tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post5256748542031566230..comments2023-04-10T04:17:16.433-04:00Comments on The Transcontinental: Street Archeology: Ossington Avenue, TorontoAndrew W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00071098030747838202noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-66894729127638734552010-05-30T13:22:00.174-04:002010-05-30T13:22:00.174-04:00You'll have to take another tour to see how mu...You'll have to take another tour to see how much it's changed in the last couple of years ... thanks for the memories :)Teena in Torontohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14875608173791872449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-91550502962562806682008-12-17T12:25:00.000-05:002008-12-17T12:25:00.000-05:00This is hilarious. Greetings, Burgershoppe Quality...This is hilarious. Greetings, Burgershoppe Quality Meats -- your logo beautifies the neighborhood!Benj Helliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16339446607278376739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-23187800638595454252008-03-08T19:44:00.000-05:002008-03-08T19:44:00.000-05:00All the anonymous comments- thank you, and yes, I ...All the anonymous comments- thank you, and yes, I will be stroll down there again with a kind of update, although with all the snow we've had here in Toronto, it could be a while!Andrew W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13230469866477486237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-64964008062668219422008-01-10T22:51:00.000-05:002008-01-10T22:51:00.000-05:00Hi just happened across this page. I liked it! Fun...Hi just happened across this page. I liked it! Funny how, in just 1.5 yrs, the vacant space i believe is now a hip new bar (Leveck Block) and the Lang Van II karaoke bar is now Baby Huey, another bar. The Sparrow has also closed (and I believe reopening as another bar). In any case, your identification of that vacant space as the "most interesting spot" on ossington is downright prophetic, as leveck block may just be the bar that puts ossington over the top in terms of 'hipness'. whetehr that's a good or bad thing is another story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-26952897208053086232007-10-31T17:55:00.000-04:002007-10-31T17:55:00.000-04:00Fellow Anonymous is quite right about the Heydon H...Fellow Anonymous is quite right about the Heydon House... I actually took a bike ride through the depressing areas of north west Toronto today and found it to be the find of the day sight wise.<BR/>Also catching my interest of late is the gems that you will uncover if you only travel on laneways. Some of the most interesting structures (home or otherwise) and people I imagine that inhabit them show up quite often.<BR/><BR/>Give it a try... if you into that kind of thing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-2638509257767411332007-06-30T14:54:00.001-04:002007-06-30T14:54:00.001-04:00Great tour of that neighbourhood.I used to spend a...Great tour of that neighbourhood.<BR/>I used to spend a lot of time around Queen West/Ossington as my now ex lives there. I live further north and west at Davenport/Old Weston, also very Portuguese/Latin/West Indian.<BR/>I would actually like to see a little bit of the gentrification take place in the neighbourhood as Davenport west of Caledonia can be a little on the depressing and drab side.<BR/>Great pictures by the way.<BR/>Oh, and that shot of the empty corner building. Reminds me of the building called Heydon House at the corner of St. Clair West and Old Weston. Right now it's got an ugly convenience store in it.<BR/>Not sure what the upper floors are used for but it's an interesting looking piece of architecture.<BR/>Maybe the next Drake or Gladstone(20 years from now!).<BR/>Enjoyed the neighbourhood stroll!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-5629673776394584882007-06-30T14:54:00.000-04:002007-06-30T14:54:00.000-04:00Authenticity is in the eye of the beholder! And pe...Authenticity is in the eye of the beholder! And perhaps the Starbucks being there is a good sign. I don't know what that sign is, but it's still the lone corporate entity in the neighbourhood, besides the cigar factory, of course!<BR/><BR/> And it seems we were ahead of the trend - the local style website xyyz.ca recently profiled the very strip of Ossington I spoke about, calling it the "most elitist of all Toronto - if you're into culture." They mention the Sparrow in similar terms too.Andrew W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00071098030747838202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-61622418145745879152007-06-30T14:53:00.002-04:002007-06-30T14:53:00.002-04:00I live at Davenport and Ossington and love taking ...I live at Davenport and Ossington and love taking the #63 bus South to work at my trendy advertising agency at King and Spadina because for a while everything feels authentic. I guess it is me the Starbucks is serving : (Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-11097685308534346552007-06-30T14:53:00.001-04:002007-06-30T14:53:00.001-04:00Thank you! I want to do more of these, and I hope ...Thank you! I want to do more of these, and I hope you'll drop by to check them out!Andrew W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00071098030747838202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-56924092732603226182007-06-30T14:53:00.000-04:002007-06-30T14:53:00.000-04:00LT--A very enjoyable tour of Ossington. I'm a form...LT--A very enjoyable tour of Ossington. I'm a former Buffalonian who made many trips to Toronto to enjoy everything it has to offer. Interesting to see it from an insider's perspective. You have a nice turn of phrase: "...moderately well-off bourgeois dilettantes with a keen eye who simultaneously manage to drain everything authentic out of a community and replace it with Subways and Starbucks (because it's what we know), need somewhere to go too." And: "At that rate, that space will remain a great possibilty and an actual failure."<BR/>Always a pleasure to encounter good writing. Thank you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-82022754918778494352007-06-30T14:52:00.000-04:002007-06-30T14:52:00.000-04:00Siri, thanks for stopping by!Is that really what t...Siri, thanks for stopping by!<BR/><BR/>Is that really what they're asking for it? Seems pretty steep to me!<BR/><BR/>At that rate, that space will remain a great possibilty and an actual failure.<BR/><BR/>I've wondered if the block couldn't be turned into another boutique hotel, although one very unlike the Drake and Gladstone.Andrew W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00071098030747838202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-58042190067099995482007-06-30T14:51:00.000-04:002007-06-30T14:51:00.000-04:00That last corner space is for rent for $8000 per m...That last corner space is for rent for $8000 per month. Do you think they can rent if for that?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-47924834323899866912007-06-30T14:50:00.001-04:002007-06-30T14:50:00.001-04:00Excellent post, JT!I used to live just off Ossingt...Excellent post, JT!<BR/><BR/>I used to live just off Ossington, but several city blocks north from the area LT blogs about. That area, the Davenport-St. Clair West stretch, has its own character. It's not quite as urban; it features tree-lined front lawns and houses, with a few pockets of commercialization at the major intersections. The Portuguese influence is still strong in that stretch. The Vietnamese presence drops off, replaced by a bit of West Indian and Latin American culture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38560481.post-35840081660896466712007-06-30T14:50:00.000-04:002007-06-30T14:50:00.000-04:00I did enjoy it, indeed. What a plesant thing this ...I did enjoy it, indeed. What a plesant thing this is, to go for a walk with a friend through his neighborhood, to listen to him as he points out various sites and tells stories about them. Great work, thans LT!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com