arriving in Toronto from the

east.

Before the advent of the automob

ile and

the highway grid that drivers now

use,

Fischer-QueenStreet_03-12_guts 12-04-01 10:22 AM Page 5

Queen was one of the main routes

into the city. Look carefully and

you will notice examples at Leslie

Street, Broadview Avenue, and

further west at Sherbourne Street.

Though it’s Queen West that gets

most of the attention,

Queen East—let’s say from Leslie

all the way to

Parliament—now finds itself subje

ct to the forces of

gentrification. This is especially ev

ident east of

Broadview where Queen is lined b

y some of the city’s

most impressive architecture from

the 1800s. The old

Opera House and E. J. Lennox’s B

uilding are particularly

memorable, but so are the dozens

of red-brick structures,

low-rise and street-facing, that crea

te conditions ideal for

revitalization. The most impressiv

e local landmark,

perhaps, is the New Broadview Ho

tel at Queen and

Sherbourne. It dates from the 1890

s and is designed in

the Romanesque Revival style so p

opular in the late

nineteenth century, a time of enor

mous optimism in

Toronto. The same architecture can

be seen in Old City

Hall, that monument to Victorian s

elf-confidence, farther

west on Queen. Today, the hotel is

best known as the

home of Jilly’s, a retro strip club th

at has become a relic

of an earlier time. Though rumour

s of rehabilitation have

abounded for years, Jilly’s has so fa

r defied expectations

and dashed the hopes of the growi

ng army of arrivals

who inhabit the condos that have p

opped up throughout

the neighbourhood.

Crossing the Don River, Queen he

ads toward

Sherbourne, which, truth be told, r

emains one of

Toronto’s most unpleasant intersec

tions. No corner in

Toronto better presents the old im

age of the “inner-city,”

the abandoned core with its infras

tructure of poverty,

homelessness, and addiction. Yet e

ven here, changes are

underway: a row of condos march

ing up Sherbourne will

soon hit Queen and transform

this neighbourhood, too.

A few blocks west at Jarvis

Street, Queen enters the

downtown area. Handsomely renov

ated warehouses are

now full of offices. At Church Stre

et, Queen takes us

back to a time when the city was kn

own as Toronto the

Good, a conservative, God-fearing

community renowned

for its piety. Here, Metropolitan U

nited Church now

serves a grittier crowd made up of

the homeless and

marginalized who abound in these

parts.

But at Yonge, Queen assumes it ro

le as Toronto’s premier

shopping street. The Eaton Centre

, which runs north all

the way to Dundas Street, attracts

more than a million

visitors weekly. With a subway stat

ion at either end, it is

fully accessible by transit, which m

ight help account for

its enduring popularity. Constructe

d in several phases

starting in the late 1970s, the batt

leship-sized Eaton

Centre is one of the city’s great dr

aws for tourists and

locals alike.

From there, it’s only steps to the tw

o most important

buildings in Toronto, City Hall an

d Old City Hall. The

difference between the two is instr

uctive; the latter,

dating from 1899, looks to the futu

re by summoning the

past. By contrast, the former, com

pleted in 1965, is a

modern masterpiece. Not only is t

his one of the finest

and most expressive buildings in T

oronto, it stands

among the great city halls in the w

orld. Nathan Phillips

Square, in front of City Hall, wher

e Torontonians ring in

the New Year and mark significan

t occasions, is the heart

of the city, a place set apart.

After that comes the neo-classical

elegance of Osgoode

Hall, an early nineteenth-century c

ourthouse and one of

Toronto’s oldest buildings. Its unus

ual twisting gates,


originally designed to keep cows o

ut, are still intact, as is

the small, bucolic park inside.

At University Avenue, Toronto’s Ch

amps-Élysées,

Queen becomes Queen Street We

st, or simply, Queen

West. When it went from being the

centre of old

industrial equipment and end-of-lin

e textiles to the new

Bohemia and cultural hub, the sta

ge was set for the

re-urbanization of the city. In retro

spect it’s clear that the

conditions were in place—public t

ransit and cheap

accommodation, compactness and

diversity. Thirty years

later, the chains have moved in and

Queen Street has

lost much of its funkiness. It has b

ecome more corporate

and, therefore, more predictable. S

till, the forces of

gentrification have not succeeded

in killing the eclectic

vitality of the street, which survives

in cafes, bars,

and restaurants such as The Rex, Q

ueen Mother,

Rivoli, Horseshoe Tavern, and Pete

r Pan, all

Toronto institutions.

