Toronto Thursday

I took a cooking course with a friend, Maid M, the other night. It was conducted by the LCBO at Summerhill. I had never been in this building; it is the largest liquor store in North America housed in what formally was a CPR train station. The building is magnificent, and it has thoughtfully been renovated while losing none of the charms. The aisles are named for the platforms; the walls are adorned with sketches of employees.


Maid M and I marvelled at the selection, and having once worked in Finance, we wondered what the current inventory cost was.
I took the above photo just before we went in.
Wikipedia carries the following history of the building.

The station was designed by Darling and Pearson and built in 1916 by P. Lyall & Sons Construction Company to service the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) line running across Toronto. The cornerstone was laid on September 9, 1915, by Mayor Tommy Church, and the station officially opened for passenger service on June 14, 1916 (though it had already been serving in the role since June 4).

When Union Station opened in 1927 and the Great Depression followed shortly thereafter, the North Toronto Station, which served smaller towns in Ontario and was originally meant to augment the bigger station, began to suffer. The last paying passengers filed through the station on September 27, 1930. Brewers' Retail moved into the northern portion of the terminal building in 1931.

The station was re-opened, briefly, at 10:30 a.m. on May 22, 1939 when King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth (mother of Queen Elizabeth II) arrived for the first visit to Toronto by the reigning monarch of Canada. The royal couple left Toronto, though, through Union Station. Shortly after World War II, returning soldiers passed through the station; they were its last rail customers.

I love this photo I found over at Summerhill Residents Association.

I love how dressed up everyone is, but have to admit I do like that I can wear my jeans travelling!