JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

I guess I should have waited a little longer to post the last installment of my stroll along Broadway Avenue . Almost two weeks ago, I noticed that the lot of Brennan Pontiac Buick GMC was emptier than usual. Upon closer inspection, office equipment was piled up in the showroom. Sell-off sale announcements were posted on all of the windows. In short: sixty years of car dealerships at the corner of Bayview and Broadway have drawn to a close.

Before reading this post, check out the related Torontoist article . This ad appeared in Toronto newspapers on September 8, 1948, the day before the Odeon Toronto's opening gala. I considered using it for the article, but none of the copies I found were in good shape. This version from the Globe and Mail was the least scruffy of the lot—the copy in the Star looked as if somebody had dropped a bottle of ink on it. To modern eyes, the coverage of opening night makes the event feel as if it was "let's suck up to the British" time...except that the speeches that stressed the importance of Toronto's strong ties to Great Britain were the norm during the first half of the twentieth century. When Mayor Hiram McCallum told the audience that “the future of this country lies with the British community of nations,” he repeated a mantra uttered by numerous dignitaries before him. McCallum also mentioned it was fitting that ever-loyal Toronto received such a fine Bri...

After a hard day of working on the railroad, in the repair shop, or on the assembly line, isn't it nice to restimulate your nerves with a relaxing cup of cocoa? I've been on a hot chocolate kick lately, or at least versions that aren’t just Swiss Miss in a cup. I foist the blame on Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, where I fell for the lure of a cup of Vosges Aztec Elixir Couture Cocoa over Thanksgiving weekend. The Zingerman’s website describes it as: Inspired by the recipes of the Aztecs. Dark chocolate, ancho and chipotle chilies, Mexican vanilla beans, cinnamon, and cornmeal to thicken. Steamed with our Calder Dairy milk and a splash of 1/2 and 1/2, this drink is silky and rich. It packed a rich, peppery punch that felt soothing on a sunny fall weekend afternoon after gorging on the sandwich below. #46 Stan's Canadian Hotfoot at Zingerman's. More details . Locally, Soma Chocolatemaker in the Distillery District makes a mean Mayan hot chocolate. The main dra...

If you aren't up to braving the masses at the Santa Claus Parade this coming Sunday, you can head down to the Gladstone Hotel to check out the launch of the latest collection of essays about Toronto from Coach House Books, The Edible City . I contributed one of the essays, parts of which may not come as a big surprise if you've read some of the pieces I've published on the web over the years. Hopefully readers won't find the piece to be half-baked. - JB

With the Christmas shopping season underway, why not consider some literary picks from half-a-century ago for those on your gift list? This selection of books even fills CanCon rules, thanks to the selections from two Canuck literary titans. While researching a recent Historicist column , I stumbled upon reviews for both of these books while browsing microfilms of The Telegram . It appears that portions of The Desperate People were serialized earlier that year in the paper, so those with long memories may have remembered Farley Mowat's look at Inuit life by the time Laurie McKechnie reviewed it: Surely Farley Mowat’s book will stir the conscience, rouse the indignation of Canadians in much the same way the UNCLE TOM’S CABIN aroused America a century ago ...Mowat’s book is NOT fiction. It is tragic truth. It is a magnificent documentary—the story of a race of primitive people carefully constructed by focusing upon the facts of one fragment of their society. And through it ...

Part one of this journey . 1 - Northern Secondary School 2 - Brennan Pontiac/Buick 3 - Esso station Northern Secondary School marks Broadway's crossing of Mount Pleasant Road. There was considerable debate on what name to bestow upon what was then planned as a joint commercial/vocational school. Possible monikers were tossed around on the front page of the February 8, 1930 edition of the Toronto Star , along with fussy reasons for their unsuitability: "North Toronto": Would conflict with North Toronto Collegiate a few blocks away. "Eglinton": Would conflict with the public school of that name. "Mount Pleasant": Would sound too much like the cemetery of that name. "Roehampton": Name of one of the streets on which the school will stand, is deemed rather an awkward sort of name. Opinion now seems to favor the name "Northern Vocational School" as expressing both the location and the scope of the school. One further...