Being a teenager in 1956, I purchased a Kodak Pony 35mm camera for the enormous price of $40, and at Christmas journeyed to Yonge Street to photograph the lights. Time exposures were required for night photography, and I had no tripod. I was indeed a novice at the task. Below are copies of four of the slides that survive from that decade.
Yonge Street, looking north from Dundas Street in 1956
The Brown Derby, on the northeast corner of Yonge and Dundas Streets
The marquee of the Downtown Theatre on Yonge, south of Dundas Street.
The Le Coq’Or on the east side of Yonge Street, north of Dundas Street
For those who enjoy reading novels that explore Toronto’s past:
“The Villages Within,” nominated for the Toronto Heritage Awards: https://tayloronhistory.wordpress.com/the-villages-within/
“There Never Was a Better Time,” a story about young immigrants struggle to survive in 1920s Toronto: https://tayloronhistory.wordpress.com/there-never-was-a-better-time/
“Arse over Teakettle,” Book One of the Toronto Trilogy, a tale of a young boy coming of age in Toronto during the Second World War : https://tayloronhistory.wordpress.com/arse-over-teakettle/
“The Reluctant Virgin, Book Two of the Toronto Trilogy,” a murder mystery in 1950s Toronto: https://tayloronhistory.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/second-book-of-the-toronto-trilogy-now-available-a-murder-mystery-in-1950s-toronto/
