JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

This post offers supplementary material for an article I wrote for Torontoist , which you should read before diving into this piece. Toronto Star , January 1, 1977. The Star ’s initial coverage of New Year’s Eve celebrations put a positive spin on the evening. A full page of its January 1, 1977 edition was devoted to scenes across Metro Toronto, from revellers downtown to skating clowns in Scarborough. Those who ventured out endured temperatures which dropped to -13°C. On Yonge Street, the new year swept over the strip “like a new disco melody.” Among those mildly disappointed by the scene along Yonge that night was Chuck Ross, a 22-year old marketing analyst from North York. “Most of our friends have girlfriends now, so we figured we’d see if we could find some girls tonight by ourselves,” he observed. “I guess we haven’t tried very hard.” Spurned by the ladies, Ross and a friend wound up dining at an unidentified burger joint, staring at the mirror lining the counter.

Background: besides writing Past Pieces of Toronto for OpenFile, I tackled several other assignments for the site. One was this piece, originally published on March 22, 2012. Subway construction along Yonge Street, 1949. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 16, Series 574, File 2, Item 4992. Click on image for larger version. Throughout the debate on whether LRTs or subways should be built in Scarborough, the construction of the St. Clair streetcar right-of-way has been a persistent bogeyman. Vilified by ardent subway supporters such as Mayor Rob Ford as one of the biggest disasters in Toronto transit history , the work carried out on St. Clair has been criticized for its delays and impacts (real and imagined) on local business and traffic. Those who imagine fewer hardships building a subway than a surface line may want to examine the miseries that surrounded the construction of the original Yonge line , which was far more disruptive to the local landscape than what occurred on S...

This post offers supplementary material for a recent edition of Historicist posted on Torontoist , which you should read first before diving into the following text. Headline, the Toronto Star , December 18, 1958. Accompanying several of the stories I drew upon were plenty of  screaming front-page headlines. Or at least there were in the Star and the Telegram - it appears the Globe and Mail thought they were below their sober, reserved standard. TTC Chairman Allan "Lampy" Lamport soon caused enough problems for the transit provider on his own when he resigned his position several weeks later.

From November 2011 through July 2012 I wrote the "Past Pieces of Toronto" column for OpenFile, which explored elements of the city which no longer exist. The following was originally posted on May 13, 2012. Map showing subway interlining. The Telegram , February 25, 1966. When you mention lower Bay station, images conjured include an abandoned subway platform used for film shoots, a TTC test lab, a Nuit Blanche installation venue or an occasional construction detour . But when the Bloor-Danforth line opened in February 1966, lower Bay was part of an experiment to allow riders to reach any destination without transferring lines. The wye , a triangular-shaped rail intersection that allowed interlining, proved highly contentious among TTC officials during its six months of regular service use. The wye was among subway designer Norman Wilson’s recommendations when the Bloor-Danforth subway line was proposed in 1958. “The importance of this [wye] connection bet...

From November 2011 through July 2012 I wrote the "Past Pieces of Toronto" column for OpenFile, which explored elements of the city which no longer exist. The following was originally posted on February 5, 2012. Spadina moving walkway. Photo by Eva Amsen . With eyes closed, imagine yourself at an airport ready to embark on a jet-age journey to an exotic destination. As you and your backpack, briefcase, or luggage glide along the moving walkway, dreams of adventure or relaxation fill your head. The faint odour of rodents barely distracts you from your visions. Suddenly, there’s a lurch at the end of the walkway that jolts you back into the reality of standing at either end of the Spadina subway station. We may be exaggerating the experience one could have had using the moving walkways that carried TTC passengers between subway lines for 25 years. Whether you saw the moving walkway as a novelty item, a useful connector or, as a cranky early user told the Star,...

As mentioned on several other sites, the Toronto Community Foundation has proposed sprucing up several University-Spadina line subway stations with art to reflect nearby landmarks. Museum will be the pilot next year, with mummified pillars to represent the ROM, while proposals for Osgoode (Four Seasons Centre) and St. Patrick (AGO) have been unveiled. This cranked up the wheels in the brains of the Warehouse design team. We submit our proposals for other stations: Davisville - Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. Obelisks for pillars. Murals of famous residents of the cemetery, including Mackenzie King (at a seance), various Westons, Masseys and Eatons (and their businesses), etc. St. Clair - A big mouth, for CFRB. Hot air pumped onto the platform. Summerhill - Photographs of winos sitting against the platform walls, to salute the monster LCBO outlet. Yonge - Any number of themes could be used here, from literary scenes (Toronto Reference Library) to the HBC blanket colours...well...b...

Bedford, MA - Boston, MA - 80.5 km* * this is the last day I have mileage for, as the sheet I kept track of my driving for the rest of the trip has decided to go on vacation. There aren't any pics for this entry either, due to the dreary weather. By 5:30 AM, I was in full burp/nausea mode, then slumped back to bed for a few more hours. Like most down moments on the trip, there was an upside. Because I needed to rest, I missed the free breakfast buffet that came with the room...which opened an opportunity to take a second shot at grabbing a meal at Legal Sea Foods . Once I felt ready to move, I drove in along Mass 2 to Alewife subway station. The last time I left the car there, somebody smashed into the back of the car, leaving no exterior damage but a twisted trunk latch...which proved beneficial in the long run, as the trunk no longer flew open with little prodding. This time, both official garages were full, but I was able to park at an impromptu lot at the restaurant/furni...