Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Revealed

I have written before about how the venerable Honest Ed's store and the whole square city block that was owned by the Mirvish family was to be redeveloped. Well, it turns out that one building in the whole huge area was not owned by the Mirvish family and its owner refused to sell and so while demolition has gone on around it this building remains standing on Bathurst St. When the building beside it was torn down the old ghost signs for Quaker Oats and for some tailor were revealed. You can see the outline of the departed structure showing that it was smaller and allowed the taggers to paint over the upper parts of the wall in the past. This building is going to be surrounded by towers when the development is finished.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

19 comments:

Lea said...

Interesting! What wonderful stories old buildings could tell us.
Have a great day!

Christine said...

I suppose in a sense this has revealed some long lost historical treasures! Great find

Cloudia said...

You are an archaeologist and sociologist, Pat!

Tom said...

...what a find.

Sharon said...

That's a great find! I wonder why the owners wouldn't sell. I would guess they were offered a good price. That little building is going to look awfully small next to a bunch of high-rise buildings.

Lowell said...

This is soooo funny. I suppose the owner is holding out for more money. Good luck to him or her! I hope those living/working in the towers like this sort of thing. :)

William Kendall said...

The ghost signs are preferable to the tagging. I believe there was an article some weeks back on the owner of that building.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Oh wow! Will be interesting to follow this one Pat. Fantastic to see the old ghost signs and in excellent condition, but how will it pan out I wonder.

Jenn said...

I love ghost signs!! How cool to have one revealed! I have to say, I have seen ghost signs all over but Winnipeg has some of the best.

Bill said...

Great find, Pat. Those ghost signs are always a treasure to see. Good luck to the owner, I would like to see it survive the urban redevelopment plan or whatever is coming next.

jennyfreckles said...

Not sure whether to be glad the owner is holding out or sad. It will look odd amongst new builds.

Taken For Granted said...

What a fine ghost sign. Quaker Oats is still very much in business, but not sure people has seen this sign in a long time. Great find.

21 Wits said...

I remember that from before, and this is really interesting! You are the master of information for us!

s.c said...

Somebody stood firm against the big mony then. Nice story.

Jack said...

This kind of thing happens from time to time. I remember seeing a big Manhattan skyscraper built with a small modest home completely surrounded.

Small City Scenes said...

Interesting and great story. That has happened in Seattle often and it is not unusual to see tall office building and shops surrounding a tiny house
MB

Lesley said...

Wow! I must make the trek into town to see this.

Kate said...

This is a wonderful relic from the past. Wonder what its future will be?!

Unknown said...

Apparently the Ludlow Bros merchant tailor sign was painted around 1908 based on historical doucments.