The great tragedy in Toronto was the tendency for the politicians to destroy the best buildings in the city and replacing them with ugly unremarkable buildings.
The Toronto Telegram building, Toronto Board of Trade Building (one of my favs), The Armouries, The Bata building, etc. Toronto has let so many awesome buildings disappear.
Varsity Stadium should also be included. I was struck by the coincidence in what happened to the Crystal Palace buildings both here and in London England. Both were destroyed by fire.
Bravo, well done. Enjoyed it. The item on Chorley Park could have had a bit more explanation of its demise. That (populist) Premier Mitch Hepburn made a popular promise to get rid of the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor. That the building was used during the war as a convalescent home; that the building sat empty and in poor repair afterwards, and the city tearing it down was by then welcomed.
Almost as criminal as its destruction is its lack of inclusion on this or any similar list, the old Board of Trade building: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Board_of_Trade_Building
Good stuff here. Such a shame to see beautiful buildings torn down and replaced by vastly inferior architecture. And just a note on the editing... just because you shoot with multiple angles, doesn't mean you have to use all of them all the time. Often the best editing is not editing at all. If all you need is the main shot, then stay on the main shot. Cheers!
Again, thanks for the memories! The Toronto Star building was the very first skyscraper I saw, arriving in Toronto from the UK in 1964. Recall watching a rodeo in the Maple Leaf Stadium. And as for Honest Ed's -- a true Toronto institution! I love your videos and hope you do more vanished landmark buildings.
@@OldTorontoSeries I love watching your videos. My family is still in and around TO and the series will be invaluable for the grandkids as they get curious about "The Rest Of The Story". And your shows provide lots of very interesting information. Already looking forward to your next gem! :)
Honorable mentions go to 1) The University Avenue Armories building on University Avenue 2) Toronto Normal School on Gould St (now Ryerson Community Park) 3) Sunnyside Pavilion and Tea Garden
Amazing video!! This could and SHOULD be a series, as Toronto is synonymous with tearing down historical buildings. Esp during the 50s to the 80s. Everything was made into a pay parking lots . The wall of condos came later.
Some beautiful buildings lost forever...that Deeds and Registry and the Toronto Star buildings, especially. Unfortunately greedy developers and the politicians that serve them have destroyed the culture and personality of Toronto...it is now just a second class, massive condo complex with no character. More thought should have been made to preserve the City's historical buildings like Montreal and Quebec City have done.
You've brought up an interesting point; people assume Montreal preserved all of it's historical architecture. In fact, much more has been destroyed or burned there than Toronto.The difference is with a long history before Toronto was settled, there was a great deal more historical architecture in Montreal than Toronto ever had. In a similar way, there is more historical architecture in Paris than in Dubai.
I think it depends on what's too much of a loss. I see historical buildings wherever I go in Toronto. There is a new high-rise being built at the moment at the corner of King and Dufferin. They kept the little old BMO bank even though it sits empty. However, our country has the second biggest land on earth. It's very disappointing to hear some historical buildings got demolished. There was almost nothing in Vaughan in 1960's. Why demolish a Toronto historical building in 1960's. Downtown Toronto to Vaughan is only about 35km. And from the southern to northern Ontario is over 800km. Lots of land sitting empty but still demolishing a historical building...
@@bobbbxxx To a degree…but the overriding cause was the explosion of wealth in Toronto and the FLQ crisis which shifted the economic axis to Toronto…Montreal, while ever great, now feels small by comparison. The shift of wealth led to very little development in Montreal for decades. It remains remarkably the same…which is good.
@@bobbbxxx There is literally zero similarity comparing Paris vs Dubai to Montreal vs Toronto. That makes no sense. I understand your point but Dubai is completely new city with no history. Toronto has a lot of history, sadly being destructed mindlessly.