One result of this commercial onsl

aught is that Queen

West has moved even farther west

. By the early 2000s, it

had reached as far as Dufferin Stre

et. In the process, a

pair of run-down nineteenth-centu

ry hotels—the Drake

and the Gladstone—were given to

p-to-bottom remakes.

Both are now artistic and social hu

bs, with rooms

designed by local artists.

Even the Centre for Addiction and

Mental Health, long

a blight on Queen as it runs throu

gh Parkdale at

Ossington Street, has been integra

ted into the urban

fabric. Since the late nineteenth c

entury when the first

Provincial Lunatic Asylum was con

structed, the site has

been isolated, a place set apart fro

m the larger

community. Today the complex is

being rebuilt as a fully

incorporated part of the neighbou

rhood. New streets

now extend south from Queen to f

orm new blocks. The

idea, of course, is to do away with

old distinctions about

who belongs in the city and who do

esn’t.

West Queen West, as it’s known, h

as brought the energy

of earlier times to a long neglected

stretch of the street.

Though the building stock tends to

be run down, that’s

quickly changing. In fact, Queen i

s lined with handsome

structures that provide housing as

well as retail

opportunities. Further to the west,

Queen becomes

increasingly residential; the landsc

ape here feels more

celebratory. With Lake Ontario su

ddenly visible across

the road, these buildings—mostly

apartments and

houses—have a direct connection

with the water. The

result is a kind of holiday architect

ure, less dignified

perhaps, but also more entertainin

g. The heyday of

Sunnyside Amusement Park, a po

pular destination on

the edge of the lake at Roncesvalle

s Street torn down in

the 1950s to make way for the elev

ated Gardiner

Expressway, is long over, but its sp

irit survives on Queen.

Beyond that, Queen moves into th

e post-war city. The

501 streetcar continues west throu

gh Etobicoke to the

border with Mississauga, but the t

opography differs

wildly. Buildings no longer need to

address the street and

roads become highways. Queen tu

rns into the

Queensway and urban gives way to

suburban.

That, too, will change. The challen

ge will be to create

streets like Queen, streets that can

carry the lifeblood of

the city as happily as they do traff

ic. The brilliance of

Queen lies in its ability to connect

disparate parts of the

city both in space and time. Old an

d new, big and small,

residential and corporate, sacred a

nd profane, Queen

embraces it all—and with a style a

nd vitality unmatched

not just in Toronto, but Canada.


WEST QUEEN WEST

West Queen West is a livingdemonstration of urban renewalas done from the bottom up.


9West queen West

This is the new frontier, the stretch of QueenStreet where urban revitalization meets urbandecay. The results can be fractious, but as theforces of gentrification gain strength, the long-overlooked charms of the area have beenrevealed for all to see. The quality of thehousing stock in these parts leaves renovatorsdrooling. Parkdale, a late-19th-centuryneighbourhood built to accommodateToronto’s burgeoning haute bourgeoisie, fellinto disfavour starting in the 1950s. Cut offfrom Lake Ontario by an elevated highway, theGardiner Expressway, Parkdale was also avictim of suburban flight. Queen becamerundown; its abandoned mansions were turnedinto flophouses. Many were demolished tomake way for cheaply constructed apartmenttowers that exacerbated the decline. By thebeginning of the 21st century, the very nameParkdale was synonymous with inner-citypoverty and crime.

At the same time, however, youngTorontonians were rediscovering theneighbourhood’s charms. Old landmark hotelssuch as the Drake and the Gladstone werereinvented as cultural and entertainment hubs.With their rejuvenation in the mid-2000s, 50

years of neglect came to a grinding halt. Linedwith impressive two- to four-storey buildings –shops at ground level, apartments above –Queen is ideally suited to the urbanenvironment. This basic configuration allowsfor each generation to make of the street whatit wants. The artists and designers who arrivedhere starting in the late 1990s did their jobwell, perhaps too well. The issue now is how tokeep this extraordinarily creative precinctintact while allowing growth to occur, adifficult balancing act in any city.

Also of special note is the on-goingredevelopment of the Centre for Addictionand Mental Health at Queen and Shaw.Dating from the mid-1800s, this was theToronto Lunatic Asylum, a fortress-likestructure hidden behind an enormous brickwall. By contrast, the new complex, whichreflects more contemporary attitudes, hasbeen opened up and fully integrated into thelarger community.

