last week's scribblings

On Torontoist:

• In Vintage Toronto Ads, got the aluminum munchies?
• As Occupy Toronto moved out of St. James Park, a look at the site's evolving landscape.
• Historicist looks at the birth of the Toronto Coach Terminal.

On OpenFile Toronto:

• In Past Pieces of Toronto, Sam the Record Man.

dining with peter lorre

Peter Lorre at dinner , between 1955 and 1964. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1257, Series 1057, Item 3429 (Alexandra Studio).

One of the joys of digging through the treasure chest of photos uploaded by the City of Toronto Archives  is finding unusual pictures that end up distracting me from what I’m supposed to be searching for. Take the shot above, found while seeking "dinner" photos.

The scene: a nice restaurant, somewhere in Toronto during the late 1950s or early 1960s (any historic culinary experts good at identifying it?). Actor Peter Lorre is being interviewed by writer Frank Rasky. Lorre holds a sausage, which resembles the breakfast variety despite the picture being taken at dinner, in his fork. He gives it an odd glance. Is Lorre:

• Pondering his next answer?
• Discovering there's something wrong with the sausage?
• Illustrating a point to amuse the interviewer? 
• Demonstrating a dining technique director Fritz Lang left on the cutting room floor after shooting M?
• Simply preparing his next bite?

last week's scribblings

On Torontoist:

• Are four city museums being targeted for closure when the city budget comes down?
• In Vintage Toronto Ads, it's a PoP Shoppe grand opening!
• The Royal Ontario Museum reveals the secrets of the Maya.
• The Blue Jays unveil a retro-style look for 2012.

notes from the santa claus parade (1918 edition)

While there will be a lot of happy faces at today's Santa Claus Parade today in Toronto, I suspect they may not match the joy expressed along the procession route in 1918. That year's parade rounded out a week that began with the signing of the armistice that ended World War I. Despite the other celebrations and parades that week, Torontonians weren't too pooped to watch Santa make his journey through the city. And a journey it was: back then, the route began at Yonge and Eglinton and made its way south until it reached Eaton's Toyland at the corner of Albert and James (an intersection that survived the construction of the Eaton Centre).

last week's scribblings

On Torontoist:

• In Vintage Toronto Ads, Auntie Nuke wants you!
• Advertisements from the Victory Loan campaign of 1918 - have you done your patriotic duty and bought one yet?
• In Historicist, Toronto celebrated the end of World War I in an "orgy of joy"

last week's scribblings

On Torontoist:

• In Vintage Toronto Ads, the story of Charles Fothergill
• A sneak preview of this year's Santa Claus Parade

On OpenFile Toronto:

• A new column on "Past Pieces of Toronto" begins with a look at the Uptown Theatre

last week's scribblings

On Torontoist:

• In Vintage Toronto Ads, Halloween-inspired bargains at Stitches
• Visits to two local cemeteries: St John's Norway and Mount Pleasant
• A look at The Toronto Project, a new online civic history initiative
• Historicist ventures out to Potter's Field, Toronto's first non-denominational cemetery