One of my favourite posts in our archive of vintage Toronto topics is one of the most simple: photographs of the city at night. Spanning a range between 1910 and 1969, the collection is a stunning look at a growing city that gets progressively brighter as the decades go by. It's also black and white, which has always made me think it would nice to do a colour follow-up.
Given the time period (1970s and prior), there aren't a huge number of colour images available in the Toronto Archives, much less those taken at night. But, there are some. Many of these are postcards, which surely depict Toronto at night to communicate what a bustling and cosmopolitan city it was back then, even if this wasn't entirely true. Predictably you get a lot of touristy locations from these documents, places like downtown Yonge Street, the skyline and the CNE.
Earlier colour-tinted postcards from the the first decade of the 20th century function in much the same way, though they depict different locations. Taken as a whole, this set of images shows Toronto proudly pronouncing its status as bonafide destination, a city that comes to life at night.
PHOTOS
Looking north on Spadina from Queen, 1900s
Queen Street at night, 1900s
Toronto from the Bay, 1907
Modest skyline, 1960
New Terminal at Malton Airport, 1960s
Queen streetcar at Long Branch, 1964
Bloor at Dundas, 1965
Glendale Cinema (avenue Road north of Lawrence), Ca. 1969
New City Hall, 1970
The CNE at night, 1970
Toronto skyline, 1970s
Yonge Street north of Dundas, 1970s
Yonge and Gerrard streets, 1970s
Toronto skyline, 1970s
Gardiner Expressway downtown core, 1976
City Hall at night, 1978
Ontario Place, 1979
Most of the postcards above derive from Chuckman's collection, though others have been sourced from the Toronto Archives.
Just when it seemed Rob Ford had dodged controversy for a few weeks and was 
The best new bakeries that opened in Toronto during the past 12 months haven't, for the most part, heard of the wheat belly phenomenon. Ditto on the idea that you should either be cutting out sugar, or chocolate or dairy or that cupcakes and doughnuts are no longer "cool." They all threw caution to the wind somehow and opened up anyway, and secretly, or not-so secretly, we are happier for it. 
Weekend events in Toronto is our guide to events happening this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Here's what's happening in Toronto this Jan 10-12, 2014.
Food delivery in Toronto is one of the biggest reasons we order online. From lazy summers to brutal winters, there are plenty of excuses why we now turn to web sites (or apps on our smartphones) in order to get our fill from our favourite local restaurants. While in the past food delivery from restaurants was largely relegated to the usual Chinese, Indian, Thai and Pizza options, these days it's easy to get pretty much any type of food delivered to your door.
The Bloor-Danforth and Spadina line platforms of Spadina station really should be separate stations, such is the physical distance between the two. Everyone but the greenest of newcomers knows a change at St. George is vastly preferable to traversing the long underground walkway at the next stop.
There are a couple of reasons why they did this. Aside from the obvious savings on staffing costs (the north/portion of Spadina Station does not feature a fare collector), 
Obviously ridership on the University Line increased to the point that there were no more early closures (it's almost funny to think that was ever necessary), and the moving walkway was a boon for folks using the Spadina Bus who wanted to head north upon arrival at the station (if going south, it makes more sense to head to St. George). As many as 11,000 people were using the walkway per day in the years leading up to its eventual demise, but faced with exorbitant costs to refurbish and maintain the walkway, the TTC closed it down before removing it altogether.
This two-week old ramen shop occupies an address just doors down from Sneaky Dee's and is serving up noodles, donburis and Japanese pub foods. But how does it compare to the ample competition in this town?
While it's neither grand nor particularly well-preserved, what remains of 
The stretch of St. Clair West from Winona to Jane has little in the way of heritage buildings - just two, including Heydon House and St. Clare's Basilica at Dufferin. As a hotel, Heydon House boasted a ballroom, and dining room and a tavern, and hosted cockfights in the ballroom until the police forced them to take place clandestinely in the hotel's attic. It was also the scene of an 
Plans to redevelop Heydon House came to light last year, when Ward 17 councilor Cesar Palacio held public meetings to consult on the future of the building and the adjacent area. Officials in the city planning department confirm that the owners have submitted drawings for an extensive renovation of the building, but that nothing more formal has been discussed.