Pedestrian-scaled and wildly varied, rich inheritage architecture and modern design, WestQueen West is a living demonstration of urbanrenewal as done from the bottom up.

1PARKDALEVILLAGE

RONCESVALES VILLAGE

BEACONSFIELDVILLAGE

Bathurst Street

Ossington Avenue

Dufferin Street

Lansdowne AvenueRoncesvalles Ave

nue

King Street WestJameson Avenue

CAMH

The DrakeMOCCAGladstone

Cadillac Lounge

Trinity BellwoodsPark

St. Nicholas


10 West queen West


11West queen West


13West queen West


14 West queen West


15West queen West


17West queen West


18 West queen West

GLADSTONE HOTEL – This imposing landmark structure at thecorner of Queen and Dufferin St. opened in 1889 to serve theParkdale train station across the road. Now the longestcontinuously operating hotel in Toronto, it was purchased by theZeidler family in 2000. They renovated the building and turned itinto an arts hub, a place where musicians and artists show off theirstuff. The dignified red-brick heap, a Romanesque beauty, hasnever looked better.


19West queen West

DRAKE HOTEL – Hard to believe that the Drake Hotel as weknow it today has only been around since 2004. But in a few shortyears, this old building, which opened in 1890 as Small’s Hotel, hasbecome an important cultural hub. With rooms designed by localartists, this hugely popular venue has helped revive a stretch ofQueen West that is now transformed. A happy mix of history andcontemporaneity, the Drake was the first such place to harness theenergy of the Toronto arts scene.


20 West queen West


22 West queen West


24 West queen West


25West queen West


26

The elegant eight-storey building now under construction at the southwest corner of Queen Street West andOssington Avenue is the first non-CAMH, private sector building to be developed on leased lands in the revitalizedCAMH Urban Village.

AndCo Architects designed the building to meet the needs of excellent design and affordability, to act as a gateway tothe renewed CAMH community and to create an urban village that is integrated into the neighbourhood at large.Verdiroc Development Corporation and Greenwin Inc. partnered with Forum Equity Partners Inc. in giving back tothis Queen St. community. This continues Greenwin/Verdiroc’s 65-year building history in Toronto.

West queen West


27West queen West


28 West queen West

THE CENTRE FOR ADDICTION AND MENTAL HEALTH – Few sites do a better job illustrating how attitudeshave changed over time. The original complex was an ominous 19th-century structure set behind a huge brick wall. Themessage was clear: Stay away. Its remains now form the backdrop to a new series of modernist buildings fullyconnected to the city beyond. What was once carefully hidden away from public view is now happily integrated intothe larger neighbourhood.


TRINITY PARK –The epitome of theurban green space,Trinity is one ofToronto’s mostactive parks, agenuineneighbourhoodamenity andgathering place forall. Laid outoriginally as thegrounds of TrinityCollege, whichopened in 1852,the expansive sitestill has an aura ofVictorian gentilityabout it. Theschool eventuallyjoined theUniversity ofToronto and in the1950s, the buildingwas demolished,the first of manyheritage structuresto be torn down.The gates at thesouth entrance areall that remains ofthe college.

30 West queen West


MOCCA – Installed in a post-war textile factory, the Museum of ContemporaryCanadian Art is the only visual arts institution of its sort in Toronto. Since relocating from the suburbs of North York at the beginning of 2005, MOCCAhas made significant contributions to the cultural and artistic landscape of theWest Queen West neighbourhood. It has become a major player on the city’sartistic scene evolving alongside the emerging culture and vibrancy of thedistrict. It’s also part of the wave of new development that has changed the faceof Queen St. and brought new life to a long-neglected neighbourhood.


33West queen West


34 West queen West


36 West queen West


39West queen West


40 West queen West


43West queen West


45West queen West


46 West queen West


48 West queen West


49West queen West


50 West queen West


52 West queen West

The Tiger Sharks rock the Cadillac Lounge.


queen west

St. What began as an artists’

colony ended up a fashionableplace to live, work and play.


QUEEN STREET

This is where Queen Street changedToronto. It is a process that continues butwhich has already remade the face and feel ofthe city. That transformation, which started inthe late 1970s, has taken the usual route.What began as an artists’ colony ended up afashionable place to live, work and play.Happily, even the deadening effects offranchised retail and corporate brandinghaven’t yet managed to kill the street’sremarkable effervescence. Though not knownfor its architectural landmarks, Queen Westhas a continuity and sense of rhythm that feelprofoundly in sync with the pace of walking.Storefronts, which are generally between 4.5 and 7 metres (15 to 22 feet) wide, sit closeenough to one another that they create astrong and engaging streetscape.

