Memories of old Toronto

Don’t get me wrong. I love the vibrant, multi-faceted city that Toronto has become. I wouldn’t want to turn back the clock to the staid, white-bread city I grew up in. But every once in a while, something triggers a pleasant memory of bygone days, and I indulge myself in a little wallow. Here’s a personal, idiosyncratic list of some of my fond memories:

• Arcadian Court. An elegant art deco restaurant on the eighth floor of the old downtown Simpson's store. You had to be on your best behaviour there as a kid. Your reward was their succulent chicken pot pie.
• Bookstores. The Cookbook Store, Britnell’s, Pages, Nicholas Hoare, the Book Cellar, Edwards, David Mirvish Books, Lichtman’s, Librairie Champlain, the World’s Biggest Bookstore. Many of the collections had been carefully curated and would lead you in inspiring new directions.
• Coffee houses, as opposed to coffee shops. You didn’t much care what the coffee and snacks were like. They just gave you the right to linger at a table and listen to live music.
• The old Exhibition, when it was still trying to be a country fair, and appeal to adults as well as kids. Kiwanis Festival competitions in the Music Building, fiddling and country dancing contests, snooker championships, the horse show, boat races, the Kitten Sweater models standing like statues.
• Fabric stores. Stitsky’s, Dressmakers’ Supply, Lizanne’s, Archie Fine and all those other little stores along Queen West near Spadina. Gorgeous quality fabrics for all occasions, endless choice. Lots of free sewing advice from the staff; they loved to sew too.
• Lunch counters. You’d find them in Kresge’s, Woolworth’s, some drug stores, the basement of Eaton’s Queen Street store. It’s where you went to get a grilled cheese sandwich and a milkshake. If you asked nicely, they would put chocolate ice cream in your chocolate milkshake.
• Movie theatres. Loews, the Uptown, the University, the Eglinton. There was a sense of grandeur about these movie palaces; you were being drawn into a different world.
• The revolving stage at Ontario Place. You could sit and enjoy the cool lakeside breeze on a warm summer night and watch some great live entertainment as the stage slowly turned in a complete circle. No bad seats!
• Record stores. Sam the Record Man, A&A, Vortex. Wide-ranging collections, knowledgeable staff. You could get quite a musical education just by asking a few questions in Sam’s classical department.
• The Imperial Room at the Royal York Hotel. In its heyday it was like a Las Vegas nightclub, with fine dining and a dance floor and top-notch live entertainment. Not my usual kind of haunt, but by a lucky quirk of fate I spent one unforgettable evening there listening to Duke Ellington and his orchestra.