This is very neat! Muirhead's Cafeterias is at the Ryrie Building. I mention Muirhead's in my latest Substack. People didn't initially like serving themselves! bobgeorgiou.substack.com/p/2-the-rest...

A "Bridge To Nowhere" it was not!

From espresso machines to legendary clubs: Discover lost Toronto restaurants, Greek-owned hotspots, old maps, and the Horseshoe Tavern! 🍽️My latest Substack Issue is out NOW! bobgeorgiou.substack.com/p/2-the-rest...

Spiraling into law. The spiral staircase in the American Room in Osgoode Hall, probably the nicest library room in the city. #Toronto #EastCoastKing #Architecture #BlueSkyArtShow #OsgoodeHall #TOhistory #AlphabetChallenge #WeekBforBooks #library

OK, this is super neat: "Toronto's Linguistic Heritage" from @uoftcities.bsky.social! It tracks the histories and geographies of linguistic communities in Toronto. Greek, Hungarian, Arabic...and way more! Bravo Aniket Kali & Jeff Allen! schoolofcities.github.io/languages/to...

This is what the neighbourhood of City Hall looked like before Nathan Phillips Square and New City Hall were built. The photo was taken from the Canada Life building looking east circa 1950. https://ow.ly/LQH850XVJAv

The product of our long Bathurst walk: a photo of one apartment per decade, eleven different decades (1910-2020). Long live the multiplex. www.architecturewritingworkshop.com/threads/1225...

Montgomery's Inn in the village of Islington #OnThisDay in 1919. At the time, the building was a private rental property. The stucco was removed in 1967. https://ow.ly/qIXh50XSr6Y

"In March 1955, The Globe and Mail ... identified the catalyst of the new craze as “an Italian device known as the ‘expresso machine’” that had already caused a resurgence in coffee consumption in Britain." By @bobgeorgiouto.bsky.social from Spacing issue 71: scenesto.com/2026/01/10/w...

Looking for a Sunday read with your coffee? I've got you covered! 📚 This originally appeared in a @spacing.bsky.social issue last year and I've reproduced it for my site! 🖥 And hey, it's about coffee! ☕️

I finally got a look at BIg Bear Park today! Very neat! Modern as far as Park design goes but whimsical too! Whimsical is good. 🐻

On this date in 1935, Ronnie Hawkins was born in Huntsville, Arkansas. He would move to Toronto during the 1960s and become a local musical institution.

Is it summer yet? This story about Toronto's first taste of espressos and patios will warm you!

Glen Stewart Ravine was called...The Witches' Park?!🧹So says an January 1894 article in The Globe! Sadly, no word whatsoever on any spooky origins or any other sources which repeat it! 📷: TPL Archive, 1894

By the way, I'm dropping a new-ish article on my website this Saturday! www.scenesto.com

I remember being at work when Neil's passing broke. Just gutting. Same kind of cancer as Gord Downie. It came out of the blue. Noone knew. Which is what Neil wanted. Reading Geddy's bio about the period was so sad. Sleep well, Professor.

Thank you for highlighting this AI slop account. Unfortunately, more garbage is on its way. Awful that people are being duped, following that garbage page and believing the images are legit. The real O.G. "Vintage Toronto" community page never posts AI photos. www.facebook.com/VintageToronto

From the Gerrard Square mall to Little India, photographer Peter MacCallum continues his exploration of Gerrard Street East, a street facing significant changes spacing.ca/toronto/2026...

So there's a Facebook group posting "old" (ie AI) pics of Toronto. While it's completely unnecessary as there's multiple digital archives with lots of amazing images, it's fun picking out the inaccuracies. Like this beauty:

A wintery jaunt through Port Hope!

The first edition of the Toronto History Curiosities Substack is up! 🎉 I’m ringing in the New Year with a look back at 2025, plus Goad’s Atlases, 19th Century snow clearing offenders, Lost Streets, and a review of The Gaol Carpenter’s Diary! 📖 open.substack.com/pub/bobgeorg...