Queen West is commercial landscape; thatmeans most interest is focused on what’shappening on the ground floor. But those whomake the effort to look up will find it’s worththe effort. Richly decorated gables andelaborate bay windows are the legacy ofVictorian optimism in Toronto. The north sideof Queen east of Peter St., for instance, is oneof the great remaining blocks of an earlier era.

Here, steeply peaked roofs and multi-colouredmasonry facades speak of a deep and growingfaith in the city.

Unbeknownst to them, Toronto’s forefathersbuilt a closely-knit, fully coherent, urban realmthat remains viable to this day. There’s nobetter example than the CTV TV studios at299 Queen (on the southeast corner of John St.). Constructed in 1912 as theheadquarters of the Methodist Church ofCanada, this exquisite neo-Gothic weddingcake is clad in white terracotta. The century-old structure has been updated and turnedinto a giant television studio; even the parking lot with its landmark news truckbreaking through the east exterior wall, iscamera-friendly.

West of Bathurst, the architectural qualitydrops off, but not the appeal of the street,which remains diverse and utterly compelling.The imposing south entrance to Trinity-Bellwoods Park, refurbished in the mid-2000s,is all that remains of Trinity College,demolished in 1950, a time when heritagebuildings were dropping like flies across North America.

2ART & DESIGN

DISTRICT

TRINITY BELLWOODS

FASHION DISTRICT

SOHO

55QUEEN west

Queen Street

Spadina AvenueBathurst Street UniversityAvenue

BayStreet Parliament Str

St. Patrick

Streetet

Jarvis

Street

ChurchStreet

Yonge Street

The Rex

CampbellHouse

Cameron House

HorseshoeTavern

CTV

OsgoodeStation

OsgoodeHall

Queen Station


EatonCentre

OldCityHall

CityHall

Four SeasonsCentre


Moss ParkArmoury

Moss Park501

501

aaSt. Nicholas


Looking west across University from the roof of the Sheraton Hotel.

The 501 Queen runs 24.8 kilometres – the longestroute on the TTC, and one of the longest streetcarroutes in North America.


63QUEEN west

As any self-respecting graffiti artis

t would tell you, graffiti should no

t under any circumstances be

confused with tagging. The latter is

a mindless marking of property; t

he former is art. Or so one hopes.

Some practitioners are better than

others, of course, but as a cultura

l sub-genre, graffiti has come in

from the cultural cold. A handful

of artists even manage to make a li

ving at their craft. Those few

locations where spraying is legal ar

e ideal places to see that state-of-th

e-art form. The context may be

rough, the results are anything but

.


64 QUEEN west

The recent popularity of tattooing could probably have been predicted.Along with body piercing and plastic surgery, body painting offers ampleevidence of the primal urge to adorn ourselves. Just as Queen Street Westhas been appropriated by the mainstream retailers, tattoos have becomerespectable. They have also become ubiquitous; maybe that’s why parlourssuch as this have survived Queen’s transition into the 21st century so well.First it was kids who were interested; now it’s their parents.


65QUEEN west


69QUEEN west


71QUEEN west


72 QUEEN west


74 QUEEN west


77QUEEN west


80 QUEEN west


CAMERON HOUSE – Except for the giant ants crawling up the walls, it would be easy to miss this drab butlegendary club/hotel. The three-storey red-brick building was essential to the phenomenon that became Queen StreetWest. In its heyday, this run-down heap was the pre-eminent artists’ bar in Toronto. As a cultural and social hub, itsimportance was huge. Artists, musicians and writers gravitated to its shabby but vibrant spaces. The scene has sincemoved on, but the Cameron lurches on.


83QUEEN west


85QUEEN west


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92 QUEEN west


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98 QUEEN west


99QUEEN west


100 QUEEN west


101QUEEN west

THE REX HOTEL – One of Toronto’s most celebrated jazz clubs, The Rex has a long andcolourful history that goes back all the way to the 19th century. A fixture on the Queen Streetscene for generations, The Rex is an extremely popular musical venue.

Family owned over three generations, The Rex has morphed from a working man’s beverageroom and neighbourhood rooming house into a live jazz and blues mecca and a friendly littlehotel providing a comfortable and interesting alternative to the standard accommodationavailable in the heart of downtown.

