Sources: (left) the Globe, April 23. 1904, (right) the Telegram, May 11, 1904. For a product designed to enhance the beauty of early twentieth-century women, Dr. Charles might have chosen a name that better delivered his aim of enhancing one’s attractiveness (without drawing the ire of prudes) than one which now sounds more appropriate for [...]

Every Saturday at noon, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Portrait of Harris Henry Fudger. This Is Simpson’s by Merrill Denison (Toronto: Simpson’s, 1947). One stereotype in the business world is that of the cold-hearted, distant proprietor who cares only for [...]

Every Saturday at noon, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Holiday shopping at Yorkdale in the 1960s. Illustration by Brian McLachlan/Torontoist. Christmas shopping is upon us, which means it’s time for the claustrophobic to avoid approaching most of Toronto’s shopping malls. [...]

Source: The Globe, September 2, 1929. For most city students, this week marks the start of another year of hitting the textbooks or reasonable facsimiles of. Back in 1929, local department stores such as Simpson’s did their part to further the education of their future customer base by offering texts alongside the normal range of [...]

As Halloween nears, costume hunters are descending on the city’s vintage, resale, and thrift clothing stores looking for the right ensemble to dazzle their friends—we suspect that traffic reports will be required for Kensington Market, Goodwill, and Value Village locations this weekend. Someone may be lucky enough to find this gem from a quarter-century ago [...]

Every Saturday morning, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. Queen Street West and James Street, looking northeast. William James Sr., 1908. Wikimedia Commons One of the easiest way to grab a snapshot of Toronto’s past is to find the nearest microfilm [...]

While Torontoist usually shows how the city has been used by movie producers, home-grown small-screen productions have also made ample use of our city’s streets since CBLT came on the air in 1952. Back in 1971, comedians Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster used downtown as a backdrop for an exciting new sport, city golf. Over [...]

Each week, Torontoist examines the upcoming TV listings and makes note of programs that are entertaining, informative and of quality. Or, alternately, none of those. The result: Televisualist. Monday OLN replays the final episode of The Amazing Race tonight, which of course you probably missed on Sunday since you were watching your favorite Torontoist contributors [...]

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we’ve either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and [...]

The holiday shopping season has descended upon the city, along with an early blast of winter. This combination may lead shoppers to unconsciously purchase items to cure their winter blues, even if the calendar shows that fall has a few more weeks to go. Today's ad offers a prescription from Simpsons and Esprit to keep free-spirited souls in an ecstatic mood come February. A trip down to the historic Queen Street department store promised...

We don’t think we’ve ever lead with the same film two weeks in a row, but there’s a first time for everything. Did you get a chance to see Blade Runner: The Final Cut this week? We did. It was amazing. We really can’t think of a film we’d rather lead with (and there’s some [...]