Tuesday Treasures

 May 2026 - Toronto ON

 Tom hosts Tuesday's Treasures.

Between 1880-83 - Looking north up Yonge St from Queen St in the Downtown Yonge area of Toronto.

Archive Photo Credit: City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1478, Item 38 - F.W. Micklethwaite photographs

1938 looking north at Queen and Yonge

A major Bank of Montreal (BMO) branch operated at the northeast corner of Yonge and Queen for decades. Built in 1910, it featured classical Italianate architecture. The historic bank's facade was preserved and integrated into a modern glass office tower, which serves as a key access point to the Yonge subway line.

In fact, I had used that entrance a couple of weeks ago.

2026

The F. W. Woolworth building at 2 Queen Street West, located on the northwest corner of Yonge and Queen in Toronto, is a historic landmark designed in 1895 with a distinct curved facade. Woolworth's occupied this prominent site from 1913 until the 1960s, operating a popular "five-and-dime" store that served as a landmark near the Toronto Eaton Centre

You can see the five-and-dime in the 1938 photo.

 The building is famously known for its curved storefront at the northwest corner of Queen and Yonge, initially built for Philip E. Jamieson in 1895.

Woolworth's took over the space around 1913, following a brief tenure by S.H. Knox & Company. It remained a staple in downtown Toronto's retail scene for decades.

The site was later famous for having a lunch counter in the basement with a tunnel leading to the Eaton's store.

Following Woolworth's, the building served as a Tower Records and later an Atmosphere store, with the structure eventually undergoing extensive restoration and heritage preservation.

The building is still recognized as the F. W. Woolworth Building and acts as a preserved heritage component at 2 Queen Street West.

Rosier Coffee

 Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

Weekly Wonders

T Stands for Tuesday

15 May 2026

HANOI VIETNAM

Last week's post

SATURDAY

I was up at 6:45, my mind abuzz with things to do. First off, I baked some frozen scones for breakfast.

I did do laundry during the week, but didn't stick to having it all done before the weekend. DONE AND PUT AWAY!

I wanted to fill all my spice mixtures for BBQ and tacos. NOT DONE I don't buy packaged mixes.

My plants needed some mothering! DONE

SUNDAY

I completed my passport renewal. It wasn't an easy online process. I ended up using John's laptop as mine wouldn't let me fill it out, go figure. Also some lazy programming that could be improved to help the process. Got a friend's address as a reference, and booked coffee with her next week.

I decided to delay processing the renewal as we booked a 5 day golf trip to PEI at the end of May.

Flights, golf and hotel booked.

I chatted with my cousin. Her job hunting is still ongoing, it is tough going out there. No one wants to hire permanent, everything is AI.

John installed the new shower head, we are in love with it!!

MONDAY

Monday Mural

Foto Tunes Forever in Blue Jeans

Once again, I had to tell AI that they were wrong.

I went looking for black pants and got a bargain!! I found a pair listed at $60, tried them on and they were perfect. I tried to find some others, but none in my size. I got to the cash and she says, "final sale", I was surprised but then she said the price $20!! I had $10 in points so I scored them for $11 WOO HOO!

I picked up my items from the tailor.

TUESDAY

Tuesday Treasures Homeless Jesus

We caught the 11:20 bus and walked underground(because it was  so cold and windy) to Joey's, which we like, to meet our financial advisor.

John had the steak and crunchy tuna rolls, I had steak and salmon rolls. L had yellowfin tuna salad.

It was all very good.

After lunch, we walked around the corner to Moore's as John wanted some pants. Oh, how I miss The Bay for items like this!! It has been years since we were in Moore's but he found two pairs that he liked. One will arrive later in the week.

We had never been into this store so I was curious about what it had originally been, as it had a very interesting entrance.

It is housed in a building that incorporates the facade of the historic 1919 Fairweather Building. Even more interesting, you can see the name Fairweather's over the entrance. However, I know Fairweather as an average young women's clothing chain.

Founded in 1866 by Scottish immigrant William Fairweather, it initially opened as a dry goods and clothing store in Peterborough, Ontario, before expanding into luxury furs and apparel.

By the early 20th century, the business moved its flagship operations to downtown Toronto. It operated high-profile retail locations on Yonge Street, including a landmark boutique near King Street (the facade now preserved at 100 Yonge Street) and a massive three-storey store near Dundas Street.