With its outdoor patio and handsome red-brick facade, this is one of those buildings that hasmanaged to find new meaning in the 2000s.

Owner Bobby Ross


102 QUEEN west


103QUEEN west

CAMPBELL HOUSE – One of the oldest buildings in Toronto,this marvellous 1822 Georgian house has lost none of its dignityin the intervening years. Built further east in what was then theTown of York, the Palladian mansion was dug up and trucked toits current location at Queen and University Avenue in 1972.The move helped focus attention on the wholesale destructionof Toronto’s heritage architecture then in progress.


104 QUEEN west

BELL MEDIA BUILDING – Clad in creamy terracotta,this exquisite Gothic Revival palace opened in 1913 as theheadquarters of the Methodist Church. Its richly decoratedfacades tell an eloquent architectural story that connectsthe building to medieval precedents. By the late 1980s,however, the building had been transformed into a giantstudio for CITY-TV. In the process, it also became one ofthose sites where crowds gathered regularly to watch whatwas happening inside.


105QUEEN west


107QUEEN west


DOWNTOWN

New City Hall, including Nathan Phillips Square, has become

the true civic heart of Toronto.

U

C


109Downtown

QUEEN STREET

Queen St. doesn’t have one City Hall; ithas two, Old and New. Situated on the northside of the street east and west of Bay St.,these two buildings are a study in contrasts.Though each is remarkable in its own way, thepair couldn’t be more unlike one another. Theolder of the two, which Torontonians still callOld City Hall, opened in the last days of the19th century. Designed by Toronto’s mostfamous architect of the time, E.J. Lennox, inthe Romanesque Revival style, it wascontroversial at first, mainly because of costs.

By the time New City Hall opened in 1965,Toronto was a community transformed. Morethan any other single building, this dramaticNeo-Expressionist essay, the work of Finnisharchitect Viljo Revell, brought Toronto intothe modern age. Almost 50 years after itscompletion, Revell’s masterpiece still lookslike a harbinger of architecture yet to come.With its circular council chamber, surroundedby two curved towers, this unique complex,including Nathan Phillips Square, has becomethe true civic heart of Toronto.

Directly west, Osgoode Hall, started in 1832,is a stately neo-classical structure originally

built as headquarters for the Law Society ofUpper Canada. It has been added to over thedecades, but retains its early 19th-centuryflavour, most notably in the green park inwhich its sits. The wrought-iron fence andgates that surround the building are ahighlight. The entrances, which locals call“Cow Gates,” are said to have been designedto keep out wandering bovines.

Across the road, on the southeast corner ofQueen and University Ave., is the FourSeasons Centre for the Performing Arts.Though its acoustics have been universallypraised, Toronto’s new opera and ballet housereceived mixed reviews when it opened in2006. Somewhat less than spectacular, itmakes modesty a virtue.

Also of interest are the Eaton Centre, a 1970sshopping centre that mixes elements of theGalleria in Milan and a typical suburban mall.It faces south onto Queen, and towards ahandsome Chicago Style department storenow occupied by the Hudson’s Bay Company.

3ENTERTAINMENT

DISTRICT

CORKTOWN

MOSS PARK

UniversityAvenue

BayStreet Parliament Street Broadview A

King Street East

BayviewAvenue

Don Valley Pkwy.

RiverStreet

Jarvis

Street

ChurchStreet

Yonge Street

CampbellHouse

OsgoodeStation

OsgoodeHall

Queen Station


EatonCentre

OldCityHall

CityHall

Four SeasonsCentre


Moss ParkArmoury

Moss Park501

501

aaVistek Jilly’s

St. Paul's

The DominionHotel

The Real Jerk


110 Downtown

OSGOODE HALL – This imposing Georgian complex dates back to the 1830s. As the home of the Law Society ofUpper Canada, it provides a fitting architectural expression of the legal profession and, indeed, of the legal systemitself. Richly embellished interiors speak of an earlier age, a time when the idea of gravitas was taken very seriously.Sitting in a magical lawn surrounded by one of the city’s most imposing wrought-iron fences, Osgoode Hall remainsa vital part of modern Toronto.


OLD CITY HALL –Designed by E. J. Lennox,the most prominent architectin 19th-century Toronto, thisRomanesque Revival heapcrowns the “Bay StreetCanyon” now as it did whencompleted in 1899. A rousingsymbol of civic optimism, thiswas Toronto’s City Hall untilNew City Hall replaced itnext door. Though themassive sandstone structurecame close to being torndown in the 1970s, it is nowfirmly established as one ofToronto’s most belovedbuildings, its future secure.

