Sam The Record Man

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  347 Yonge Street
Date:  Oct 2008

  The Yonge Street Sam the Record Man store opened in Toronto in 1959.  It was always a great place to go to sift through a huge selection of records.  Through the years Sam Sniderman had seen technology change as he sold 8-tracks, audio cassettes, videos and eventually CDs and DVDs.  Sadly, the rise of downloadable music from the internet ended the reign of the record store.  It also didn't help that customers grew up and had real bills to pay so they could no longer afford to spend every weekend hunting for music to add to their collection.
  One of the highlights of shopping at Sam's was their Boxing Day sales.   We would line up on the street waiting for our chance to save 25% or more on our purchases.  This meant walking away with more albums.  Sometimes the album was from a favourite artist.  Sometimes it just contained a song we had heard on the radio and we hoped that the rest of the tracks would be as good.  Sam competed for our dollar along with other rivals near the corner of Yonge and Dundas.  There was A&A Records, Sunrise Records and later HMV.  It was always Sam's that had that personal touch with home made signs and records spread across multiple floors and levels.  You would find things tucked into nooks and crannies as you explored the store.

  When Sam's finally closed in 2007 Ryerson University took over the site and eventually built their Student Learning Centre at the corner of Yonge and Gould streets.  This changed the look of the corner forever.

  Before the building came down, the Sam's sign took one last spin.  It was lit up during the all night art festival of Nuit Blanche 2008.  The Sam the Record Man sign featured two large records that would appear to rotate as the neon lights flashed in the night.  After its appearance at Nuit Blanche the sign disappeared into storage.

  Years later the sign was resurrected in Dundas Square.  It is now just a block south of where it used to shine from the storefront.  It has moved several stories up from street level and for some reason the words "Yes this is Sam The Record Man" are no longer flush and centered under each record (see photo at top of this post).  The best time to stop and view the sign in all its spinning neon glory is after sunset.   Sam The Record Man's son Jason played keyboards on local artist Blue Peter's song "Don't Walk Past".  So don't walk past without taking a moment to reflect on Sam's place in Toronto music history.

---

This location is near Dundas subway. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.

Map of Our World:
Sam The Record Man Sign
Sam The Record Man

---

Post # 215

Invictus Games Toronto

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 1 Dundas Street East
Date: Oct 2016
Website: www.invictusgames2017.com

  The Invictus Games are designed for war veterans to participate in sport and help them overcome their PTSD or deal with their physical injuries.  Prince Harry helped start the event and the first games were held in London, England.  This year they are being held in Toronto, Canada until September 30th.  The annual Nuit Blanche festival is also being held in Toronto on September 30th.

  It seemed fitting that we received a sneak peak of the games during the 2016 Nuit Blanche festival in Toronto.  The I AM logo above is taken from the center of  the words Invictus Games.

  In Dundas Square we were able to add blocks to help form a big I AM on the ground and show our support for the games.

  The Canadian Armed Forces were also in the square, offering a unique opportunity to see some of their equipment.

  We were able to go inside an armoured transport vehicle.

  The highlight was a tank that had been driven into the square.  They were offering the opportunity to climb onto the tank.  Nuit Blanche is an all night event which runs from dusk until 7 AM the next morning.  Even though it was close to 4 AM we still had to line up for our turn on the tank.

   While standing on the tank we had a nice view of the Hard Rock Cafe.  Sadly, this location closed earlier this year.

 

  We were also able to take a look down into the tank and see where the crew is jammed in while on active duty.

  Lastly, we had the chance to stand next to the cannon which was pointed towards the Eaton Centre.  It was fun to see this equipment up close.  We can only imagine the experiences inside this equipment for the men and women taking part in the Invictus Games.  We wish them well in their competition.

---

This location is near Dundas subway. Visit other Toronto TTC stations.

Map of Our World
Yonge-Dundas Square

---

Post # 193

Integrated Investigative Bureau

 

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 200 King Street West
Date: Aug 2014

  The Listener was a Canadian TV show about a paramedic named Toby (Craig Olejnik) who has telepathic powers and uses them to help solve crimes.  During its five season run it filmed at numerous locations around Toronto.  We figured out where the main locations from the show exist in real life.  During the introduction, you see Toby with people passing around him.  Toby is always bombarded by the voices and visions he picks up from those nearby.  This shot was filmed at Yonge-Dundas Square. We attempted to give our picture the blurry, cyan look it has on the show.  We will have to return one evening to get closer to the actual effect.
  The Sick Kids Hospital at the corner of University Ave. and Gerrard Street was used for exterior shots of the fictional St. Luke's Hospital from the show.  The show used the older ambulance bay which is at the western end of Gerrard Street.  You can see various shots of this location throughout the first two seasons.  At the very end of the pilot episode you can see Toby walking away from the ambulance bay and then turning and heading north on University Avenue at the intersection below.

   In season 2, Toby is introduced to the IIB.  IIB stands for Integrated Investigative Bureau and is a special police division.  Sgt. McCluskey (Lauren Lee Smith) starts to realize Toby has a special gift for reading what people are thinking.  Toby starts to help the IIB fight crime while still working as a paramedic.  We always found it amusing when they would arrive at a crime scene and pull out their badges and state "We are with the IIB" as if everyone would know what that means. "You you be what?"  As time goes on Toby gets more involved with the IIB and eventually starts working with them full time leaving his paramedic career behind.

  The IIB offices are shown as two different locations.  When we first see the IIB in season 2 it is shown as this building at 36 Toronto Street which houses a Canada Post Office. Its distinctive front is the one facing Adelaide Street East.

  At other times the building is shown as one of these twin buildings at University Ave. and King Street West.  These buildings are the head offices of Sun Life Financial and are located at 150 King Street West and 200 King Street West.  The building on the west side of University is the one Toby is seen entering on the show.  The archways over the door make the entrance look like a big number 4 (this can be seen in the last photo of this post).

 

  In later episodes The Listener incorporated more aerial shots of Toronto when it started a scene.  Our guess is they started using the Sun Life buildings as they work better for this type of shot.  The Toronto Street building looks great from street level but is not very impressive from above.  The Sun Life buildings also have interesting neighbours on King Street.  The office on the eastern side of University has a bronze sculpture called Sun Life after the building's tenant. The western side has a wavy building housing Canadian Blood Services, St Andrew's Church and Roy Thompson Hall all in a row.

 

We have incorporated all of these locations into the Map of our World. While Toby might be able to read our minds and see where we have been, you will have to search the map locations below.

---

Map of Our World
Yonge-Dundas Square , St. Luke's Hospital , Integrated Investigative Bureau (King Street West) , Integrated Investigative Bureau (Toronto St.)
Sun Life

---

Post # 90