WEEKEND ROUNDUP

Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveler

1. Starts with "M"
2. A Favorite
3.  MULTIPLES - chosen by Tom

STARTS WITH M

MEAT MARKET MAZATLAN MEXICO

FAVOURITE

Maximillian's in Berlin, man, mannequin, mug, moustache

MULTIPLES

MYRTLE Beach - only a MOTHER could love!

Tuesday Treasures

  Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

Travel Tuesday

Image-in-ing

My Corner of the World

March 2023 - Toronto ON

Yesterday I posted this building on Monday Mural and its everchanging murals. The building has always intrigued me as it is empty for as long as I remember.

I took this photo last week, the scaffolding has just been erected.

Photo from Toronto Archives - information from BlogTO.

We took this in 2019. Raccoon mural by Emily May Rose.

38-40 Dundas Street East is a three-storey office building in a classical, early 20th-century commercial style at the northeast corner of Dundas Street East and Victoria Street.
It's a building with over a century of history, and, at present, an uncertain future.

Construction of 38-40 Dundas Street East has been identified as 1913 in several contemporary sources. However, there is the possibility that the extant building may have incorporated parts of an older structure predating the 1910s.

The building has been painted since at least the mid-1920s. Peeling paint on the rear (east) elevation has revealed yellow brick (likely from the mid-19th century) on the lower levels with red brick (likely from the early 20th century) on the upper levels.

By the mid-1880s, a blacksmith and marble works had also opened operations on or near Victoria Street Lane.

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In about 1887, the property became home to James H. Cash – a picture framer by trade; and Henry Cash – a carpenter by trade. 1887 also saw the severance of the southern section of the grounds to facilitate the construction of buildings and residences along Wilton Avenue.

City of Toronto Directories indicate that various boarders and residential tenants were associated with the property until 1912. Between 1913 and 1920, the property had a mix of commercial and residential occupants with the building becoming wholly commercial (offices) by 1921. In 1913/1914, the property first appears associated with William A. Murphy — a builder, carpenter, and contractor by trade.

Murphy was the earliest commercial occupant of the building. Alongside William A. Murphy, John Gearon (a teamster) and Harry Teasdale (a painter) are also listed as occupants of the address in 1913/1914.

By 1920/1921, the building was wholly offices. Occupants included: Osborne Electric; Samuel Osborne Canadian Ltd. – a steel company; Auto Supplies Company Ltd.; the offices of architect Thomas White Lamb; the offices of manufacturing agent Edward W. Fisher; and the jewellery manufacturers Paquette & Hughes. Paquette & Hughes Ltd. were the victims of two high-profile armed robberies in January 1921 and November 1923.

In 1921/1922, the Powell Chemical Company moved into 38-40 Dundas Street East (then still known as 269 Victoria Street). The Powell Chemical Company – also known as the H. Powell Chemical Company — were manufacturing chemists.

In 1922/1923, the City of Toronto undertook steps to eliminate a significant jog on Dundas Street that had formed as a result of Agnes Street and Wilton Avenue not being in direct alignment with each other.

This street realignment project – known as the Dundas Street Extension - resulted in the acquisition of several properties along the north side of Dundas Street East between Yonge Street and Victoria Street Lane, including part of the Powell Chemical Company property.

A November 1922 The Globe (Toronto) article specifically references that the City of Toronto's Assessment Department was slated to "arrange for a piece to be taken off the southwest corner of the Powell Chemical Company building on the east side of Victoria Street" as to prevent the "building project[ing] slightly beyond the line of the new diagonal piece of roadway" and to allow the completion of the realigned Dundas Street East.

This realignment also resulted in 38-40 Dundas Street East becoming situated directly at the intersection of Dundas Street East and Victoria Street; whereas it had previously been located several buildings north of the intersection.

Interestingly, a photograph of 38-40 Dundas Street East (then known as 269 Victoria Street) published in The Globe (Toronto) on 11 June 1923 – which shows the building prior to the creation of its distinct angled façade – specifically references the building as being the former home of Egerton Ryerson and notes that the building had become recently revealed due to street changes.

