Tuesday Treasures

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August 2022 - Toronto ON

In 1869, Timothy Eaton sold his interest in a small dry-goods store in the market town of St. Mary's, Ontario, and he bought a dry-goods and haberdashery business at 178 Yonge Street in the city of Toronto. Click here to see the plaque on the original store in St. Mary's, we visited last month.

Pictured above is Eaton's main store, Eaton's Annex, mail order and factory buildings.

Construction began on the retail gem of T. Eaton Co. Limited in 1928 and was completed in 1930. Their Furniture and House Furnishings headquarters were designed by the architectural firms of Ross & Macdonald and Sproatt & Rolph. 

Also, a department store with “wearables and accessories,” the building originally extended from Yonge at Hayter Sts, through to College and Bay Sts. It was supposed to be a much taller building; however, due to the Great Depression, it was scaled back to 7 floors.

1930 – Looking northwest from Yonge St towards the construction of the Eaton’s College Street store. Notice Hayter St once intersected with Yonge St (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1266, Item 19440)

The Art Deco exterior of Eaton’s College Street is clad with ivory-coloured Tyndall limestone with accents of granite and stone carvings. There’s also Monel metal trim (a corrosion-resistant nickel and copper alloy) along with the door and window frames. The interior shopping concourse and elevator arcade were designed by Eaton’s own Interior Design Director, Rene Cera, and feature marble and granite.

Construction was blocking me getting a straight on shot.

Lady Eaton wanted to bring world-class culture to Toronto. She commissioned French architect Jacque Carlu to design the Seventh Floor. Along with Rene Cera, they designed the Eaton’s Auditorium, a 1300-seat concert hall, a restaurant called the Round Room and the foyer. Today, this grand event space is called The Carlu and is a National Historic Site of Canada. Click on the link to The Carlu to see the interior.

In 1973, Eaton’s College Street was one of the 490 buildings on Heritage Toronto’s initial induction list. When the CF Toronto Eaton Centre opened in ‪1977, the College Street‬ store closed, and the property was sold. The portion of the store that was located on the southeast corner of College St and Bay St was demolished for an office tower.

Today, the historic structure is called College Park. It’s a retail and office complex with residential space added to the building’s southern portion.

In 1905, Timothy Eaton, the department store’s founder, started the Santa Claus Parade. What began as a publicity stunt has become a celebrated Toronto tradition for over 115 years.

The first escalator in Toronto (and Canada), a wooden "traveling stair," was installed at the T. Eaton Co. store on Queen Street West 106 years ago. It was the first time shoppers could be automatically ferried between floors without having to ride an elevator.

Image from BlogTO.

1929 – Looking north up Yonge St with the construction of the Eaton’s College Street store on the left. Notice Oddfellows Hall and the clock tower of Fire Hall No. 3/St Charles Tavern in the background (City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 16, Series 71, Item 7442)

My shot last week - August 2022. Oddfellows Hall and the clock tower of Fire Hall No.3 are still there.

That is the construction that was in my way. As part of the TTC’s commitment to safety and modernization, College Station (Line 1) will be getting a new second exit/entrance, and elevators to improve customer safety, accessibility and convenience.

This photo was taken in 2018 looking south on Yonge St.

This photo taken in 2013 shows the clock tower more clearly.

1950 – Looking northwest from Yonge St towards the Eaton’s College Street store. Notice Hayter St once intersected with Yonge St (City of Toronto Archives, Series 574, File 16, ID 49357)

My photo August 2022

UPDATE - just came across this photo.