Happy New Year! Wishing everyone a great 2026! 🥳

Hope everyone is having a merry New Years Eve! (Globe and Mail, December 16, 1938)

90 years ago today: Tobogganing at Riverdale Park & Withrow Park, Toronto - Dec. 27, 1935 #1930s #winter #parksandrec #torontohistory #jeremyhopkin

A Very Spacing Christmas! Cc @spacingstore.bsky.social

If you want to track Santa 🎅 today: www.noradsanta.org/en/map

#TIL Two iconic Yonge Street Strip venues were Greek-owned: Steele's Tavern (Steele Basil) and Le Coq D'Or (George Bulucon)! Photos: City of Toronto Archives

ICYMI: I launched a Substack! First real post comes out in the new year! bobgeorgiou.substack.com?r=1ihhi&utm_...

So you -- meaning, I -- have started a Substack! https://scenesto.com/2025/12/20/ive-started-a-substack/

Agincourt Mall from Robert Bonis' A History of Scarborough. What was your childhood mall?

On this date in 1904, Toronto' first escalator was installed at the Eaton's store on Yonge Street. Timothy Eaton put mannequins on the "new-fangled" machine to convince shoppers that it was safe.

A winter, sunset-y walk through the Betty Sutherland trail. cc @torontoboris.bsky.social

During the Second World War, about 500 men went through a secret camp near Whitby, Ontario. Special Training School 103, popularly known as Camp X, played an important role in the war effort and in our history. This is its story. 📸 Whitby Archives 🧵 1/12

Follow Boris as he treks through one my oft-explored areas!

From the vaults: with the Finch West line opening today, here's a look back at the birth of the now-defunct Scarborough RT #TOhistory #TOpoli #onpoli #TTC jamiebradburnwriting.wordpress.com/2018/06/10/s...

What's the most mistaken place name in Toronto?

Liberty Village Industrial Noir. If you know, you know.

I made a video about the 1878 Illustrated Historical Atlas! (Also available on other media consuming sites) youtu.be/CwWk8tiXXLU?...

Tonight in Police Court: A case of a cattle stabbing. The cow was badly injured. The prisoner was fined. (Globe, September 3, 1857)

This is great news. I've always thought a book on Darling was sorely needed.

Somerset House, circa 1955 Artist: Nicholas Hornyansky, 1896-1965 Medium: Watercolour 📸: TPL J.W.L. Forster House / Hon. James Cox Aikens House Built in 1873, it still stands at 27 Wellesley St. E. #1950s #watercolour #watercolor #painting #city #torontoart #art #toronto #canada #jeremyhopkin

Nope.

Here's one for Sandwiches of History or Tasting History: Evening Sandwiches from 1859! (The Globe, Jan 31, 1859)

A literal row of bollards (over 2 dozen) for no apparent reason line a very short stretch of Victoria Park Ave. And they're all vintage pre-amalgamation Metro Toronto stock. #praisethebollard #Toronto #vintage @worldbollardassoc.bsky.social #bollard

Tonight's Police Court reports show a not so Merry Christmas & Happy New Year for a Stanley (Lombard) Street family. (Globe, December 23, 1858)

#30DayMapChallenge Day 9 #ImLibraryPeople TPL_on_reddit says “Each corresponds to areas in the north, east, south/ centre and west of the city limits back then. Pre-amalgamated TPL had a smaller geographic footprint than today's TPL” h/t @rebeccachesley.bsky.social @gmeslin.bsky.social

On this date in 1908, workers building a waterworks tunnel under Lake Ontario discovered up to 100 human footprints in the lakebed. The prints may have been up to 11,000 years old. However, they were in the path of the tunnel, so they were covered them in concrete.

Looking west from Don Mills Road over Highway 401 in 1965 & 2021.

I must mention Norman Lucas, one of GWL's sons, who had a big role in the story. He was wounded in WWI. It goes to show that the impact of the Great War was so prevalent that it factors into a seemingly unrelated research topic. A sobering thought for today. 18thbattalioncef.blog/soldiers-fou...

It was having an outing at Red Rocket when I saw this. Then it was down the rabbit hole. One that led to penning an article: scenesto.com/2025/11/11/t...