114 Downtown


116 Downtown


118 Downtown

Stained glass windows, Old City Hall


119Downtown


NEW CITY HALL – This isthe building that changedhow the world viewedToronto and how Torontoviewed itself. Opened in1965, it made the citymodern. Set back fromQueen Street facing NathanPhillips Square, this is a rareexample of a civic space thatreally serves its purpose.Torontonians ring in the NewYear here. Families comehere to skate, attend concertsand gawk. Formal yetinviting, New City Hallcomes closer than any otherpiece of architecture toexpressing the meaning of acivic democracy.

120 Downtown


121Downtown


122 Downtown


123Downtown


124 Downtown


125Downtown

THE EATON CENTRE – Toronto’s most popular downtown mall, this battleship-sized shopping centre offers one ofthe great commercial spaces in the city. Architect Eberhard Zeidler, inspired by the Galleria in Milan, created asoaring atrium large enough to accommodate a whole flock of carved Canada geese. Accessible from two subwaystations, it attracts over one million visitors weekly. That makes it one of Toronto’s most popular spots. Recentadditions along Yonge St. have made it more accessible than ever.


128 Downtown


129Downtown


130 Downtown


131Downtown

ST. MICHAEL’S HOSPITAL – This nondescript building, hidden behind an emergency entrance for ambulances, hasemerged as a major presence on Queen. Located just east of Yonge St., it is the ultimate downtown health care facility.Recent additions – the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and the Keenan Research Centre – have helped bring thehospital into the modern age.


135Downtown


136 Downtown

RICHARD BIGLEY HOUSE – Constructed by carpenter Richard Bigleyin the 1870s, this wonderful downtown building is a reminder thaturbanism did not begin with us. With its oversized bay windows andextensive architectural detailing, Bigley’s place has lost none of its charm.In 1999, it was converted into “hard lofts,” and remains a part of the cityto this day. Popular with photographers, this is one of Toronto’s mostphotogenic addresses.


138 Downtown

In 1878, Robert Davies, a member

of a prominent brewing

family, built the Dominion Brewery

on the corner of Queen

and Sumach Streets, then the hea

rt of Toronto’s brewing and

distilling district known as Corkto

wn. Throughout the late

1800s and until its closing in 1936

, the Dominion

brewed world-famous ales and lage

rs.

Vistek, Canada’s largest profession

al and video

store, moved to the east section of

the building

in 1993. In 2010, after spearheadi

ng an

extensive renovation project, Viste

k moved

their executive offices to the west

building

and now occupies more than two-

thirds of

this historic landmark.


140 Downtown

THE DOMINION HOTEL –This 1889 building was one of anumber of hotels built alongQueen Street when it was themain road into town. Today ithas been resurrected as a jazzclub and restaurant. Though offthe beaten track, the formerhotel would be a noticeableelement in any location. Here itserves as a reminder of a timewhen Queen St. E. bustledwith visitors and activity. Theneighbourhood has evolvedinto something moreresidential, a place to liverather than stay.

Satin Dolls performing at the Dominion on Queen.


145Downtown


146 Downtown

MOSS PARK ARMOURY


150 Downtown


151Downtown


152 Downtown


153Downtown


154 Downtown


leslieville

These days, Queen East isquickly evolving into a

fashionable area…

st

Do


157leslieville

QUEEN STREET

East of Yonge St., which divides Torontonorth/south up the middle, Queen continuesto be diverse and varied. The office towersthat line the street at Yonge quickly give wayto hospitals and then, at the aptly namedChurch St., to several impressive 19th-centurycathedrals – St. Michael’s (1848) andMetropolitan United, known as the“Cathedral of Methodism” when it opened in1872. Both structures show signs of decay andare in need of cleaning, but neither has lost itsneo-Gothic splendour, hidden though it maybe under many decades of grime.

East of Church, Queen retains many of itsoriginal buildings, though some have beenpainted garish colours to serve the marketingneeds of their new owners. The two pizzajoints at Church – one covered in a coat ofyellow paint, the other in orange-and-whitetiles – are examples of the fate that can befallheritage sites in such a fast-changing city.Beyond that, Queen enters a stretch thatawaits rediscovery. The corner of Queen andSherbourne St. has seen better days, thoughantique lovers will want to check out the block

west of the intersection where numerousdealers peddle their wares.

