(1920s) Yonge Street Remembered [Part 1]

As we continue to celebrate the Society’s 50th Anniversary, we are sharing articles from past issues of our membership magazine. As the City of Richmond Hill celebrates its 150th Anniversary, we will post some articles that share recollections of Richmond Hill of the past. Here we look back to the May/June 1996 issue of Heritage on the Hill and this article by Harry Sayers.

Recalling memories of Yonge Street when I was young (quite a bit younger than today) is quite a challenge. It’s hard to be accurate as to dates etc. but memories do exist so I’ll give it a try.

Let’s start with the east side and since I’m recalling the 20’s, I’ll keep mainly to the village as it was then.

South of Major Mac, then the Markham Rd., were the Harding and Palmer farms whose names live on in street names. The Palmer house at the corner of Yonge and Major Mac is now a real estate office.

Further north we come to a series of brick houses, some now replaced by service stations, etc. One exception was the Stanford Nursing Home, now an office building.

Across from the Presbyterian Church was a tenement block, later the home of the Liberal, then the Richmond Inn with the Liberal Office, bowling alley and theatre. Of course the Standard Bank now a computer store. Almost forgot, the Cities Service garage, just to the south of the bank.

Then came the Trench Block with hardware, grocery and drug stores in turn up to Lorne Ave.

On the north east corner of Lorne/Yonge was the old Radial Station with the spur running beside the loading platform. Here one bought tickets for the radial cars which at this time ran from North Toronto to Lake Simcoe via Aurora and Newmarket with a branch line to Schomberg. Oak Ridges was known as Schomberg Junction in those days. Roses from our several greenhouses were shipped to Toronto from the radial station while we newsboys picked up our Toronto newspapers which arrived by the radial cars.

The next block saw several stores over the years, such as Glenn’s Drug Store, Morley’s groceries, Mansbridge’s Meats, Skeele’s house and store, Braithwaite (Charlton’s) Hardware, the telephone exchange in the house at the southeast corner of Yonge/Centre E.

To the north of the United Church, came the Masonic Temple, and close by the “Fireproof Store” which was the location of David Hill’s wholesale tobacco and confectionary business, to become in 1940 our first Canadian Tire Store (still operated by a member of the Hill family at Yonge/16th Ave.).

Further north was Hopper’s Meat Market, later to be operated by the Kerr Brothers. At Dufferin St. (now Dunlop St.) was the Hill Bakery but I remember it as Eden’s Grocery and Bakery. Just to the north was then St. Mary’s Catholic Church and rectory.

Although set well back from Yonge St. and these days blocked off by houses on the south side of Bedford Park Ave. was Crosby Hall with it’s magnificent pine trees and lawn stretching to Yonge Street. Later the home of the Angle family (Mr. Angle being the general manager of Bedford Park greenhouses). The huge lawn was often the site of strawberry festivals and the like.

At the edge of the then north village boundary was the home of Col. Moodie who died while trying to reach Toronto to warn of the 1837 rebellion. Then there was the Burr Feed Mill, a great attraction to many young residents of the village.

Granted there are other places of interest, such as Ransom’s Barber Shop and other establishments but space forbids mention of them even if my memory permitted.

Hopefully these comments will stir some happy memories and perhaps the future will permit memories of the west side of Yonge Street in the 20’s to be recalled.