You could have added Mutual Street Arena, home of Toronto's original pro hockey teams the Toronto Arenas and the St Pats. Later became a popular roller rink til the early 90's when it was demolished for condos. Because of course it was.
love this kind of thing...oh how i love old toronto archetecture any canadian citys really....but toronto most of alll.... i remember some of these places honest eds new dufferin gates horticulture building its a shame i missed the rest
GREAT VIDEO... SAD TO SEE THAT THE OLD LADY ON CARLTON ( MAPLE LEAF GARDENS ) ISN'T IN THE TOP 10... GUARANTEED ONLY A VERY FEW EVEN KNOW HALF OF THE BUILDINGS IN THIS TOP 10...
What about the barracks on University avenue where now stands the Courthouses? It was a shame to destroy such architecture only to have, run of the mill, concrete block buildings... : (
There were way more historical buildings that were demolished in Toronto.....Not just 10......Waaaayyyyy more building. They’ve destroyed so much history. It’s sad and disappointing.
0:27 is that the Fleet Street Molson's plant going in there, right side? Bottom left is the CHIN building, still there. Also please make sure you say "Princes Gates" as many say "Princess Gates".
Samuel Teperman of Teperman Demolition was once asked: "In the history of your firm, there ever a building that you were felt shouldn't have been demolished?" He replied: "Yes - Chorley Park."
One honorable mention should be the palace pier. Not a wildly crazy building. But I just think it's interesting that Toronto had a pier with big plans. www.torontovintagesociety.ca/2014/06/vintage-dance-hall-palace-pier.html#:~:text=The%20Palace%20Pier%20was%20originally,steamboat%20landing%20at%20the%20end.
I metal detect various locations in Toronto that I research, and its amazing what things I find (relics from 1793 - to the present), and whats more amazing is the research I do on my finds, and learn things about Toronto make me a proud and fascinated Torontonian; thank you for doing the Toronto history video.
I first visited Toronto in the 80's and have been often since, even I have noticed the decline of the city, though I would still rate it way up there, not for the buildings or facilities but the people. Anyway I don't want to finish on a low note so Happy New Year Toronto!
Demolishing the Chorley building?! I really can't believe how stupid the general public was back then. We protest over a damn brick warehouse these days lol. The crystal palace was amazing to.
It was a house…home to our Lieutenant Governor and Her Majesty’s home in Ontario. But, of course, people don’t want the upkeep of Sussex Drive. What other first world nation nickel and dimes over official residences?
You include Honest Ed's, which has significance as an icon of social history but none as a building, yet leave out the Board of Trade Building, the Queen Street Asylum and the Cyclorama Building, to name but a few.
I'm really enjoying your channel. I was wondering if you have any information surrounding the corner of Jarvis and Earl street( place). I live in the area and have looked for past structures, specifically the NE corner ( there are town houses, a low rise apt building, and a parking lot there presently). I have found images along the other intersections of Jarvis, but that is always skipped over. Do You have any leads?
What about the Bank of Toronto building at the SE corner of King & Bay, a magnificent piece of architecture? The Post Office at the top of Toronto Street? The Temple Building?
Eglinton and Leslie wasn't a "remote area" in the 1960s.😮 It was a mere 4.8 miles from City Hall in a metropolitan area with a population of 2.2 million mid-decade. Maybe it was a remote area in 1880.
There was also the short-lived Lord Simcoe Hotel, on the corner of King Street West and University Avenue. Built in 1956, the high-rise hotel (co-designed by the great Peter Dickinson) consistently lost money until it closed permanently in 1979. SunLife Centre East Tower was built in its place by 1984. Also gone, but not forgotten: the Shell/Bulova Tower at Exhibition Place (built 1955, destroyed 1986) and the Sutton Place Hotel (built 1967, closed 2012 and rebuilt as condos in 2019).
While technically not in Toronto, the old Fallingbrook Pavilion located just east of the R.C.Harris filtration plant on the beach and originally accessible from a long steep staircase at the foot of Fallingbrook Rd. and the very east end of Queen St. was once a popular dance club. I remember as a child going down there when it was used as a boat house. Soon thereafter some neighbourhood hoodlums set it ablaze. The ruins remained for many years since - perhaps they are still there.