A subsequent photograph dated 3 November 1923 - taken after the creation of the distinct angled façade – uses the name The Powell Chemical Company Building in its caption. A similar fenestration pattern on the south elevation is visible on both the June 1923 and November 1923 photographs.

The June 1923 photograph also shows masonry that appears to have been recently altered and/or added around the doors, windows, and 3rd floor — indicating potential alterations, additions, and renovations to the structure.

The address 36-40 Dundas Street East and the name Powell Building had been formally assigned to the property as of 1924/1925.

The Powell Chemical Company remained in operation at 38-40 Dundas Street East until 1952. The Kahn Optical Company — an ophthalmic laboratory and manufacturer on the 2nd floor — was another long-term occupant of the Powell Building and was based there from 1925 until 1967.

In May 1930, 38-40 Dundas Street East suffered a major fire that originated in the offices of the Kahn Optical Company.

The Toronto Daily Star described the fire as a "spectacular blaze [...] so much water was poured into the building that it came out in a Niagara-like torrent, carrying hundreds of partly burned tortoise shelled eyeglass frames into the street" This fire likely resulted in further alterations to the building.

By the late 1960s, 38-40 Dundas Street East was entirely vacant. By the mid-1970s, 38-40 Dundas Street West was used as the offices of Teela Market Surveys / Teela Publications. Teela remained at 38-40 Dundas Street East through the early 1980s. The latest commercial tenant was Hakim Optical. The building has been entirely vacant since 2010.

The property was expropriated by the City of Toronto in the mid-to-late 1990s as part of the 1996 Yonge Dundas Redevelopment Project, which eventually resulted in the creation of Yonge-Dundas Square in the early 2000s.
Popular proposals have included use as a museum and/or music incubator.


In 2015, an engineering study was undertaken to assess the condition of the building. This 2015 study — not presently available to the public but referenced in public documents — reportedly notes "structural concerns with the building's masonry façade, masonry parapet walls, floor areas within the building and fire escape."

Subsequently, in February 2023, the City of Toronto issued an Order to Remedy Unsafe Building to itself, noting that "NO work has been carried out to date to permanently repair the building and remediate the structural concerns that are creating the unsafe conditions to the public in and around the building." Scaffolding has since been erected around the building as of early March 2023.

Monday Mural

 I'm linking up at Monday Mural 

March 2023 - Toronto ON

Painted by One Direction (?) September 2022 - Dundas Square

This wall has had other musical themed murals.

August 2022

May 2020

September 2019

10 YEARS OF MONDAY MURAL

I thought for fun, that I would reverse post my Monday Murals - July 2013 Calgary Alberta

Flight

 One Word Sunday

Toronto ON Air Show

Cream and Sugar

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

Sunday Post

March 2023 - Toronto ON

Yonge St. Toronto ON

Saturday John decided to make French toast from the bread I made last week. It has been years since we had French toast!

My new dish towels arrived and my sheets finally arrived as well.

I finished my embroidery and started another.

Monday John did a Costco run.

Tuesday John went to the golf simulator. I went downtown for a haircut. Some photos on the way.

CIBC

I took the subway up to Dundas Square to see a new mural (check back on Monday) and stopped into Winners and the $ store.

I walked back to the bus stop down Yonge St. (stopped in Homesense) and along Richmond until the construction drove me underground.

The origin of the house that is now the Senator Restaurant – the oldest restaurant in Toronto in continuous operation at the same location – can be traced back to the very first property survey that was prepared by the Town of York in 1836.

Massey Hall is reopened in all her glory. 

Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre

Going underground I came up in the Royal York Hotel and its spring display.

The contractor called when I got home to ask if he could drop by to finish a few items. He attached the kickplates and two of the electrical outlets and removed the last of the plastic. He will schedule the painting and replacing the exhaust vent.

