There used to be, in the 80's, a secret room in the back areas of the Cumberland terrace upstairs area that was never left locked. The upstairs area of cumberland terrace was supposed oit be a mall as well but it has never, ever been filled. There was a false panel that had been left ajar one night that we discovered and followed a series of corridors into the back area then we found it. I discovered it with a former girlfriend one evening when we were looking for a quiet place for fun. Someone had set it up with a desk, a fridge, a case of beer aa small bed. I think it used to be for overnight maintenance staff. I always brought a couple of beers as a token. But neve saw anyone there in 15 years. They were always gone when I returned weeks later. We took advantage of it. It was there for years and as my secret go to places for interesting dates. They eventually closed the whole area off and renovated it, but it was great for 15 years.
Toronto always has secret places. There used to be, coughs "paint store" elite after-hours nightclub from 2:30am-8am. Many of the cities nightclub DJs, barmen, bouncers, dancers, strippers, etc go for after party for party animals. No advertising, must know someone type deal.
@@onlyfacts4999 It was the thrill of it. Leaving the six pack of beer for them (One for us and one for them) helped. we also made sure the bed was made afterwards (It usually wasn't when we arrived). Back then there was usually one lone security guard and a couple of cameras. This was a high-income area, and the shops were closed so back then there was no concern.
@@onlyfacts4999 if we ever had've gotten caught We would just claim we got lost looking for a washroom for the girl (Girls always have to pee!) and ask them to show us the way.
Visited here in the dead of winter from the US back in the late nineties. I thought the underground shopping center was the most wonderful invention in the world!
Man I miss they days when capitalism was actually good and not the un regulated variant plaguing north america along with the rest of the world we have rn
I spent many hours in these locations, having worked just down the street at the Manulife buildings and living on Isabella Street. It used to be thriving with people and stores. Your video paints a different picture of the area. I suspect there are many people, who used to work in the office buildings, now working from home.
I used to work there in 2001-2003 (Carlton Cards at Bay and Bloor), and I loved the area. There was a coffee shop right across from us and so many other stores that I would stop in to after work, most notably Indigo and The Bay. Haven’t been around there in years, and I miss it 😢
I live in Quebec City and am jealous of all the underground shopping in Montreal and TO. Winters are harsh and long underground corridors to get you through the city in winter would be nice.
I'm a big fan of underground space. It makes Canadian winter much more livable. Instead of just shopping malls, city should build and maintain some kind of underground activity space for families and kids. similar to playgrounds in parks. It will bring families and kids to live in downtown and fight urban sprawl.
@@Andytess91 No, the main PATH only goes as far north as Dundas & then there's a secondary smaller PATH between Yonge-Bloor & Bay. There's also a PATH-like basement mall around College station which would be so much better if it connected just one stop south with the bit that ends at Dundas.
I remember Cumberland Terrace for the times when I went there for the TIFF when it was a lot more affordable. Their ticket office used to be there where we had to line up for hours to submit our orders, and one of their main theatre venues used to be there too - does anyone else remember that? Thanks for bringing back the great memories of a long gone era.
The Cumberland Terrace, Manulife Centre and the Holt Renfrew Centre were thriving shopping areas in the 70s and 80s. While always rather 'high-end' they were frequented by largely working Torontonians as a 'local Toronto shopping mall'. For those of us living outside of the GTA as it was then, the Eaton Centre and Yonge St. were ground-zero. Bay-Bloor Radio was once (and probably still is) the mecca of an audiophile's wet dreams. In the 70s that store featured a plethora of Canadian made audio products that were on-par with anything from Europe or Japan.
It was busy into the early 2000's. started dying around 2005. Cumberland terrace was never able to attract big name stores because location wise its hidden from the main streets, and the non working people are quickly passing through to actually go in
This is an excellent video. Really peaceful and lovely to watch. I know Cumberland Terrace well, but have not been for years. I used to walk through often as a teen, as my dad lives on Bishop St. in Yorkville. This really makes me sad, to see. Just because something is "older," does not make it less valuable. Change is good sometimes, but not always. Also, sad when I heard HB was closing. My baby clothes came from Holt Renfrew. Showcasing the older areas of Toronto, is fabulous and greatly appreciated!
Manulife Center used to have a rooftop lounge called Panorama. In the 1980's, it was part of the still thriving Yorkville district (famous for it's 1960's hippies and cool bars). Yonge/Bloor is a shell of it's former self. Very sad.
Yes I remember the manulife center. What a great place. They came to visit me when I was in the hospital for support😢. Thank you MANULIFE. They used to have offices there. 🙌🏿 I use to sit in that place for hours.
This makes me very sad. I used to frequent Cumberland Terrace fairly regularly, being right on the subway and convenient back and forth from Bloor and Yonge. Shopped at a few places and the food court. Too bad it is slated for demolition 😢😢
My friend's parents own Asia Art and Interiors. They've been at that location for years now. Cumberland was one of my go-to places when I worked in the area, because of the mom and pop quick serve places. Also loved going to Ginger (beside the Rail) and Hayden Salad House.
I worked there when I turned 16 (ions ago in the 80’s) when I got my sin #, at Cultures Fresh Food Restaurant. We had a wide variety of healthy foods. We used to make smoothies too. Every time we made a smoothie Johnny would sing - Smooth Operator by Sade - but he’d change the lyrics and he would sing - I’m the smoothie operator, the smoothie operator … and we’d all join in. The customers loved it! So many years ago. So many good memories. Life was simpler then but oh so enjoyable. Thank you for taking me down memory lane! You just made my day ❤
Thanks for sharing. I haven't walked through that in over 30 years! There were no dead-zones back then, of course. But since I only went through on occasion, I don't remember much except a large book store that wasn't Coles and a Black's Camera.
