PHOTOGRAPHIC STORES LIMITED

One of Sparks Street's best architectural slivers is at number 65, between Elgin and Metcalfe.

The storefront is a 1930s modernization, inserted into the original pilasters and ground floor cornice.

The upper floors are an amazing survival of Italianate Commercial architecture.

The facade is two easternmost bays of the 'Robinson Block' (1870-71, William Hodgson, Architect). The five-bay section at the left, in a lighter brick, was a later addition. The building was typical of at least half a dozen similar commercial blocks built on Sparks in the 1870s.

The three bays at the left were refaced with a curtain wall in 1961 (Lithwick, Lambert, and Sim, Architects).

The gap next to the Canada Life/Saxe Building at 75 Sparks shows a witness mark of the Robinson Block's full height. There is some question as to whether the two storey building beneath (Burgess and Gardner, 1943) is a completely new building or a re-cladding.

This is how the block looked in 1912. The five 'newer' bays of the Robinson Block were demolished in 1908 for the Canada Permanent Building.

Despite their different eras, the 1930s storefront of glass panels and brushed metal trim fits snugly into the old building.

There were several stores selling photographic supplies and photography studios on Sparks Street. The Topley Studio was in the next block, and the Samuel Jarvis Studio one block further on. As a result, the built heritage of the street is well documented with historic photos

The former Photographic Stores has been emptied and the windows papered over for some time.

I wish that I'd had the wits to step inside and photograph the interior in its last incarnation - a souvenir shop.

The business was opened in 1905, and stayed at this address until the 1980s. It capitalized on the booming amateur photography market by gaining a dealership for the Kodak Brownie camera.

The long rectangular window was also the background for a 'Kodak' sign'

The inside was fitted with blond wood counters and display cases. Upstairs 'The Little Gallery' displayed local photographers and painters. There was also a picture-framing department.

I remain a little awestruck by the architectural richness and variety of these early twentieth century commercial streetscapes, when heavily ornamented Victoriana jostled with the first generation of modern office buildings.

The 140-year old fragment of facade at 65 Sparks Street is a wistful reminder.