Yonge Street, Toronto. 8/26/1992.

0:00 - Sam the Record Man Store
00:10 - Evergreen Centre For Youth
00:15 - The Big Slice, 393 Yong Street
00:20 - Catwoman painted on side of building at 586 Yonge Street
00:26 - 5 Saint Joseph Street- Cafe New Orleans
00:46 - "The Rave"- Gloucester Street / Yonge Street
00:57 - Maccheroni Trattoria
1:34 - Street Musician at the Corner of Bloor and Yonge St.
01:48 - St Ben chalk drawing on Bloor St.

[@rickattard2339]

Downtown Toronto was so colorful and sprawling back then ..now it's so drab and lifeless

[@TheSwearingChef]

And the people's attitude was different back then too. It was very care-free you-be-you kind of vibe...

[@RedDevilMoto]

Those Sam the record man spinning neon lights, were always my landmark when i was on Yonge street back then, i was new to TO in 1986, and if i got lost on Yonge, i could look for those signs and know exactly where i was...Bought alot of records and tapes from Sam and A&A ....Sure do miss those times.

[@TheSwearingChef]

Nostalgia overload. Grew up in Scarborough in 80's and 90's-"going downtown" was thee thing to do back then. Take the subway to Yonge and Bloor and start walking around checking out the Eaton Centre, record stores, arcades, headshops, eateries, clothing stores, bookstores etc., oh and don't forget the guys who muttered, "weed/hash" as you walked by. The memories...

[@TheJlee28]

❤❤❤❤

[@jasonmarcel4823]

At 1:34, the street musician's name is Ben Kerr, the most legendary of all street buskers Toronto has ever known. He was also a perennial mayoral candidate, a former executive at Toronto Harbour, and a fervent anti-smoking crusader after he kicked the habit in his late 30's. He once ran from Toronto to Los Angeles for the sake of banning smoking in office places. He passed away in 2005. He is the subject of the "St.Ben" chalk drawing in the video.

[@LakeofBays1]

Wish they would've gotten Joe "kill as you go" Smolij in this video :-( May not have been a busker but was more legendary than Kerr.

[@iwantthe80sback59]

Born and lived here my whole life, downtown since 1985. Never heard of this guy. Subway Elvis? Yes. The Peace Lady? Yes. This guy? No.

[@CinHalCedHerChance]

He was the nicest guy. He overheard a friend of mine asking me for 2 dollars to buy a drink and some fries, I didn't have any change and Ben reached into his pocket and gave him $5, told him to bring him a Coke and buy everyone else something and himself. We always made sure to say hi to him after that and he remembered us, such a boss.

[@WeeCarBoot]

He used to play at various "prime" busker locations across the city. Not a great singer, but dedicated! He was held in such high esteem that the city named Ben Kerr Lane for him after he passed away - it runs east off Jones Avenue just yards south of The Danforth. A fitting tribute.

[@39PSIOnTheDaily]

This video reminds me of my childhood. Thank you.

[@musicus11]

Wonderful footage - so many memories! Three weeks earlier, I began a part-time job at HMV - was there for the following 16 years!

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

You worked at that HMV until 2008? I frequented that store when I was in undergrad from 2006 to 2010, just browsing the recent videogame releases. I bought Super Smash Brawl and other games there. 😄

[@johnramsden8760]

I remember it rained all summer.

[@thejessesouth]

this was two days before I was born at Humber Memorial Hospital🥰 thanks for posting it

[@tremontarama]

That's neat. When I was shooting this I imagined playing this in the bar I owned. And I did. Maybe 20 people saw it. I never imagined back then that it would be available to the whole world like it is now.

[@iwantthe80sback59]

Was born in Humber Memorial Hospital too. Lived in Weston until 1985.

[@canman5060]

Missed the A & A and Sam The Record Man

[@nikaa4237]

Wow Toronto seemed so innocent back then. I remember the busker, he was great. I feel really nostalgic for that time...even though I was always complaining back then lol

[@CinHalCedHerChance]

Right? Thought I was the only one, compared to today? Toronto back then was amazing, I'm guessing a big part of it was the lack of internet (especially social media) how much character it had.