I remember walking through Cumberland Terrace for the first time as a teenager in the late 70's and you're right, it has not changed at all. A few different stores of course but essentially no change. Thanks for the nostalgia!
There used to be a movie theatre in the section at the beginning when you were walking through the old Bay store section. The entrance was near the former Mac store.
10:22, In the background you will see a taped-off area with a door. That led to an underground tunnel that crossed under Cumberland Street, which connected with a now-gone plaza (The Village Arcade, home to Dinah's Cupboard and other shops), on the north side of Cumberland. Cumberland Terrace used to be a very nice place, with lots of good shopping. Sadly, it's gone downhill progressively over the years and now it looks rather sad. On the main floor, the north windows once had lots of hanging plants, as hanging plants were very "in" in the 70s. One can still see the anchors in the ceilings. Thanks for this good video.
2 Bloor St E. use to be WSIB main offices rock station Q107 use to be on the 30th floor there as well before moving up Yonge and Sheppard area ticket master use be there as well lined up many times for concert tickets in the mid 80s.
I lived in Toronto in the 80s and 90s, and so sad to see how it lost its Joie du Vivre and turned into a disfunctional, slowly dying, modern concrete jungle of boarded up commerce of fading over the top capitalism. I live in a beautiful town of friendly people and lively commercial activities of the 80s and never venture into Toronto anymore. There is nothing left there but lonely wandering people among corridors of empty dreams. So sad how the once lively and bustling colourful city turned into a posh mausoleum.
"...lonely wandering people among corridors of empty dreams..." I had the same impression too. I lived in Toronto from 1975 to 1995. I have many happy memories of the time I spent there. Many commentators on RUclips say it was "the golden age" of Toronto.
Great video Johnny. Brought back memories of briefly working in a United Cigar Store in the Cumberland Terrace back in the late 80's. It was a lttle livelier but just as depressing.
I've lived in Etobicoke just west of DT Toronto my whole life and have spent an untold amount of time in the city proper and never realized the extent of how long that mall really is. Most people are usually so busy transferring at the subway at Bloor/Young Station that you don't ever have the time to think "oh, I can just get what I'm looking for here" lol. But, Thank you for being the first person in my 54 years to enlighten me and for doing that very long walk! Maybe that's why it's not such a hit mall, you'd be tired if you had to do more than a few things there going from one end to the other. Peace ✌️
"...you'd be tired if you had to do more than a few things there going from one end to the other..." When I used to visit the Eaton Centre in the 1980s and '90s, all the hustle and bustle and noise - especially during the Xmas rush - used to leave me drained of energy.
@@j.g.8494I can’t deal with Eaton Centre at xmas. My short friend was pushed down the stairs last xmas by people who didn’t even see her down there. She sprained an ankle. The worst!
We used to walk through Cumberland Terrace on the way from the subway to Dynasty restaurant. It’s like stepping into a time machine. I remember some of the escalators always seemed to be out of service.
Cumberland Terrace isn't really a 'dead mall' in the traditional sense of the term -- it was active right up until covid, and it was still reasonably full a year or two ago -- I bought Xmas gifts and some chocolates there the year before last. I think stores were being deliberately evicted in anticipation of redevelopment. It's really frustrating to look at what's happened to Bloor between Bay and Yonge -- it was a really lively shopping district, with interesting small stores in the mall and anchors like Zara, the Gap and H&M.
True enough. I worked in the area for several years and some of the shops were forced out due to all the fancy new plans. And now they’re trying to rent the spaces out? Dumb. Trouble is that this strip has too many dead corridors with no stores at all so it’s not very appealing.
Hey, memories.....! Now that you're covering Cumberland Terrace, it takes me back to Zumburger which was located right at the corner of Yonge and Bloor SE side AND Lothian Mews where I used to eat late lunch with my mother at The Coffee Mill. Wow those days ----------- Long gone ----------- oh the creativity and UNIQUENESS of THOSE days. Now everything is about being the same, spending the same money in the same looking stores......
I remember designing the green waterfall awnings for the manulife center way back in the late 80s. One of it's many facelift makeovers. Hopefully when the Cumberland center closes they can move the remaining shops down into the underground paths to fill in the blank spaces. The area used to be booming like anything.
Thanks for the walk down memory lane. I don't go downtown much anymore. I have talked about Cumberland Terrace a few weeks back, but never made the trek downtown to satisfy my curiosity.
At 9:48 and 11:05, there's an old relic I rarely see in Windsor these days--4 side by side coin operated payphones. Can they still make money on 4 of those things in one spot let alone 1? Very interesting tour of the second largest underground mall.
I remember when drugf dealers and escorts used those phones in the pre-cell days. They actually get disabled except for 911 calls at night now because of that.
I have spend a lot of time longboarding around that area. Your descriptions are spot on! Especially the description of the smell in that one stairwell...
Guessed wrong Johnny…The One is not on hold, if you read the fine print on the story it mentions that the funding for completion is already in place and construction is continuing…oh and sorry to nit-pick but midtown is considered Bloor to Eglinton, so the name was appropriate…😊
I hope those small stores that are still open there are doing okay. My dad used to have a small business in downtown Toronto until the owner of the property sold it to a coffee chain. I know how hard it can be.
