Old Gables and Pizza Slices: 648-656 Spadina Avenue

As an architectural photographer, I am always keen to record surviving fragments of older streetscapes in areas of downtown Toronto that have been subject to intensive redevelopment. From experience, I know that this type of documentation can serve as a mnemonic device, reinforcing viewers’ personal experiences of the city.

I photographed the commercial block at 648-656 Spadina in October 2020 expressly to show its unusual, and partially accidental massing of architectural forms. Although three of the buildings in the block are more than a century old, they form an unlikely unit with two recent interventions, one of them Modernist and the other Brutalist. The ensemble can be seen as having a prominent three-storefront central element, buttressed at each end by recessed structures.

The former RBC Financial branch at 648 Spadina opened in 1979. It replaced a commercial/residential building that had occupied the corner since 1880.

The original block of 650-654 Spadina harmonized with the domestic architecture of the adjacent Annex neighbourhood. However, in 2013, 652 Spadina was replaced by an efficient concrete box housing a retail space with two apartments above. One of the apartments is currently for rent at $3,200 per month.

Over the last century, Spadina Avenue itself has changed radically. Before the roadway was widened in 1948, the section south of Bloor was a boulevard with wide verges, mature trees, and continuous rows of houses and shops. The oldest buildings in this group, 650, 654 and 656 Spadina, are all that remains of the original west side streetscape between Harbord Street and Sussex Avenue.

The commercial character of this block has also changed. In 1973, its storefronts housed a variety of businesses: Liberation Garments Inc., Lee Duck Laundry, Ben’s Barber Shop, Student Elite Cleaners, John’s Hardware, and the Maple Leaf Cigar Store.

Currently, each of the storefronts advertises a takeout restaurant that is just about to open, is currently open, or has recently gone out of business.

The concentration of restaurant activity at this corner can be seen to parallel the relentless expansion of the nearby main campus of the University of Toronto. Currently, Cora Pizza at 656 Spadina seems to be a favourite with students.

I could imagine a fictionalized version of this eatery living on as a setting in novels and feature films long after it has been replaced by a condominium, which will perhaps be named “Spadina Commons” or “Harbord Heights Residences”.

As I discovered recently, the appearance of these building and the roster of functioning restaurants can change almost overnight. At the end of September, 2024, I took a supplementary group of photos of the storefronts showing the existing signage. Now, only a month later, my images are out of date.

Workers have already installed new signage on the facades of the former RBC bank building at No. 648, and are renovating its interior for the anticipated opening of the culinary triple bill of Shushitajoy, Food Kingdom and Myungrang Hotdog. Meanwhile, the defacement of its main facade by “street art” has spread significantly, spilling onto the windows.

Simultaneously, the facade of 656 Spadina has been painted red, and a new sign denotes Prime Döner Shawarma. Next door, the decrepit upper facade of No. 654 has been renovated. The cladding of ceramic fish-scale tiles has been replaced by black aluminum siding, and the arched and bracketed window frame has been squared off.

For me, the most interesting element in this group of buildings is the modernist corner bank, whose architect succeeded in integrating a contemporary design into an existing nineteenth century streetscape. It is hard to imagine such a modest structure being designed so well today.

Photographs by Peter MacCallum unless otherwise indicated.