Where are we? (March 21, 2012)

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1. Doug Grant says:

   March 21, 2012 at 3:20 pm

   This one took quite a bit of sleuthing by several of us in our office. First we walked around downtown looking for something similar but that led us nowhere. Then, a bit of research on George Straith Ltd, the clothing store sign visible in the photo, brought us to Government and Broughton, where they had established themselves “from the 1940s” according the the Hallmark webpage (http://www.hallmarksociety.ca/Harbeck/45.htm). A quick look around the area convinced us that this was not the right spot, so clearly the photo was taken prior to George Straith moving to their new location.

   We took another look at the photo and decided that it was a busy street scene so Government or Douglas seemed likely. I just had a feeling it was on Douglas. We considered the old City Hall News locale across the street from City Hall. There were similarities in the structure but the background buildings didn’t seem right. Then we thought it might be around Douglas and View but that whole block has been redeveloped so it was hard to get a visual confirmation.

   We then found some old phone book reference to George Straith being at 1117 Douglas so our hunch seemed correct. The building in the background with the Paris sign could certainly be the Sayward Building. Then we found this postcard that confirmed our hypothesis. The building next to the couple is the old Balmoral Hotel at View and Douglas (http://www.flickr.com/photos/45379817@N08/4701186502/). The building at the very back of the shot is probably the old Bank of Toronto building at Douglas and Johnson (http://www.flickr.com/photos/45379817@N08/4704055519/in/photostream/).

   Here’s a couple of other views from even earlier:

   http://web.uvic.ca/lancenrd/AViewofVictoria/galleryphotos/galleryphotos.php#Balmoral_Hotel
2. Darryn says:

   March 21, 2012 at 9:01 pm

   Wow, excellent and very thorough detective work Doug etc. That does look like the Balmoral Hotel next to the couple.

   In the first photo you link to (the postcard), you can definitely see the awnings and the windows just above them, just like you see in our original photo. You earned your keep on this one, well done!

   Until next week!
3. History Buff says:

   March 21, 2012 at 10:41 pm

   That is good detective work.

   Candid Street photography was a thriving business for a few decades.

   How it worked was that you would be walking down the street and there would be a person crouched down with a camera. As you neared the photographer he would take you aside and tell you that he took your picture and you had an opportunity to purchase it.
   If you didnt want it, you carried on .
   If you did want a copy he would take your information then give you a date as to when you could pick it up. For a price of course.

   When I was 4 or 5 years old my mother and I were walking down Douglas St across from City Hall when this happened to us.

   I remember it clearly. I remember asking my mother why he took our picture and the explanation.

   My mother is long gone but I still have the photo.
   About 1 year ago I went looking for where it was taken and found it. The building still stands but its future is in question.

   A good thing about these types of photos is that because they were taken form a crouching position there are many landmarks visible in the photos.

   The stamp on the back of my photo is from Kandid Kamera Studio
   1403 Broad St

   I have a small collection of these photos and the interesting thing is they are all taken on Douglas St.

   Mostly Douglas Yates area
4. Brian Symes says:

   February 27, 2013 at 6:42 pm

   I just picked up a suit with the inside label reading
   Chester Barrie
   Tailored expressly for
   George Straith Ltd.
   Victoria Canada
   Please forward any info about when the store closed
   Thanks for your time
   Brian