I have been to Toronto in Childhood, 2005, and again in 2010. Even in 2010, these underground malls there didn't have a bunch of vacancies then either with many more department stores and more foot traffic then to. I am glad there is still some foot traffic and some department stores with some high end shops in these shopping centersplaces providing a sense of what was.
I truly miss going into TORONTO and going through the underground and up on top around all the streets and decently warm weather, of course. But I want to thank you for videoing this and making me feel like I was right there with you.❤
So crazy that I've lived in various parts of the GTA since 1974 and I've never stepped foot in this underground area (at least I don't remember being here). Thanks for showing this to me. I'm gonna try to check it out myself as soon as I get a chance. Great video!
Great video. Brings back memories of growing up in mid-town Toronto. I used to live south of Yonge-Bloor, so I travelled the area often, including the underground mall & Cumberland Terrace. There used to be a movie theatre under the Hudson’s Bay mall. Saw lots of movies there over the years. Sad to see The Bay go. I worked in the mailroom when I was 17 (back in 1981).
Fascinating stuff! I randomly found myself in the Manulife Centre last year as a tourist, but had no idea there was an entire underground pedestrian network between Bay and Bloor-Yonge 😮
I had lived in downtown Toronto & Cumberland Terrace was once thriving mall, but over time it did have its troubles, the stores had closed eventually. Changing times, changing demographics economically.
I lived in the area for a few years during the early 2000s. Was great to catch a glimpse of my buddy Gerald heading down the hall to the grocery store.
This video brings me back down memory lane, when I was new to the city. I remember I would get off the subway and buy beef patties from the Indian lady down there in the food court. And I remember when they had the Cumberland movie theater that is no more. I haven’t been down there in years, are used to know it like the back of my hand.
The beautiful Toronto, that mall looks the same as it did when I was there 20 years ago… it was never that busy I guess it gets busy during lunch hours for the office workers . I guess it does feel underground as underground as it is. Thanks for the beautiful videos Johnny! I enjoy them. Cheers.
This is one of the main intersections in Toronto and even the street level store's are closed lile Bay's, Nordstrom, Macewan, H&M and severally starbucks... downtown Toronto is becoming a phantom city.
I live downtown, less then a 10 minute walk to Yonge/Bloor, "phantom"? not really. 2 big names in retail have left but it's busier then ever. Mind you all the redevelopment closes a lot but when complete opens a lot of stores etc. and brings in more ppl to live in the areae.
The Game and Hobby store I used to shop at around 20 years ago. I was here about a month ago and was shocked to see it still there. Unfortunately I remember there being a lot more neat treasures and collectables there when I was younger. But it's still an interesting little shop that you can find collectibles in. It brought back a lot of memories walking through this mall and finding the hobby store still in its same spot. Glad to see when shops are able to still be there so many years later. A place to check out if you are ever at this location. It is quite a small store, but if you are ok with that, you should check it out. :)
We used to own a store in Cumberland Terrace called Obsessions for over 20yrs!! We sadly had to close it just months before the pandemic but re-opened just around the corner across from the Starbucks in The Hudsons Bay Centre.
Its a shame Malls or as we call over here in the UK the Shopping Centre, have closed but feel its due to the increase in online shopping in recent years and because of the effects from the Pandemic. Always remember back in the late 80's and through out the 90's that they were always popular and the place "to be seen" at. Shame how some things change!
My wife and I used to go to the Shopping Centre weekly, now for some reason I’d rather never go to the Shopping Centre again ever. I think I consume far less things bought at a Mall. If I need clothes I go to an area of “big box stores “ Fascinating that we have seen the Shopping Centre kill the downtown independent retailer and 40 or 50 years later the “big box and online retailer have killed the “Shopping Centre “ ,( I guess Department stores first killed most of the independent retailers) Grocery stores are killing the bakery… and so it goes
The place thats going to be redeveloped isnt really a mall. In the U.S and Canada people now call everything a mall...even if they see two store together they will still probably call it a mall
It's probably been 20 yrs since I was downtown (Y and B) but if you drive down any main street you'll see business after business after business. What's dying however are over priced malls. The owners did it to themselves. How do you expect a small business to make a profit when you're charging $20,000 a month rent? I saw that flower shop, toy store and dollarama? how the hell are they able to afford the rent?
Very cool to see it. I've always been interested in the 'underground city' portions of Toronto as someone who grew up in Windsor and only ever heard about them. What would be interesting to see is a map view of where you went in and came out, maybe with a dotted line to roughly show the path taken. It would help give a perspective for how much area is actually down there.
Yes, a map view would be great because it can be a bit of a maze for tourists to navigate, the signage is dreadful and one can easily get lost down there but in all my years working downtown if there was ever a map available for shoppers I never found it.
In university in the mid-2000s had a group assignment to come up with a plan to improve Cumberland Street. Spent many days in that food court and wandering the underground paths.
My first job in Toronto was down Bloor St from there and I used the Park Rd. entrance to get to the subway every week day. Thanks for trip down memory lane. Some parts haven’t changed all that much. 😊
Id like to imagine what toronto really was like when families lived in toronto.... Or growing up here. What i remember of toronto most dates back to late 80s when i was 5 years old. Car and subway rides...
At Bay Street, on the main floor, there was a men's wear store called Brooks (not Brooks Brothers, which was not in Canada at that time). I still have a paisley silk tie I bought there in the 80s.