Widening the bridge at Keele Street was supposed to happen during the 
Even when the underpass excavation goes ahead, redevelopment of the corners by Heydon House will have no shortage of further obstacles. To the east, a long-vacant lot next to the Faith Impact Ministry's storefront church with its iconic "Jesus Saves" sign has to be remediated. Owned by Imperial Oil, the lot has had its environmental assessment, and work seems about to begin in the spring. 
The corner also hosts some stubborn pieces of infrastructure. To the west of Heydon House, two power substations - one owned by Toronto Hydro, the other by the TTC - colonize a stretch of St. Clair, while Heydon House itself, the tallest building in the area, has a small forest of cell phone repeaters on its roof, which would need to be moved before renovations begin.
The top vinyl and designer toy stores in Toronto stock the kind of toys you just sort of stare at in wonder, but aren't exactly suitable for playing house with - unless you're weird like that. Which is totally cool too. With Pharrell's personal toy collection coming to Toronto's Design Exchange for the 
Toronto's newest Neapolitan pizza spot is a sight to behold, not just because of the space itself but also for what's on the menu. Here you can get pasta served in a bowl of pizza bread and a tasty rendition that's a cross between a Neapolitan pizza and calzone.
It was Rob Ford night in Toronto last night, at least if 
Photos by Andrew Williamson
We're big fans of videos that pay homage to Toronto which is why we couldn't resist posting this video sent to us by local director Gary Samson. 
Another Monday is upon us, and tonight TO's favourite experimental film screening night 
This Week in Music rounds up the latest news, releases and concerts coming to Toronto.
This new butcher shop on St. Clair West boasts marble countertops, a tin ceiling, and some fine cuts of meat. As you'd expect, the focus is on local farms and ethically raised animals, but the prepared food and speciality products sections should also prove a draw given the quality of items on offer. 
Drake Night with the Toronto Raptors went down smoothly on Saturday at the Air Canada Centre. We've seen hip hop moguls align themselves with sports franchises before, like when 
Branding was in full effect. Upon entering the ACC, every ticket holder received a fresh black long sleeve shirt with a golden Raptors emblem on the front and the OVO owl on the back. Rumor has it that this black and gold combination might be the direction that the team's re-branding is headed. 
Those who had their hopes set on seeing a full-on Drake performance might have been a bit disappointed, but that's not what the night was really about. It was a basketball game, and Drizzy had no intention of outshining the brand that he is now an ambassador of. 
Photos courtesty of Ron Turenne/NBA photos
Continuing a series that 
But every year fares change in at least some of the 29 cities studied. What happened in 2013? While Toronto suffered/enjoyed a year of 
Back to 2014. Toronto is no longer the most costly when it comes to occasional users, as a handful of cities are now slightly more expensive for infrequent riders. A C-Train ticket in Calgary costs more ($3) than dropping a token ($2.70) into a TTC turnstile. Montreal has now caught up to Toronto for cash fares ($3), while Ottawa ($3.40) and Edmonton ($3.20) cost quite a bit more -- though all three cities have equivalent or lower token (multiple-trip) prices. 
Senior fares are another matter. This specific kind of discounted fare was used as the metric for comparing reduced fare types, and for seniors it remains far more expensive to ride transit Toronto than all other cities except Ottawa. And that city offers a $40 monthly senior's pass and 
What makes matters even worse is that Toronto seems to be uniquely discouraging the purchase of a monthly pass in first place. Under the recent fare hike a rider must now take 49.5 rides per trip to make the monthly pass worthwhile ($133.75/$2.70 = 49.53). This equates to having to commute all 22 work days in a month, never taking vacation or being sick, not even taking off Canada Day or Christmas or other statutory holidays, and then travel eight more times in the evening or on weekends. No other city has such a high index - the average for the entire 29-city set is only 36 trips. 