The large green space across the road on thenorth side of Queen is Moss Park Armoury,not an architectural icon, but a landmark.Continuing along Queen, the landscapebecomes more residential, a row of workers’cottages can be seen on the south side west ofRiver St. Once Queen crosses over the DonRiver, it returns to a more commercialorientation. Though it hasn’t been fashionablefor many decades, the intersection of Queenat Broadview Ave. is a gateway to Leslieville, aneighbourhood awash in superb architecture,much of its overlooked. The Opera House(1909), the former Postal Station G (1913)and the old Bank of Commerce (1905) arethree examples of the high quality of designcharacteristic of the neighbourhood’s early years.

These days, Queen East is quickly evolvinginto a fashionable area whose shops,restaurants and various attractions haveattracted the attention of a larger audience.Though it has yet to reach the stature ofQueen West, there’s every reason to believethat will happen. It’s only a matter of time.

4QUEEN

BROADVIEWVILLAGE

GARDEN DISTRICT

RIVERSIDE

Jones AvenueCoxwell Avenue Kingston

Broadview Avenue

st

BayviewAvenue

Don Valley Pkwy.

RiverStreet

JimmySimpsonPark

WoodbinePark

JonathanAshbridge Park

Jilly’s

The Real Jerk


160 leslieville


162 leslieville


164 leslieville


165leslieville


166 leslieville


167leslieville


168 leslieville


170 leslieville


171leslieville


172 leslieville


173leslieville


176 leslieville


180 leslieville

THE REAL JERK – This pioneeri

ng

restaurant was one of the first to

introduce Jamaican cooking to

Toronto. That was almost thirty ye

ars

ago; since then the eatery at Queen

and Broadview has become a fixtu

re.

Installed in an old neighbourhood

bank built in the 1970s, the popul

ar

eatery helped turn around the

fortunes of this east-end intersecti

on.

Perhaps as a result of its own succ

ess,

the Real Jerk’s own future at this

location is now threatened.


182 leslieville


184 leslieville


185leslieville


186 leslieville


188 leslieville


190 leslieville

JILLY’S – This dignified but playful building, officially theNew Broadview Hotel, has seen better days; though it stillfunctions as a hotel, it’s best known locally as the home ofJilly’s, one of Toronto few remaining strip clubs. Constructed in1893, the four-storey Romanesque hall has been an east-endlandmark for more than a century. As the neighbourhoodcomes under pressure from the forces of gentrification, Jilly’sdays would appear to be numbered. Who knows what fateawaits the building?


191leslieville


THe Beach

…this primarily residentialarea has a feel unlike any

other in the city.

C

k


193the beach

Unique among Toronto neighbourhoods,the Beach community is the one whoseconnection to Lake Ontario is central to itsidentity. For that reason, this primarilyresidential area has a feel unlike any other inthe city. Wandering the side streets that extendnorth and south from Queen, one can seehouses originally built as cottages, recreationalproperties situated to take advantage of thewaterfront location. And, yes, there really is abeach. Indeed, there are several, all accessibleand though many would feel leery aboutactually getting their feet wet, city officialsinsist the water is clean and safe for swimming.

Still, for most Torontonians, the appeal of theBeaches is the Queen St. commercial stripthat extends east of Woodbine Ave. almost toNeville Park, where the old City of Torontoended and the old Borough of Scarboroughbegan. That also happens to be the site of theextraordinary R.C. Harris Water TreatmentPlant. This remarkable structure, whichbecame operational in 1941 but remains a vitalelement of the urban infrastructure, is knownlocally as the “Palace of Purification.”

By contrast, the bulk of the architecture hereis not nearly as grand as the plant. Harris’

heroic scale and exotic architecture contrastwith the humble, mostly two- and three-storeysemi-detached houses that make up theneighbourhood. The heavy presence ofbeaches and parks gives the area a holidayatmosphere not found anywhere else in thecity. Though the architecture along Queen isnot uniformly of the highest quality, it hardlymatters. The attraction of the Beaches lies inthe sheer variety of what’s available. Thiscontinues to be a part of town whereindividual merchants outnumber the retailchains with which we are so familiar.