I worked in Yorkville for almost 30 years, at 94 Cumberland Street and then Bay street. I used to have breakfast every morning in Cumberland terrace. It was great for shopping. I used to have lunch and sometimes dinner at Scaccia, an amazing Italian restaurant in the Manulife centre.
Wow, I was just there but I did not go to the Cumberland section. Quite a shock seeing it very empty! I used to shop there a lot (before the Covid outbreak).I do hope stores return, this is very sad.
I used to go to Cumberland Terrace food court alot to write in my journal. I loved the 80s vibe of that mall. I still remember when I found it and I was so excited it was such an adventure. I didn't know it existed it for a while.
I lived at 30 Charles St. W. Rent was about $325..you had to be a,student of U of T. Was in the underground daily for a few years . Also would occasionally have a cocktail in the Manulife ctr 51st floor . It was a piano bar back in the 80s . Feeling nostalgic after watching your video .. Thanks !!
Wow lots of memories here. Worked at 2 Bloor E in 80's and early 90's. OLG had a prize office in Cumberland Terrace before relocating, there was a bad fire at Plaza II in the 80's, many more stores and restaurants back then in the underground concourses. Surprised The Bay closed, I think their store had 5 floors including a cafeteria style restaurant. For Yonge and Bloor area it sure looks worse now.
It's like a time capsule. Great trip from memory lane. I get into a pensive mood when I see footage like these. Hope to visit myself before it's all gone. Does anyone know definitively when the place will be shuttered and demolished or is the proposed renovation just that? Every time I happen to pass by that section of downtown I'm in my car and there's major, major construction. I really wonder how long it will be like this before it's completely all gone. I don't even recognize much of downtown now. The last time I was there Dundas Square wasn't even finished just to give you some context of how long I've been away.
The only concrete estimates I found were made Jan 2023, regarding the closure of Bay St subway entrances. It was hoping to close the escalator in Q4 2023 and reopen in Q1 2029. While many would prefer to keep the TTC street exit accessible throughout construction, who knows if that will happen. I imagine this above timeline has slipped anyway, with other modifications to the plans.
Thanks!
Thank you!
There used to be, in the 80's, a secret room in the back areas of the Cumberland terrace upstairs area that was never left locked. The upstairs area of cumberland terrace was supposed oit be a mall as well but it has never, ever been filled. There was a false panel that had been left ajar one night that we discovered and followed a series of corridors into the back area then we found it. I discovered it with a former girlfriend one evening when we were looking for a quiet place for fun. Someone had set it up with a desk, a fridge, a case of beer aa small bed. I think it used to be for overnight maintenance staff. I always brought a couple of beers as a token. But neve saw anyone there in 15 years. They were always gone when I returned weeks later. We took advantage of it. It was there for years and as my secret go to places for interesting dates. They eventually closed the whole area off and renovated it, but it was great for 15 years.
Toronto always has secret places. There used to be, coughs "paint store" elite after-hours nightclub from 2:30am-8am. Many of the cities nightclub DJs, barmen, bouncers, dancers, strippers, etc go for after party for party animals. No advertising, must know someone type deal.
great story man.
were you concerned about getting caught doing the deed with your dates by a security guard? 😅
@@onlyfacts4999 It was the thrill of it. Leaving the six pack of beer for them (One for us and one for them) helped. we also made sure the bed was made afterwards (It usually wasn't when we arrived). Back then there was usually one lone security guard and a couple of cameras. This was a high-income area, and the shops were closed so back then there was no concern.
@@onlyfacts4999 if we ever had've gotten caught We would just claim we got lost looking for a washroom for the girl (Girls always have to pee!) and ask them to show us the way.
wow, i live in toronto 2005-2010, that mall was PACKED! Tons of shops, people everywhere etc.
I remember the same.
Add to the list of Covid casualties.
Heartbreaking. I used to shop there all the time. So many places are gone now.
Great video
Chhhhina Virus Killed the Business' too ! Travesty !
We used to own a store there called Obsessions Fashion...it used to be a vibrant place!
Visited here in the dead of winter from the US back in the late nineties. I thought the underground shopping center was the most wonderful invention in the world!
Born and raised in Toronto- seems that the downtown core has lost its soul - everything has changed so much and not for the better.
yes l agree with that one.
Man I miss they days when capitalism was actually good and not the un regulated variant plaguing north america along with the rest of the world we have rn
@@railfandepotproductions You want more Government regulations? You have it backwards. That's the reason why these situations.
@@pilbomags488 what do you mean by that?
@@railfandepotproductions what do you mean what does he mean? You have it exactly backwards.
I spent many hours in these locations, having worked just down the street at the Manulife buildings and living on Isabella Street. It used to be thriving with people and stores. Your video paints a different picture of the area. I suspect there are many people, who used to work in the office buildings, now working from home.
I used to work there in 2001-2003 (Carlton Cards at Bay and Bloor), and I loved the area. There was a coffee shop right across from us and so many other stores that I would stop in to after work, most notably Indigo and The Bay. Haven’t been around there in years, and I miss it 😢
Bless weekend from Montreal QC .. absolutely another spectacular beautiful upload .. TQSM Sir
The brown tiled floor is a dead giveaway for parts of Cumberland Terrace that haven't been renovated. Its the same at Square One in Miss.
I live in Quebec City and am jealous of all the underground shopping in Montreal and TO. Winters are harsh and long underground corridors to get you through the city in winter would be nice.
