JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

This installment of my "Ghost City" column for The Grid was originally published on January 15, 2013. Toronto Life , December 1985. That Cumberland Terrace exists as a time capsule of shopping-mall design fits well with one of the site’s earliest uses: A cemetery preserving the memory of loved ones. Currently honoured with a plaque on the 2 Bloor West tower, Potter’s Field was Toronto’s first non-denominational burial ground when it opened in July 1826.

Source: Toronto Star , September 29, 1967. While this story is presented in a charming manner, complete with victim who apparently shook off being grabbed and dunked in a tub of water, it's hard to deny that the hippie-washers were out to commit acts meriting assault charges if attempted now. This wasn't an "attempt to do something constructive," this was a bunch of yahoos looking to stir shit up. Note the look on the victim's face. His expression screams "Seriously? Are you kidding me? Riiight..." Not everyone at U of T felt the same way about cleaning up Yorkville. A story in the Globe and Mail the following day noted that in a 78-56 vote, the Graduate Students Union endorsed financial aid for draft dodgers and for people arrested at a Yorkville sit-in the previous month.

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 July 8, 2012.  This installment marked the end of the column - what was originally a summer hiatus turned permanent when the entire site wound down a few months later . A placeholder page still exists , optimistically claiming that the site is still on hiatus, but all of the content was pulled down. Fear of such a move resulted in this series of reprints. And yes, I was among those who were owed money for a time , though I eventually received it via dogged persistence. Apart from that ending, OpenFile was a good experience, providing another outlet for my writing. When word came that the column would be suspended for two months, it was a relief. I figured I would take a breather, wand direct my energy toward other projects I was working on. When I took over "Ghost City...

This post offers supplementary material for a Torontoist post I recently wrote , which you should dive into before reading any further. Source: the Toronto Star , April 5, 1973. It was nice for a change to read about a development project where the nearby residents weren't convinced the sky was going to fall. Unless there's a secret back story missing from both the media coverage and the personal correspondences I leafed through while researching this article, it sounds like the developer did everything right to reassure the community that all would be well.  Besides the Avenue-Bay-Cottingham Ratepayers' Association, the neighbouring Annex Ratepayers' Association (ARA) was consulted. In a letter to alderman Ying Hope, an ARA representative wanted to "commend the process of community association consultation in the development of the project."  Not that there weren't opponents. In a letter to the city clerk, Hazelton Avenue apartment building owne...

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 June 24, 2012. Advertisement, Books in Canada , May 1971. According to veteran Star books columnist Philip Marchand, the test of a good bookstore was simple. “Take a real reader, a habitual browser of books. Imagine that person walking by the bookstore en route to somewhere else. Can he or she resist the temptation to enter the bookstore? To while away a few minutes—well, half-an-hour—instead of attending to business?” The Book Cellar in Yorkville met his criteria, especially its magazine room: “Facing away from the from the Hazelton Lanes courtyard, the room is both quiet and cheerful. To stand there in the afternoon sun, browsing through magazines, listening to strains of Vivaldi or Billie Holiday, is to experience peace.”

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 20, 2012. Advertisements, (left) the Toronto Star , April 22, 1966 (right) the Globe and Mail , July 26, 1967. In an August 1967 article, the Globe and Mail ’s Blaik Kirby set the scene for anyone curious about entering one of Yorkville’s oddest coffee houses. “The Mynah Bird is a fetid room in a former Victorian home, with a tiny triangular stage behind bars in one corner. There are two other rooms in reserve if needed. You enter through a hallway, passing the piranha and the caged mynah bird after which the place is named. Hanging rushes conceal the high ceiling. The walls are red flecked wallpaper. The lights are low, with candles on each table. One of the two friendly go-go girls ushers you to a seat, and soon reappears on the stage. She is slightly plump, with lo...

Three months, three events, three pictures for each... *** February : a group stroll along almost the entire length of Dupont Street started off with a quick look at the melting pieces in the Bloor Yorkville Icefest. This gondola included cushions to sit on, though they were soaked by the time we checked it out. Other sculptures included high heels (for well-heeled shoppers), mysterious profiles, a bandito resting under a cactus, corporate logos... ...and a graveyard for pieces gone to the great ice carving contest in the sky. Full set of pictures . *** March : a group dinner outing to Mildred's Temple Kitchen in Liberty Village. Finding the place was tricky, as the entrance is slightly hidden along a passageway—Sarah had to run into a salon to find the exact location. Once there, the group took the menu's advice and indulged. Among the dishes I sampled was this plate of whitefish fritters, coated in a light, non-greasy batter. If this coating ...

At the tail end of this week's Sunday Constitutional (TM), I wandered by a block's worth of ice sculptures along Yorkville Ave. As the walk started with a fiery meal at Margarita's with Latte Girl , this seemed an appropriate capper. The latest way to arrive in Yorkville with panache. Available for $133,989 OAC. Taking the term "freezing your head off" literally, in this ode to the Venus de Milo. Somebody's still peeved about the men's hockey team. - JB