As is so often the case in turn-of-the-centuryToronto, the major buildings are those thatserve a larger societal purpose. The delightfulFire Station No. 227, for example, dates from1905 but is also still in active service. Keep inmind, however, that it was designed toaccommodate horse-drawn fire engines. Inmany respects, the neighbourhood has hardlychanged since then. Though new developmenthas occurred, the Beaches remains defiantlylow-rise. The condo towers that define somuch of the city are nowhere in evidencearound here. The result is that Queen East hasa pleasant retro feel, something that seems togrow more important with the passage of time.

5THE BEACH

FALLINGBROOK

RIVERDALE

Coxwell Avenue Woodbine AvenueKingston Road

Victoria Park Avenue Fallingbrook

Road

WoodbinePark

k KewGardens

St. Aidan’sThe Fox

Fire Station227

R.C. HarrisWater Filtration P

lant


196 the beach


Toronto can consider itself blessed

with a number of superb fire stati

ons

dating from the late 19th and early

20th centuries. With their clock tow

ers,

large arched entrances and elabor

ate architectural detailing, these

buildings are much beloved throu

ghout the city, each one a neighbo

urhood

icon. Fire Station 227, completed

in 1905, is an especially celebrator

y

example. Recently restored, it date

s from a time when firefighting

equipment was drawn by horses. T

he station remains in use today.


200 the beach


201the beach


202 the beach


203the beach


205the beach


206 the beach


208 the beach


209the beach


210 the beach


211the beach


R. C. HARRIS WATER FILTRATION PLANT –Dubbed the Palace of Purification, this extraordinarystructure is far and away the grandest facility of its kindin Toronto. Given its utilitarian purpose, sucharchitectural ambition seems all the more remarkable.Constructed in the 1930s, it stands among the greatmonuments of a society that valued infrastructure – andtook it very seriously. Designed by Thomas Pomphrey,this Art Deco masterpiece still filters 950 milliongallons every day, almost half the city’s water supply.


217the beach


218 the beach


219the beach


220 the beach


221the beach


222 QUEEN west

Change never stops on QueenStreet. Speakers’ Corner,where anyone could unloadtheir rant for a loonie, is longgone. It was part of theoriginal CITY-TV building,now the Bell Media building.

Torontonians were alsosaddened by the 2002 closureof the Bamboo after 25 yearsin the area. Not only did thisrestaurant/music hall helplaunch Queen Street West, itsfamous murals, painted byToronto artist Barbara Klunder,gave the ’80s its look. It isremembered fondly.


223QUEEN west


George Fischer is one of

Canada’s most renowned and

prolific landscape

photographers. He has

produced over 40 books and

50 art posters. His work has

also appeared on the covers of

numerous international

magazines and newspapers,

and in the promotional

publications of tourism

agencies around the world.

His most recent publication

Unforgettable Canada, was on

The Globe and Mail’s bestseller

list for eight weeks and sold

over 50,000 copies. Other

titles in the Unforgettable

series include: Unforgettable

Tuscany & Florence,

Unforgettable Paris Inoubliable,

Unforgettable Atlantic Canada,

The 1000 Islands –

Unforgettable, and Les Îles de la

Madeleine Inoubliables.

George Fischer resides in

Toronto, Canada.

See more of George Fischer’s work at

www.georgefischerphotography.com

Pascal Arseneau is a

Toronto-based photographer

originally from Îles de la

Madeleine, Quebec.

Together with George Fischer,

he has produced a series of

books on the regional cuisine

of Quebec.

His travel and landscape

photography has been

featured in editorial and

advertising, and he received in

2001 the “Travel Photography

of the Year Award” by Islands

Magazine.

Christopher Humeis the

veteran architecture critic and

urban issues columnist of the

Toronto Star. In addition to

winning a National

Newspaper Award, Canada’s

highest award in print

journalism, in 2009, he has

received five NNA

nominations. That same year,

Hume was given the Royal

Architectural Institute of

Canada President’s Award for

Architectural Journalism. His

book, William James’ Toronto

Views, won a Toronto Heritage

Award in 2000. In 2005,

Hume was named Toronto’s

best newspaper columnist by

NOW magazine in 2005 and

Eye magazine in 2006. More

recently, Hume hosted and

wrote a one-hour special

about Canadian cities for

CBC TV’s flagship series,

The Nature of Things.

Educated at the University

of Toronto and Glendon

College, Hume is known as a

champion of cities and the

arts. He lives in Toronto.

Photo: Sue Coyne


queen street, toronto's urban treasure (excerpt)

Documents

mention queen street

pm page

mentionqueen street

alongthe way

historic districts

roads lead

successive generation

countless lowrise buildings