I'm a big fan of underground space. It makes Canadian winter much more livable. Instead of just shopping malls, city should build and maintain some kind of underground activity space for families and kids. similar to playgrounds in parks. It will bring families and kids to live in downtown and fight urban sprawl.
Yes! And I wish they'd connect the PATH all the way from Union to Bloor.
Winter is not what it used to be. Not much of a need to hide from it anymore
@@n.b.3521it’s not connected?
@@Andytess91 No, the main PATH only goes as far north as Dundas & then there's a secondary smaller PATH between Yonge-Bloor & Bay. There's also a PATH-like basement mall around College station which would be so much better if it connected just one stop south with the bit that ends at Dundas.
I think you’re going to love the 15 cities.
I used to work in a café in Cumberland Terrace as a high school student in the mid 80’s. Cafe Coco. It was a dead mall then as well.
I remember Cumberland Terrace for the times when I went there for the TIFF when it was a lot more affordable. Their ticket office used to be there where we had to line up for hours to submit our orders, and one of their main theatre venues used to be there too - does anyone else remember that?
Thanks for bringing back the great memories of a long gone era.
The Cumberland Terrace, Manulife Centre and the Holt Renfrew Centre were thriving shopping areas in the 70s and 80s. While always rather 'high-end' they were frequented by largely working Torontonians as a 'local Toronto shopping mall'. For those of us living outside of the GTA as it was then, the Eaton Centre and Yonge St. were ground-zero. Bay-Bloor Radio was once (and probably still is) the mecca of an audiophile's wet dreams. In the 70s that store featured a plethora of Canadian made audio products that were on-par with anything from Europe or Japan.
Got my First Mission'' Speakers there 18 Years ago ! Made in England then ! Now Everting is Chines ! 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲
@@ivanronin8209blame it on greedy capitalist: sell at the same or higher prices, but made cheaply anywhere in the third world.
It was busy into the early 2000's. started dying around 2005. Cumberland terrace was never able to attract big name stores because location wise its hidden from the main streets, and the non working people are quickly passing through to actually go in
And don’t forget the beautiful store “Creeds”….Man, I used to love that store!🥰🤑
@@McChristerCreeds was awesome, expensive but very cool.
Haven't been downtown in about 30 years....no reason to do so. Thanks for the tour....and bringing back some memories.
You're welcome!
This is an excellent video. Really peaceful and lovely to watch. I know Cumberland Terrace well, but have not been for years. I used to walk through often as a teen, as my dad lives on Bishop St. in Yorkville. This really makes me sad, to see. Just because something is "older," does not make it less valuable. Change is good sometimes, but not always. Also, sad when I heard HB was closing. My baby clothes came from Holt Renfrew. Showcasing the older areas of Toronto, is fabulous and greatly appreciated!
Manulife Center used to have a rooftop lounge called Panorama. In the 1980's, it was part of the still thriving Yorkville district (famous for it's 1960's hippies and cool bars). Yonge/Bloor is a shell of it's former self. Very sad.
Panorama was a popular first date spot for drinks--spent many evenings there.
It's called AP now. Eataly is actually quite nice as well.
Used to be called Aquarius 51 in the 70's
Yes I remember the manulife center. What a great place. They came to visit me when I was in the hospital for support😢.
Thank you MANULIFE. They used to have offices there. 🙌🏿 I use to sit in that place for hours.
This makes me very sad. I used to frequent Cumberland Terrace fairly regularly, being right on the subway and convenient back and forth from Bloor and Yonge. Shopped at a few places and the food court. Too bad it is slated for demolition 😢😢
I love u monica
I haven't been dt in years. But didn't there used to be a movie theatre at the cumberland?
So all that underground path of cumberland is going to be destroyed?
good morning everyone
My friend's parents own Asia Art and Interiors. They've been at that location for years now.
Cumberland was one of my go-to places when I worked in the area, because of the mom and pop quick serve places. Also loved going to Ginger (beside the Rail) and Hayden Salad House.
I used to walk for all those areas when coming back from work. Thank Johnny for this video 😊❤
I worked there when I turned 16 (ions ago in the 80’s) when I got my sin #, at Cultures Fresh Food Restaurant. We had a wide variety of healthy foods. We used to make smoothies too. Every time we made a smoothie Johnny would sing - Smooth Operator by Sade - but he’d change the lyrics and he would sing - I’m the smoothie operator, the smoothie operator … and we’d all join in. The customers loved it! So many years ago. So many good memories. Life was simpler then but oh so enjoyable. Thank you for taking me down memory lane! You just made my day ❤
I remember eating at a Cultures.
Thanks for sharing. I haven't walked through that in over 30 years! There were no dead-zones back then, of course. But since I only went through on occasion, I don't remember much except a large book store that wasn't Coles and a Black's Camera.
I remember walking through Cumberland Terrace for the first time as a teenager in the late 70's and you're right, it has not changed at all. A few different stores of course but essentially no change. Thanks for the nostalgia!
There used to be a movie theatre in the section at the beginning when you were walking through the old Bay store section. The entrance was near the former Mac store.
There used to be a number of movie theatres in that area. All gone now.
That food court looked cozy. Love these videos about retail establishments from you.
Good Morning Johnny and viewers, wishing every person a positive weekend!
Never knew this place existed. It might have a 1970's vibe but it looked quite fresh with customers and choices of Retailers.
