199 Yonge Street by Olena Sullivan

This former branch of the Canadian Bank of Commerce was built in 1905. It was designed by the architectural firm of Darling and Pearson in a Second Classical Revival style. It was acquired by the city as part of a 1980s revitalization plan for the nearby theatre district and has remained empty ever since. Currently privately owned.

Thomas Meredith House | Olena Sullivan

First recorded in the tax assessment rolls in 1858, this Italianate-style villa was constructed for Thomas Meredith, a grain merchant who had a decade-long association with the Gooderham & Worts Distillery. Meredith's family retained the property until 1911. It is one of the few surviving mid-19thC houses south of Allen Gardens. The four principal rooms on the ground and three on the second floor have fireplaces, all but on still retain their original mantles. A heritage site, is it privately owned and in the midst of renovation.

Union Station | Toni Wallachy

Union Station is the largest railway station ever built in Canada and was declared a Historic Site in 1975. Construction began during WWI to replace an earlier station located to the west. The first section, the Great Hall and two office wings were constructed between 1915-20, while construction began in 1925 on an elevated viaduct to raise the railway corridor above the roads and sidewalks that intersected it and to bring the tracks into Union Station. The passenger concourse was completed in 1930. GO Transit was added in 1967. Today the City, GO Transit, and the TTC are embarking on a $1.5 billion restoration, renovation, and revitalization of the station.

Guild Inn | Timothy Neesam

In 1914, Colonel Harold C. Bickford, a retired American soldier, had this Arts & Crafts style mansion built, surrounded by 88 acres of gardens and woodlands. The property was purchased in 1932 by Rosa Breithaupt Hewetson who turned the estate into an artists' cooperative called "The Guild of All Arts". Later, the house was converted into an inn to produce income for the guild. Many of Canada's most significant artists were associated with the Guild - from AY Jackson to Sir Ernest MacMillan. The property is now owned by the City and it is negotiating with Centennial College to restore the original house as headquarters for their new Culture and Heritage Institute.

First Parliament | Rick Harris

This block was the site of Ontario's first and second purpose-built parliament buildings, commissioned by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe and completed in 1797 in York, the new capital of Upper Canada. They were burned by American soldiers during the War of 1812. The second set of buildings was built in 1820, but destroyed by accidental fire in 1824. Consumers Gas owned the site from the 1880s to the 1960s and built several buildings here as part of a large complex producing coal gas. Plans to commemorate the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 in 2012 may provide the impetus to secure the property and create a public site that will celebrate the significant history that lies hiddent beneath the tarmac.

205 Yonge St. | Toni Wallachy

205 Yonge was built in 1906 to house a banking hall and offices of the Bank of Toronto, a forerunner of the TD Canada Trust. It was designed by EJ Lennox, designer of Casa Loma. The building is a fine example of Beaux-Arts architecture and the interior features dramatic columns, mosaic floors and stained glass skylights. In the late 80s, the city purchased and restored it as a home for the Toronto Historical Board but sold it in 2003. It has been vacant since and is currently for sale.

All Saints Church | Toni Wallachy

All Saints was designed by Richard C Windeyer and John Falloon for an affluent congregation and completed in 1874. The charming interior is composed of buff brick with red brick embellishment, gabled entrance porches, and arched windows and includes a 1918 Casavant organ. All Saints was decommissioned as a parish in the 70s and converted to a community centre and continues to operate under the auspices of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto. The church building was designated in 1983 and is currently listed on the "Endangered Churches" list of the Heritage Canada Foundation.

Milne House | Timothy Neesam

Sitting vacant and alone in the Don River Valley at Lawrence Avenue, the Milne House is the last remaining structure from a former mill community called Milneford, originally a cluster of some 16 buildings including a dry goods store, wagon shop, and worker's housing. Likely built between 1860-65, the Milne House is a classic Ontario Gothic Revival farmhouse, although the original full-length porches and vertical plank timber siding are now gone. The house survived development and Hurricane Hazel and remained occupied until 1992 when it became part of the Charles Sauriol Conservation Area. It has since sat empty and has suffered damage from fire, water, and people.