For decades, Fairweather was celebrated as a premier destination for high-quality ladies' coats, dresses, and fine furs. In the mid-to-late 20th century, it became iconic for massive, chaotic Boxing Day sales where shoppers lined up for blocks down Yonge Street.

During its peak retail era, the chain was owned by the major Canadian retail conglomerate Dylex Limited

WEDNESDAY

Signs

John had his first Wednesday men's golf league game and it was cold out!

I went out with soft plans for my day that turned out like nothing I planned! I had decided to see about selling some gold we had lying around. 

I came out of the subway at Queen St., an old BMO branch.

I went to a place on Yonge St. that I had used for jewelry repair in the past. I knew that it had some gold buyers.

I gave her my biggest piece first and I was shocked at what she offered me (in a very good way)! I dragged out my baggie and we went through the pieces, a lot of old watches that weren't worth anything, a few other pieces she suggested taking to an antique buyer. In the end, I was a happy camper. and walked out with double her first offer and a bunch of stuff gone!! 

She paid me in cash, so now I am freaking out, and took it into the Eaton Centre to the branch. 

Due to money laundering rules, you have to go to a bank that you have an account with. This branch had awful service. I walked out and went down to my usual branch and deposited it.

Canstruction Toronto is an annual design competition and exhibition held in the Toronto Financial District where architecture and engineering firms build elaborate, large-scale structures using canned foods. These sculptures are displayed in various locations within the financial district, to raise awareness about food insecurity.

I didn't photo all of them!

Turtle - 5,742 cans

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THURSDAY

I had a great itinerary for a day out, but it was feeling like 4 C and dull, so that didn't happen.

I did go to Longo's and it was cold out but it meant I didn't have to go tomorrow. 

We don't eat much processed food, especially hot dogs, but every once in a while...half price works for me!

Moving day!

FRIDAY

I went to T&T, an Asian grocery store, as we wanted to try making the Japanese curry that John loved last week.

Some food porn photos.

Dragon fruit - not the most flavourful fruit

Lettuce root

Japanese curry

Samples on Front St.

My cactus in bloom.

I walked back to the bus, stopping to pick up John's other pair of pants at Moore's.

AROUND TOWN

Toronto's Union Station named one of the most luxurious train hubs in the world

I mentioned the demolition of the Planetarium last week and here are some haunting photos.

COOKING

I divided the ham into four pieces. I doubled the colcannon recipe so we would have some on Sunday as well.

We had mushrooms and spinach in the fridge and I came across these great recipes.

                                

Saturday - ham colcannon broccolini

Sunday - meatloaf with spinach and cheese with leftover colcannon. BONUS finished the jar of BBQ sauce, which I will never buy again!

Monday - leftover meatloaf with fresh colcannon and broccolini fried mushrooms

Tuesday - Joey's lunch dumplings 

Wednesday - shrimp fajitas

Thursday - salmon, parmesan roasted potatoes

Friday - bulgogi, rice, snow peas, bean sprouts  - since John was going to be late.

WATCHING

I found a couple of season 21 Hotel Inspector that I hadn't seen.

I now have 15 episodes of MasterChef Australia downloaded.

I had forgotten that I hadn't seen the last episodes of My Kitchen Rules Australia season 15, so I remedied that.

We finally finished Undercover.

Since we saw A Beautiful Noise last week, it was fitting that we watched Song Sung Blue, a 2025 American biographical musical drama film based on the 2008 documentary film of the same name. The film stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson as Mike and Claire Sardina, who performed as the Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder. The film's cast also includes Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, King Princess, and Mustafa Shakir.

Here is the original Lightning and Thunder 1999 performance.

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson LIVE in NYC

We caught up on our recorded shows.

Legends is a 2026 British crime drama television series. In the early 1990s, Her Majesty's Customs and Excise was losing its battle with illegal drug smuggling across Britain's borders. In a top-secret operation, a small team of Customs employees were sent undercover with new identities and told to infiltrate Britain's most dangerous drug gangs.

Tom Burke is the star.

It also stars Alex Jennings as Home Secretary (Prince Charles in The Queen, and Edward VIII in The Crown).

This is our kind of series.