Good morning
Thanks man brings old memories I used to visit cumberland terrace often
Cool. I used to live on Charles a couple of blocks south of Bloor when I went to U of T in late 1990’s. Brings back memories.
10:22, In the background you will see a taped-off area with a door. That led to an underground tunnel that crossed under Cumberland Street, which connected with a now-gone plaza (The Village Arcade, home to Dinah's Cupboard and other shops), on the north side of Cumberland. Cumberland Terrace used to be a very nice place, with lots of good shopping. Sadly, it's gone downhill progressively over the years and now it looks rather sad. On the main floor, the north windows once had lots of hanging plants, as hanging plants were very "in" in the 70s. One can still see the anchors in the ceilings. Thanks for this good video.
It connects to at least three more buildings west of Bay ))) However, most of the stores are at ground level or above.
2 Bloor St E. use to be WSIB main offices rock station Q107 use to be on the 30th floor there as well before moving up Yonge and Sheppard area ticket master use be there as well lined up many times for concert tickets in the mid 80s.
I lived in Toronto in the 80s and 90s, and so sad to see how it lost its Joie du Vivre and turned into a disfunctional, slowly dying, modern concrete jungle of boarded up commerce of fading over the top capitalism. I live in a beautiful town of friendly people and lively commercial activities of the 80s and never venture into Toronto anymore. There is nothing left there but lonely wandering people among corridors of empty dreams. So sad how the once lively and bustling colourful city turned into a posh mausoleum.
"...lonely wandering people among corridors of empty dreams..." I had the same impression too. I lived in Toronto from 1975 to 1995. I have many happy memories of the time I spent there. Many commentators on RUclips say it was "the golden age" of Toronto.
Used to walk through Cumberland Terrace every morning for years in the 90's on my way to work..was aweful then! Really bad now..thx for the tour.
Great video Johnny. Brought back memories of briefly working in a United Cigar Store in the Cumberland Terrace back in the late 80's. It was a lttle livelier but just as depressing.
I've lived in Etobicoke just west of DT Toronto my whole life and have spent an untold amount of time in the city proper and never realized the extent of how long that mall really is. Most people are usually so busy transferring at the subway at Bloor/Young Station that you don't ever have the time to think "oh, I can just get what I'm looking for here" lol. But, Thank you for being the first person in my 54 years to enlighten me and for doing that very long walk! Maybe that's why it's not such a hit mall, you'd be tired if you had to do more than a few things there going from one end to the other. Peace ✌️
"...you'd be tired if you had to do more than a few things there going from one end to the other..." When I used to visit the Eaton Centre in the 1980s and '90s, all the hustle and bustle and noise - especially during the Xmas rush - used to leave me drained of energy.
@@j.g.8494I can’t deal with Eaton Centre at xmas. My short friend was pushed down the stairs last xmas by people who didn’t even see her down there. She sprained an ankle. The worst!
Thanks for sharing.
We used to walk through Cumberland Terrace on the way from the subway to Dynasty restaurant. It’s like stepping into a time machine. I remember some of the escalators always seemed to be out of service.
Thanks for uploading, I live in Etobicoke. And I still love going downtown
Cumberland Terrace isn't really a 'dead mall' in the traditional sense of the term -- it was active right up until covid, and it was still reasonably full a year or two ago -- I bought Xmas gifts and some chocolates there the year before last. I think stores were being deliberately evicted in anticipation of redevelopment.
It's really frustrating to look at what's happened to Bloor between Bay and Yonge -- it was a really lively shopping district, with interesting small stores in the mall and anchors like Zara, the Gap and H&M.
It was active and now it's not - it is a dead mall.
It's disheartening to see now it's been turned into concrete jungles with no life!!
@@felinequeen9243 It's disheartening to see comments like this that lack basis in reality.
Yes, but it was closed by external forces -- it didn't die for lack of interest. @@lisadeeyoung
True enough. I worked in the area for several years and some of the shops were forced out due to all the fancy new plans. And now they’re trying to rent the spaces out? Dumb. Trouble is that this strip has too many dead corridors with no stores at all so it’s not very appealing.
thank you! i avoided traffic by watching online!
Hey, memories.....! Now that you're covering Cumberland Terrace, it takes me back to Zumburger which was located right at the corner of Yonge and Bloor SE side AND Lothian Mews where I used to eat late lunch with my mother at The Coffee Mill. Wow those days ----------- Long gone ----------- oh the creativity and UNIQUENESS of THOSE days. Now everything is about being the same, spending the same money in the same looking stores......
I'm tired now but great memories.
I loved that area during christmas time!
Wow amazing
I remember designing the green waterfall awnings for the manulife center way back in the late 80s. One of it's many facelift makeovers.
Hopefully when the Cumberland center closes they can move the remaining shops down into the underground paths to fill in the blank spaces.
The area used to be booming like anything.
Thanks for the walk down memory lane. I don't go downtown much anymore. I have talked about Cumberland Terrace a few weeks back, but never made the trek downtown to satisfy my curiosity.
Was walking around there the other day and just thinking it should be documented before it’s gone. So thanks for doing that!
At 9:48 and 11:05, there's an old relic I rarely see in Windsor these days--4 side by side coin operated payphones. Can they still make money on 4 of those things in one spot let alone 1? Very interesting tour of the second largest underground mall.
I remember when drugf dealers and escorts used those phones in the pre-cell days. They actually get disabled except for 911 calls at night now because of that.
I have spend a lot of time longboarding around that area. Your descriptions are spot on! Especially the description of the smell in that one stairwell...