Loblaws Groceteria | Toni Wallachy

The well-known warehouse on the corner of Lakeshore and Bathurst is a remnant of early 20th century industrial development along the waterfront. It was constructed in 1928 to house manufacturing, packaging and warehouse facilities of Loblaws, as well as their head offices. Design by Sparling, Martin and Forbes in Art Deco style, it originally included bowling lanes and an auditorium for use of the employees. After Loblaws left, it was occupied rent-free by the Daily Bread Food Bank until 2000 but has since been empty. A designated heritage site since 2004, Loblaws applied unsuccessfuly to have it demolished in 2004.

Maple Leaf Gardens | Rick Harris

Called "the most important religious building in Eastern Canada", Maple Leaf Gardens is one of Toronto's most storied buildings. Designed in Art Deco style by Ross & Macdonald in 1931 in the midst of the Great Depression, it was completed in just 6 months. Designed solely as a sports arena, the Toronto Maple Leafs filled the seats from 1931 until they moved to the ACC in 1999, making it one of North America's most important hockey shrines. It also hosted Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Winston Churchill, and Pierre Trudeau. Owned by Loblaws in 2004, no construction has taken place for reuse.

Wiliam Goodwin house | Toni Wallachy

The William Goodwin House is believed to have been built on Yonge St. around 1845 by a York Mills wagon maker. It was moved from its original location (4162 Yonge St, south of Hwy 401) to city parkland near Moatfield Farm Park in 1982. It was used by the Federation of Ontario Naturalists until 2007 when the lease passed back to the Toronto Parks Department and has been vacant since.

The Talbot Apartments | Olena Sullivan

The Talbot Apartments - Glen-Levin, Strathavon, and Kelvingrove - are a highly visible set of neighbouring red brick, low density apartment complexes on the east side of Bayview Avenue opposite Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Completed in 1940, they retain much of their original architectural form, sharing a similar scale and architectural appearance associated with Georgia Revival style. Considered a gateway to Leaside, they also have a strong historical association with their builder Henry Howard Talbot, who established a construction business in the 20s, served as a municipal councillor, and was Mayor of Leaside from 1938-47. They have been recommended for designation although an application to demolish was received in 2008.

The Canary Restaurant & Palace Street School | Rick Harris

This eclectic-looking building on the corner of Cherry St. & Front St. E is a rare survivor in an area that has transformed from neighbourhood to railway and industrial lands to wastelands. The Italianate part of the structure (right) was designed by Joseph Sheard in 1859 as the Palace Street School and is the only surviving example of the early free schools built by the Toronto Board of Education. A corner addition was added in 1891 when the school closed to transform the building into a hotel. In 1965, the Vlahos family opened the Canary Restaurant on the ground floor, which became a well-known area landmark until 2007. It has been vacant since.

Stanley Barracks | Olena Sullivan

Stanley Barracks is all that is left of a group of military buildings known as the New Fort, which was built in 1841 to replace the aging buildings and earthworks at Fort York. Originally consisting of 6 main cuildings, it was one of the first recruiting and training centres for the newly formed North West Mounted Police in 1873. It was largely demolished in 1953 but the Officer's Quarters (Stanley Barracks) were saved and became home to the Marine Museum and Toronto Historical Board in 1959. Plans are going forth to build a hotel immediately adjacent to the Barracks, a site rich with archaelogical potential.

Royal Canadian Military Institute | Timothy Neesam

The RCMI is the second oldest building on University Avenue after Osgoode Hall. Now dwarfed by high-rises on either side, its scale is characteristic of an earlier time. The building is a result of renovations and additions, the front designed by Chadwick and Beckett in 1908, and extended to the south in 1912-13. Originally, the Beaux-Arrts brick structure included second floor balconies, which have been removed and the facade stuccoed. During WWI, dignitaries viewed large military parades from the building's balcony and Governors General laid its cornerstones. A designated heritage building, the RCMI has submitted plans to replace this building with a condominium tower with some floors reserved for the RCMI.

Bulding Storeys Postcard