Results tagged “samtherecordman”

Love padlocks are, if nothing else, the most secure way to symbolize keeping what you love safe. And while Posterchild's love locks can't stop cranes from knocking down each piece of our precious Sam's structure, they'll likely be outlasted by the sign: the chair of Ryerson's Experts Advisory Committee for the Master Plan, Linda Grayson, told us this week that the two oversized records won't be going too far. While they haven't decided on an exact location yet, she said that, after chatting with "the man" Sam Sniderman himself, the marquee will go either on the south or west side of the new Student Learning Centre being constructed in Sam's old spot, as to not block the east and west windows. And if it's not on the building itself, it will be nearby, says Grayson, noting that Sniderman is pleased with that idea, too.

During Nuit Blanche last weekend the iconic Sam the Record Man sign was lit up over Yonge Street one last time. Now the sign is coming down as demolition begins and the new owners, Ryerson University, transform the site into a Student Learning Centre. It will not disappear for long, however: last year Toronto City Council voted to designate the entire building a heritage site in order to protect the sign, and Ryerson will remount the sign on the new building. The designs for the Student Learning Centre have yet to be finalized.

Every weekday morning, bright and early, we feature a photo (or two) from a photographer in the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's our way of giving the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention that they deserve.

Every weekday morning, bright and early, we feature a photo (or two) from a photographer in the Torontoist Flickr Pool. It's our way of giving the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention that they deserve.

Toronto's extensive work on the silver screen reveals that, while we have the chameleonic ability to look like anywhere from New York City to Moscow, the disguise doesn't always hold up to scrutiny. Reel Toronto revels in digging up and displaying the films that attempt to mask, hide, or—in rare cases—proudly display our city.

Ottawa to introduce new fuel economy standards. They will be "at least" as stringent as American fuel economy standards. In response, David Suzuki blew upon a party horn sarcastically and waved a tiny flag, his derision apparent to all and sundry.

Last Wednesday, legendary Canadian music retailer Pindoff Record Sales sold off their 72-store Music World chain. Two days later, the new owners filed for bankruptcy protection and and will likely lay off 648 employees by the end of January. And so it goes. According to court documents, Music World plans an "orderly wind down," including closing stores and liquidating inventory. The retailer has been in dire straits for years, propped up by the Toronto-based...

Photo by David Sherret from Flickr.

The biggest bargain in Toronto shopping this year belongs to Jason Naworynski of Etobicoke, who bought the Meteor neon sign inside Sam The Record Man—the whole thing, including the neon-lit marquees on either side—for a bid of fifteen hundred dollars; easily less than a tenth of its original sale value (let alone its historical value). Jason was the only bidder on the item, despite Sam's being packed with bidders for its bankruptcy auction (and, at times, more media covering the auction than people participating in it). "Are you kidding me?" he said. "That's a steal." Jason plans to keep the sign in his warehouse for a couple of years until he figures out what to do with it. Luckily, it won't be alone—Jason also bought the seven movie theatre seats Sam's had installed, old seats from a theatre torn down to make way for City Hall back in the day. He paid $425 for them—less than sixty bucks each.

The Star is reporting this morning that The City of Toronto has designated the Sam The Record Man store as a heritage building, protecting the signs from being auctioned off. Kyle Rae said that "[the City will] sit down with the owner or future owners as the property is being sold, and we hope to be able to maintain the two discs and `Sam' signs on the rooftop as part of the ongoing history of Yonge Street." If it was possible to slow-clap over the internet, we'd be doing it right now. Well done, Toronto.

Photo by Eyeline-Imagery in the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

So much for preserving Toronto's cultural heritage—it looks like pretty much the entire stock of Sam The Record Man's flagship store is going up for auction.

We rarely do an Extra, Extra, but tonight's an exception for two reasons: first, two major crime events -- a bus hijacking and a shooting -- happened in downtown Toronto over the past twenty-four hours that merit mentioning; and second, in each story the facts are getting lost along the way and, as usual, the media is muddling the details of what actually (seems to have) happened. It's our goal in this recap to try to synthesize and clarify all the information coming in, as well as point out some holes in the coverage that's out there so far. If you spot a mistake that we make, please let us know in the comments with a link to whatever source you're getting your info from, and we'll correct ourselves.

"Hey hey. Ho ho. Ashlee Simpson is a no-talent goat."