I liked the subway tiles.
Thanks for the tour. Great memories. ❤
Brings back memories!
Wow trip down memory lane. I remember lining up for concert tickets down there in the early 80’s. Thanks for sharing your video.
Guessed wrong Johnny…The One is not on hold, if you read the fine print on the story it mentions that the funding for completion is already in place and construction is continuing…oh and sorry to nit-pick but midtown is considered Bloor to Eglinton, so the name was appropriate…😊
I hope those small stores that are still open there are doing okay. My dad used to have a small business in downtown Toronto until the owner of the property sold it to a coffee chain. I know how hard it can be.
I have been to Toronto in Childhood, 2005, and again in 2010. Even in 2010, these underground malls there didn't have a bunch of vacancies then either with many more department stores and more foot traffic then to. I am glad there is still some foot traffic and some department stores with some high end shops in these shopping centersplaces providing a sense of what was.
I truly miss going into TORONTO and going through the underground and up on top around all the streets and decently warm weather, of course. But I want to thank you for videoing this and making me feel like I was right there with you.❤
Thanks for another fine video!
Great video!!I rembember this area when I travelled by subway alot❤
So crazy that I've lived in various parts of the GTA since 1974 and I've never stepped foot in this underground area (at least I don't remember being here). Thanks for showing this to me. I'm gonna try to check it out myself as soon as I get a chance. Great video!
Actually I have been to the Bay/Bloor audio center when I was much younger, to buy a stereo....was so long ago, I can barely remember it. lol
Great video. Brings back memories of growing up in mid-town Toronto. I used to live south of Yonge-Bloor, so I travelled the area often, including the underground mall & Cumberland Terrace. There used to be a movie theatre under the Hudson’s Bay mall. Saw lots of movies there over the years. Sad to see The Bay go. I worked in the mailroom when I was 17 (back in 1981).
Fascinating stuff! I randomly found myself in the Manulife Centre last year as a tourist, but had no idea there was an entire underground pedestrian network between Bay and Bloor-Yonge 😮
I had lived in downtown Toronto & Cumberland Terrace was once thriving mall, but over time it did have its troubles, the stores had closed eventually. Changing times, changing demographics economically.
I lived in the area for a few years during the early 2000s. Was great to catch a glimpse of my buddy Gerald heading down the hall to the grocery store.
This video brings me back down memory lane, when I was new to the city. I remember I would get off the subway and buy beef patties from the Indian lady down there in the food court. And I remember when they had the Cumberland movie theater that is no more. I haven’t been down there in years, are used to know it like the back of my hand.
The beautiful Toronto, that mall looks the same as it did when I was there 20 years ago… it was never that busy I guess it gets busy during lunch hours for the office workers . I guess it does feel underground as underground as it is. Thanks for the beautiful videos Johnny! I enjoy them. Cheers.
.Toronto has no soul and no sense of design, poor architecture , pollution , homless, crimes .... with a fake time square
Thanks for the video. I used to work in Manulife Center before the big renovation. Can’t believe how nice it looks now!
this is so cool thank you.
It's nice to see some of that old tiling on the floor, and not just the sterile smooth white floors that all the malls seem to have these days.
This is one of the main intersections in Toronto and even the street level store's are closed lile Bay's, Nordstrom, Macewan, H&M and severally starbucks... downtown Toronto is becoming a phantom city.
There will be something taking over the McEwan space.
I live downtown, less then a 10 minute walk to Yonge/Bloor, "phantom"? not really. 2 big names in retail have left but it's busier then ever. Mind you all the redevelopment closes a lot but when complete opens a lot of stores etc. and brings in more ppl to live in the areae.
@@johnp6260 doubt they're referring to the 'big names' leaving.
Same in Edmonton, and I suspect, most other cities.
Nice walk and talk. Have a good one!
The Game and Hobby store I used to shop at around 20 years ago. I was here about a month ago and was shocked to see it still there. Unfortunately I remember there being a lot more neat treasures and collectables there when I was younger. But it's still an interesting little shop that you can find collectibles in. It brought back a lot of memories walking through this mall and finding the hobby store still in its same spot. Glad to see when shops are able to still be there so many years later. A place to check out if you are ever at this location. It is quite a small store, but if you are ok with that, you should check it out. :)
We used to own a store in Cumberland Terrace called Obsessions for over 20yrs!! We sadly had to close it just months before the pandemic but re-opened just around the corner across from the Starbucks in The Hudsons Bay Centre.
Its a shame Malls or as we call over here in the UK the Shopping Centre, have closed but feel its due to the increase in online shopping in recent years and because of the effects from the Pandemic. Always remember back in the late 80's and through out the 90's that they were always popular and the place "to be seen" at. Shame how some things change!
My wife and I used to go to the Shopping Centre weekly, now for some reason I’d rather never go to the Shopping Centre again ever. I think I consume far less things bought at a Mall. If I need clothes I go to an area of “big box stores “
Fascinating that we have seen the Shopping Centre kill the downtown independent retailer and 40 or 50 years later the “big box and online retailer have killed the “Shopping Centre “ ,( I guess Department stores first killed most of the independent retailers)
Grocery stores are killing the bakery… and so it goes
it's not a shame. it's just proof that society has progressed or you want civilization to revert??
@@Ban00 plenty of people desperately want civilization to revert, the good old days as they say. We must keep pushing forward.
The place thats going to be redeveloped isnt really a mall.
