Toronto Time Machine

Photo credit: Not Supplied With an election coming up in the city of Toronto for a new mayor, the mention of subway lines is rampant. Extensions to some and the construction of others has dominated the agenda for most Toronto mayoral prospects in 2014. On March 30, 1954, the promise of several early 20th century Toronto politicians came to being igniting today's debates. With a fleet of red subway cars, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) opened the Yonge subway rapid transit line to passengers.   Originally opening as a 12-stop subway running along Yonge street, the first Canadian subway relieved one of the most congested routes in Toronto. 60 years later, the subway now known as the Yonge-University-Spadina line (most recently simplified as line 1) now has 32 connections stretching from Downsview station to Finch station. The expanded Yonge line is an integral part for moving resident as well as travelers t...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy  A giant red building on Edward Street that at one time lived up to its name, the World's Biggest Bookstore will close on Sunday March 23rd after 34 years of serving Toronto-based Bookworms. Originally a bowling alley, the World's Biggest Bookstore opened in 1980 by Jack and Carl Coles (founder of the Coles Bookstore chain). For years prior to the Edward Street location, a Coles store was found near Dundas and Yonge. Coles Bookstore would eventually become part of Indigo Book and Music conglomerate along with the World's Biggest Bookstore. Consisting of two giant floors of books, magazines or other reading-related items, the store provided a customer with hours of exploration.  For the most part, the World's Biggest Bookstore retained a separate identity from the Indigo chain. The bookstore remained noted over the decades for resisting the trends adopted by other bookstore chains and even some public libraries. Among the ...

Gleaming with a facade regarded as an eye-drawing or eye-burning depending on the individual, the Toronto discount store Honest Ed's had stood on the corner of Bathurst and Bloor as a landmark since 1948. Late last year, the sale and closure of the iconic store was the latest testament to how the Canadian city's landscape is changing. As part of the store's farewell, Honest Ed's devised a plan to allow Torontonians to buy a piece of the bargain store. Selling what turned out to be 2,000 hand-painted show cards used for every kind of product sold in Honest Ed's, the sale was definitely one store closing sale where the fixtures were in high demand. Staged as a charity sale for Victim Services Toronto, Honest Ed's allowed patrons to buy some of these signs for as little as 50 cents. David Mirvish (the son of founder Ed Mirvish) as well as sign artists Doug Kerr and Wayne Reuben were on hand to provide authentication to ...