John booked a repair person for our less than 1 year old LG fridge. They scheduled Friday and then said they wouldn't have the parts (they are assuming it needs parts) until Monday (Raoul between 2 and 5).

I had seen on Facebook that Highland Farms carried a large selection of gluten free products so we headed to their Mississauga store on Wednesday. It is huge, look at the number of checkouts, no self checkout here. So big, in fact we lost our car as we left by the wrong door.

This is the produce section.

Cheese section.

All the meat is fresh, you order from the butcher. I don't have the entire length of the counter in this photo. Meat prices are excellent.

There are products from all around the world, although the owners are Italian so there is a large amount of Italian products.

There are some things that you can find cheaper, you need to know your prices.

"Marilyn Monroe" towers.

Some new signage unveiled in 2022.

Cooksville, which has an estimated population of 36,000, used to be a central crossroads hub in Mississauga and Peel Region. At one time, it housed city hall, a central library branch and fire department and two school board offices. However, as Mississauga grew, it became a bit of an afterthought in the city. The Vision Cooksville project, which was completed in 2016, laid out a revitalization strategy that was predicated on making Cooksville a transit hub with walkable streets, more open spaces and parks.

The sign will have four themes that will be displayed throughout the year, they are holiday, summer, fall and historic Cooksville. The community initially formed in the early 19th century, adopting its name in 1836.

Excited to try the pizza crust and the baguettes. At the back are butter tarts.

We headed downtown to meet John's son who is in town on business. We chose Modus based on our lunch there last summer.

Dreaming by Juame Plensa. Click here to see more Plensa that we have spotted.

Delicious hot salty bread and I heard that the hot olives were good too.

John had halibut, rapini and fingerling potatoes. We shared a Caesar's salad.

Joel had the zuppa di mare - seafood soup. he started with grilled shrimp diavolo.

I had the salmon.

Dessert was tiramisu and a flourless chocolate cake.

In the Uber on the way home.

Thursday John went to the golf simulator and I took a quick run to Longo's.

Sunset by John.

While we were in Mississauga earlier I noticed how many Middle Eastern grocers there were and wondered if we could fine lahmajouns.

Lahm bi ajeen (AKA laham b'ajeen, lahmajun, or lahmajoun) is usually described as Middle Eastern meat pizza, lahmacun (pronounced LA-ha-MA-chewn) is a Turkish street food also known as Turkish pizza.

I found The Turkish Mart that is very close to us so we headed there on Friday. I thought they were frozen but couldn't find them so I pulled up the word "lahmacun" and asked the owner/manager. He says "what's your background that you can't find them?" I said Irish, he said "what does an Irish girl know of these?" We said we used to get them in Montreal, and he said, oh yes. He took us to them, they were fresh! 

Package of 6 $10.99!

We ran a couple of more errands and came home for lunch - see above!

I cleaned out the vegetable bins in the fridge.  

We are expecting freezing rain most of tomorrow.

COOKING

Saturday roast pork (was in freezer) Irish (mushy) peas and mashed potatoes

Sunday slow cooker corned beef mushy peas and colcannon (with leftover mashed and Brussel sprouts cooked in bacon fat).

I made an Irish soda bread using Chef Alina's recipe. 

Monday rotisserie chicken nachos.

Tuesday hot chicken sandwiches and broccolini

Wednesday out for dinner

Thursday Szechwan pork and green beans

Friday steak, fries (great) with broccolini and chimichurri

WATCHING

The Mauritanian is a 2021 legal drama film based on the memoir of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian man who was held for fourteen years (from 2002 to 2016) without charge in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, a United States military prison.

We started the series Perry Mason.

Saw the finale for Your Honor season 2 - we didn't like the ending so hopefully there is a season 3.

We rewatched Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2017 and enjoyed it again.

READING

Reading Don't Believe Her, another by Jane Heafield. I'm enjoying it, it is told in the first person, Lucy and SIL Mary, following Tom's (husband and brother) disappearance. The tension between the two women kept the story going.