In the U.S and Canada people now call everything a mall...even if they see two store together they will still probably call it a mall
Cumberland Terrace, I love and shopped there for ever, thank you J 🙌🏼
Toronto is odd, as it grows, more and more people, but less and less businesses…
Also with less and less housing. The zoning laws here are too rigid and take ages to complete. Its a mess.
It's probably been 20 yrs since I was downtown (Y and B) but if you drive down any main street you'll see business after business after business. What's dying however are over priced malls. The owners did it to themselves. How do you expect a small business to make a profit when you're charging $20,000 a month rent? I saw that flower shop, toy store and dollarama? how the hell are they able to afford the rent?
It's the changing nature of retail in urban areas, not specific to Toronto
And more and more politics, along with more and more politicians.
Very cool to see it. I've always been interested in the 'underground city' portions of Toronto as someone who grew up in Windsor and only ever heard about them. What would be interesting to see is a map view of where you went in and came out, maybe with a dotted line to roughly show the path taken. It would help give a perspective for how much area is actually down there.
Yes, a map view would be great because it can be a bit of a maze for tourists to navigate, the signage is dreadful and one can easily get lost down there but in all my years working downtown if there was ever a map available for shoppers I never found it.
In university in the mid-2000s had a group assignment to come up with a plan to improve Cumberland Street. Spent many days in that food court and wandering the underground paths.
My first job in Toronto was down Bloor St from there and I used the Park Rd. entrance to get to the subway every week day. Thanks for trip down memory lane. Some parts haven’t changed all that much. 😊
Thank you for showing this. These were my old stomping grounds back in the late 80’s
Id like to imagine what toronto really was like when families lived in toronto.... Or growing up here. What i remember of toronto most dates back to late 80s when i was 5 years old. Car and subway rides...
Fascinating! I bought a DVD player at Bay Bloor Radio when DVDs were the flashy new technology.
mustve cost a fortune.. then they all went out.
At Bay Street, on the main floor, there was a men's wear store called Brooks (not Brooks Brothers, which was not in Canada at that time). I still have a paisley silk tie I bought there in the 80s.
I worked in Yorkville for almost 30 years, at 94 Cumberland Street and then Bay street. I used to have breakfast every morning in Cumberland terrace. It was great for shopping. I used to have lunch and sometimes dinner at Scaccia, an amazing Italian restaurant in the Manulife centre.
Was 94 Cumberland a coffee shop then? Its a cannabis store now and i heard it used to be a coffee shop. Im curious about it.
It was a 9 story building with mostly dental offices and a few other businesses, and the ground floor had a Lettieri restaurant.
@@sangomoon5456
I use to work at that Bay store in the early 80’s.
Wow, I was just there but I did not go to the Cumberland section. Quite a shock seeing it very empty! I used to shop there a lot (before the Covid outbreak).I do hope stores return, this is very sad.
Great job with video❤❤❤
Banks of pay phones (9:48 11:01 14:42 untouched since ca. 2005
There used to be a movie theater in the Hudson Bay Centre, 2 Bloor E. It was underground and the entrance was covered up over 20 years ago I think.
I didn't realize the HBC on Bloor and Yonge closed, I worked just down the road at 121 Bloor E. I haven't been to T.O. in almost 5 years. Wow.
Thanks!
From
M.T. Town
I used to go to Cumberland Terrace food court alot to write in my journal. I loved the 80s vibe of that mall. I still remember when I found it and I was so excited it was such an adventure. I didn't know it existed it for a while.
This brought back memories of the 80s and 90s. How things have changed. Used to be bustling with office worker traffic. Wow.
I lived at 30 Charles St. W. Rent was about $325..you had to be a,student of U of T.
Was in the underground daily for a few years .
Also would occasionally have a cocktail in the Manulife ctr 51st floor . It was a piano bar back in the 80s .
Feeling nostalgic after watching your video ..
Thanks !!
which years? im a Charles Streeter too
thanks for showing us this always enjoy your videos enjoy your weekend 😊
Wow lots of memories here.
Worked at 2 Bloor E in 80's and early 90's. OLG had a prize office in Cumberland Terrace before relocating, there was a bad fire at Plaza II in the 80's, many more stores and restaurants back then in the underground concourses.
Surprised The Bay closed, I think their store had 5 floors including a cafeteria style restaurant.
For Yonge and Bloor area it sure looks worse now.
There's a good portion of Toronto that's completely underground you just can't see it and don't know about it, but it's there
I did doo in the sump pump room of a apartment building pool in tdot once
Hot 🔥
Hot 🔥
I used to love this mall. I worked in DT Toronto always spent my time there
It's like a time capsule. Great trip from memory lane. I get into a pensive mood when I see footage like these. Hope to visit myself before it's all gone.
Does anyone know definitively when the place will be shuttered and demolished or is the proposed renovation just that?
Every time I happen to pass by that section of downtown I'm in my car and there's major, major construction. I really wonder how long it will be like this before it's completely all gone. I don't even recognize much of downtown now. The last time I was there Dundas Square wasn't even finished just to give you some context of how long I've been away.
I think the new development is still awaiting approval from the city but it's pretty much assured from my understanding.
The only concrete estimates I found were made Jan 2023, regarding the closure of Bay St subway entrances. It was hoping to close the escalator in Q4 2023 and reopen in Q1 2029. While many would prefer to keep the TTC street exit accessible throughout construction, who knows if that will happen. I imagine this above timeline has slipped anyway, with other modifications to the plans.