Toronto’s “vanishing music venues,” have made headlines this year, touching on concerns that Toronto is losing nightlife attractions — one of the main draws of city life to begin with — during the condo boom.
Still, some survive and new ones do crop up. Toronto may not be The City That Never Sleeps, but its millions of denizens and visitors still have a lot of options for entertainment when the sun goes down.
In this then-and-now photo tour, we take a look at Toronto nightclubs, bars and taverns — both past and present. Photos by BuzzBuzzHome’s James Bombales show the city today, while historic photos from Toronto’s archives, Wikipedia, Google Streetview and Flickr users (as credited) reveal its past.
The Guvernment, Queens Quay East and Lower Jarvis Street, 2007
Historical photo: SimonP/Wikipedia
Victory Burlesque Theatre, Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue, 1972
CiRCA, 126 John Street, 2007
Historical photo: Google Streetview
Jilly’s, 106 Broadview Avenue, 2003
Historical photo: onasill/Flickr
Zipperz, 72 Carlton Street, 2012
Big Bop, 651 Queen Street West, 1990s
Historical photo: neutron girl/Flickr
Bermuda Tavern, 379 Yonge Street, 1950
Zanzibar, 359 Yonge Street, late 1980s
Friar’s Tavern, 279 Yonge Street, late 1980s
El Mocambo, 464 Spadina Avenue, 2011
Historical photo: Steve Harris/Flickr