For a moment I thought I was going to see the old 'Bata Headquarters building' at the DVP and Eglinton (Wynford Dr.). Still a great video, just a little too short.
It was a interesting video the one thing I would have added would have been after maple leaf stadium was torn down later exhibition place stadium was torn down
I recently attended a webinar about crystal palaces in London, New York & Paris and thought Toronto also must have had one to showcase late 19th C advances in industry and agriculture. Was Chorley Park the residence of the lieutenant governor of Ontario? The summer residence still exists in Hamilton on Bay St. South, right under the escarpment. Thought the Eaton estate Ardwold may have made your list of lost buildings too. Thanks!
Great summary. Toronto has always had an "appetite for destruction" regarding its historic buildings. From the earliest times Toronto has cheerfully pulled down magnificent buildings often only a few decades old. Current citizens have no clue of Toronto's history.
The contrast between Toronto and places like Munich is remarkable. I remember standing on a high vantage point in Munich and looking at a photo explaining which buildings I was seeing. One structure, called the Old Church (Alte Kirche) was build in 9-something AD while the New Church (Neue Kirche) had been built in 11-something and both were still standing (although they had presumably been restored after WW II.) Meanwhile, in Canada, almost everything older than 50 years seems to be viewed as out-of-date and in need of replacement so it gets torn down and made into strip malls or condos.
You appear to be referencing the Dufferin Gates. Prince’s Gates on the East side of the CNE - Dufferin Gate at… Dufferin. Both Prince’s gate and Oval Dufferin are still there.
Love the videos but there is an error in this one. That post card of the motor inn is from King 621 King Street (sadly gone in the 1990's) not the motor in on Jarvis (which also was pretty cool).
Perhaps accurate, but you offer no thesis or a metric to determine why we should care about these buildings. Why are they the top 10 lost buildings and not others? Is it only because you have access to pictures and information about these buildings?
Another awesome presentation!! I like your video about the ten oldest buildings in Toronto, but would love to see more celebration of the "Saved" buildings in Toronto. There are so many to choose from....Montgomery's Inn, the Georgian Daniels Building in Old Toronto, St Lawrence Market, the 1832 Mystic Muffin building, Old City Hall, the Flatiron Building, Scadding Cabin, The Church of the Holy Trinity, and Little Trinity Churches, The John Daniels house in Yorkville, the 1827 Bank of Upper Canada building, many of our old Firehalls, Toronto's Fourth York Post Office on Adelaide, Colbourne Lodge in High Park, The Albany Club, Paul Bishop's House, The Old Mill, the old Post Office at 10 Toronto Street, entire neighbourhoods like Cabbagetown, Old Chinatown, Kensington Market. There are an incredible number of Victorian, and Edwardian buildings in Toronto, and even a number of Georgian. The Princes' Gate represents the only Triumphal Arch in Canada. Toronto has some magnificent old Theatres; The Elgin, the Wintergarden, The Mirvish, The Royal Alexandra. We are incredibly lucky to still have Massey Hall as well. Most Canadian cities tore down most of their old theatres and concert halls, unfortunately. Not a building, but astonishingly Toronto was the only city in North America not to demolish it's streetcar system in the 1950's. San Francisco kept a small amount, but Toronto kept it's streetcar system. Even cities like New York, Paris and London scrapped theirs. Torontonians have a way of not noticing the old architecture around them, and rather assume incorrectly that it is all gone. I've even seen people mourn buildings they see in old black and white photos that are actually still alive and kicking, but people don't notice them in real life. Thanks to people like yourself, many can learn things that they did not know about their own city! most Torontonians know of the Great Fire of Chicago, but not that we had our own Great Fires in 1849 and 1904 that destroyed most of downtown.A big thank you for educating the public!!