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

Sam the Record Man, The Big Slice Pizza, Hard Rock Cafe, and Zanzibar were all still there when I did my undergrad studies back in 2006. Haven't been back in that part of Toronto in over a decade so I'm not sure if Zanzibar or The Big Slice Pizza is still open there but I do know that Sam the Record Man got torn down by the time I graduated and Hard Rock Cafe is also no longer at Dundas Square. By that point, they built the AMC Theaters building which also already closed at this point.

[@bobtag1220]

just like yesterday!

[@harrybhut246]

thanks for this video cheers

[@blankblanker7627]

The evergreen.. street kid life!!! I lived in covenant house, on an off for three years

[@iwantthe80sback59]

0:46. I live on Gloucester St. This was the Brownstone Bistro until it closed 2 years ago to be converted into condos. Loved going there for brunch. Someone told me that it also used to be Fenton’s in the ‘80’s but I can’t verify that.

[@lukewarmwater5320]

I met my first love one cool crisp September night in front of the Harvey's just north of Dundas on the east side of Yonge in 1984...

[@lolli2943]

I’m glad it wasn’t burger king lol 😆

[@lukewarmwater5320]

@@lolli2943 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! OH AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! HAAAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@raymondraffoul2402]

Great times! Great year!

[@harleykaruliscreativity7467]

Great video

[@MrUndersolo]

Spent a lot of time and took a lot of long trips to Sam's back then...

[@jkent6526]

We didnt know how good we had it. Oh wait.. yes we did.

[@groaningmole4338]

There's some memory lane for ya.

[@monicapushkin3274]

What is the street at 1:23 ? Classic old Toronto houses.

[@ababyharpseal6534]

I love living in Toronto, but I do feel a tad bitter that I never got to experience it as it was before all the damn condos starting popping up :(

[@MicroNuggets]

The Big Slice! When slices were proper.

[@MIchaelMiii]

Looks like Sam 'the record man' Sniderman in the white shirt. 1:42

[@dinotoebean]

I hope that the painter is out there thriving

[@nikkim788]

When Toronto was still halfway decent.

[@nachonightmare148]

Way better

[@Insomniac_tv]

Condos ruin this city

[@nikaa4237]

Agree

[@ba6428]

IIRC this was the week i moved to Toronto. Living at the Rye Rez on Mutual St. We had hookers on campus. Good times.

[@lolli2943]

Oh no 🤦‍♀️

[@thatsMYbeef]

so glad EVERGREEN went away...lol

[@lolli2943]

Hey those were my peeps 😂

[@thatsMYbeef]

@@lolli2943 yeah I had friends who went there..I'm still glad it's gone...but now there's the 519...ugh...lol

[@sarahwentforalemonwedgeand8991]

ummmmm

[@vincentforonda7381]

i bet some of the people in the video are already dead..

[@tremontarama]

No. I'm proactive about avoiding mortality.

[@SHOWSTWOWATCH]

SHIT NOW

[@lolli2943]

Evergreen is still there. I used to hang out with all the homeless kids. They should never taken down Sam the Record man, same as Honest Ed’s… that’s why I hate Toronto, they have no sentimentality, they just care about tourists and money.

[@nikkim788]

I agree with you on all of that 100% I have grown to despise Toronto especially now. Nothing but hideous condos and no originality. I could never live downtown now. I used to go to Honest Ed's all the time as a kid, and to see that area now with even more crappy condos is just pathetic. They could have kept that landmark but offer the family enough $ and they jumped at the chance to knock it down for more eyesores.

[@hotcrazycatladyme168]

Evergreen shut down years ago.

[@lolli2943]

@@hotcrazycatladyme168 I just passed it not that long ago… u sure it didn’t just go through a reno? Maybe it’s been longer than I think 🤷‍♀️

[@lolli2943]

@@nikkim788 yep and none of these condos are meant to last… I’m scared to see 25 years from now.

[@andrewbeaudry5414]

Way too much immigration Toronto will be looking like New Delhi in the next 20 years Maybe by then will be called New New Delhi

[@nikkim788]

Don't tell that to all the snowflakes. They will eat you alive for that comment.

[@nachonightmare148]

Ha

[@zwolf3636]

Toronto now its a part of India