One of the current ironies being played out in the Honest Ed’s for sale saga is that the creation of Mirvish Village happened by accident. In the 1950s and 60s, Ed Mirvish began buying the houses on Markham with the plan to demolish them to build a parking lot. The City of Toronto fought Mirvish and the houses on Markham were eventually saved and later populated by artists and culture-related retail.
The buildings in Mirvish Village are to be included in the sale, which is obviously sad since the street is one of the most charming and unique retail strips in Toronto. Oddly, there are very few images documenting the area in the City of Toronto’s Archives except for these handful of photos.
Marhkham and Lennox — the building on the right is currently the Victory Cafe
East side of Markham St. The Books Books Books store is now The Beguiling, one of North America’s premier comics store.
East side of Markham
Looking north on Markham
Looking south on Markham
West side of Markham, looking north from Lennox
Looking north on Markham
West side of Markham