Berlin and The Lady with an Ermine  is a Spanish television series. A prequel to Money Heist, it focuses on the life of Andrés de Fonollosa, aka "Berlin", before the events of the first two seasons of the original series. We loved Money Heist.

Berlin reunites his crew in Seville for an elaborate con targeting a powerful duke and his wife who've made the mistake of trying to blackmail him. Their plan involves faking the theft of a priceless painting as cover.

READING

I finished Strangers by Paul Finch, a new to me author, and I really enjoyed it.

I read a quarter of Perfect Happiness, most seemed to like it, it just didn't work for me.

Tuesday Treasures

 Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

The Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817 and was the first chartered bank in Canada. It served as the central bank for the country until the founding of the Bank of Canada in 1935. Legislation in 1824 prevented the bank from serving the town of York but it got its break in 1840 when it took over The Bank of The People. This was a reformer bank started in 1835 to provide loans to farmers that the Bank of Upper Canada wouldn’t serve. The Family Compact didn’t like the direct competition of reformers and plotted to have the bank taken over by the Bank of Montreal. In 1885 they opened a branch at Yonge and Front Streets and this building is one of the few in this area that survived the great fire of 1904. The building was designated in 1976 for its heritage value as one of the finest examples of 19th century bank buildings in Canada. It is now home to The Hockey Hall of Fame.

Click here for Bank of Montreal (BMO) history as a branch, it is a most interesting article with extensive number of photos.

My main purpose visiting the Hockey Hall of Fame was to get these photos!!

Built within 10 years of the birth of hockey, the building that houses the Esso Great Hall is a quiet place in which to reflect on the richness of our past. Construction of the building began in 1885, during a period of great prosperity and optimism in Canada's future. Originally a bank, the building reflected the importance of banking in the formation of a country in much the same way that it now reflects the importance of hockey in the building of a culture.

This florid example of rococo architecture was designed by the Toronto firm of Darling and Curry, which also created the similarly august Toronto Club a few blocks away. Used by the Bank of Montreal as a head office until 1949, the building continued to serve as a branch until 1982, when it closed for the last time.

The building remained largely unused until its restoration by BCE Place (now Brookfield Place) for use as the Hockey Hall of Fame (except for the rumoured presence of Dorothy, the ghost of a former teller who took her own life after a failed love affair with the bank manager -see below).

Customers entered the Banking Room through the building's main doors on the southeast corner.

Entering the Esso Great Hall, you find yourself in a room that was once the largest bank branch in Canada. 

The banking room is three stories in height. The lower portion of the walls is covered in rich cherrywood. 

Richly modeled detail abounds in the Hall, framing the mezzanine on the west side. This was the former boardroom, behind which was the bank manager's private apartment. 

Measuring 70 by 70 feet, the room rises to a 45-foot-high stained glass dome. Rendered in the best traditions of classical symbolism, the dome is the largest of its kind in Toronto. Constructed by Joseph McCausland and Sons, it features 24 fanned panels that depict allegorical dragons guarding gold from eagles. Around the outside are a cornucopia of fruit and flowers. In the centre, eight circles bear emblems representing what were then the seven provinces and Canada. The task of restoring the stained glass to its original glory was given to Andrew McCausland, the great-great-grandson of builder Joseph McCausland, whose son Robert was responsible for the original design.

 Toronto - The suicide happened on March 11, 1953. Dorothea had come in much earlier than the other tellers and went straight to the upstairs bathroom where she stayed for a period of time. She eventually came down and went back up to the bathroom where she shot herself with the banks .38 calibre revolver. The 19-year-old was carried down in a Windsor-style chair and rushed to St. Michael’s Hospital. She died 22 hours after shooting herself in the head, which doctors considered a miracle.

For year’s nobody knew the true identity of the woman who killed herself and stories have been floating around for years on why she killed herself. People who have told the ghost story referred to the ghost as Dorothy. However, after some investigative digging by The Toronto Star the woman’s identity was finally revealed. Her name was Dorothea Mae Elliott.

According to source Dorothea was having an affair with either a married teller or branch manager. After confronting her lover and being rejected she shot herself in the upstairs bathroom. However, there have been a number of other rumours as to why she killed herself.

Click here to read more fascinating stories of Dorothy sightings. Now we want to know more about the BMO ADD department that operated out of that building in the 1980s!