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Surveys

In the late summer of each year since 1995 (usually around Labor Day) I have recorded the name of each store at street-level between Spadina Avenue/Street and Christie Street/Grace Street on Bloor Street West in Toronto. Starting in 2023, I extended the survey to the railroad line just beyond Lansdowne Avenue. I count a store to be at street level it if is at most half a story above or below ground.

I record also the nature of the goods or services that the store offers. These two characteristics can be determined relatively reliably. (In some cases, however, a store has no name in English or displays two signs, with different names; or, in the case of a restaurant, the name displayed differs from the name on the health certificate.)

Whether the store should be classified as the same business as the store at the same location (or a different location) in a previous year can be more difficult to determine. Some stores changes hands but keep the same name, and some stores change names but retain the same ownership (and engage in the same activities). I attempt to determine the persistence of stores from year to year, but may not do so with complete reliability. For example, I classify the store that was called "Kinko's" up to 2009 as the same business as the one called "FedEx Office" at the same location from 2010 to 2017 (although presumably its ownership changed), but classify the supermarket that was called "Bloor Supersave" up to 2007 as a different business from the supermarket called "Bloor Superfresh" at the same location from 2008 to 2017.

My dataset contains a set of businesses, and, for each year, a set of observations. To each business I assign a name, which is usually the name of the store the first year I observe it. Each observation for a particular year consists of a location, a business, an observed name (which may differ from the name of the business, if the business remains the same but the name of the store changes), a category (broad), and one or more types (narrow). Here are the categories, and for each one the set of types within it.

• Art, books, music, video: Art, Art supplies, Art workshop, Audio equipment, Books, CDs, Comics, Crafts, Digital imaging, DVDs, Library, Multimedia studio, Music, Music studio, Musical instruments, Paper, Photo studio, Photofinishing, Photography equipment, Picture framing, Posters, Records, Stationery, Video, Writing center
• Automotive: Automobiles, Automotive supplies, Driving school, Gas station
• Bikes and e-bikes: Bike repair, Bikes, E-bike repair, E-bikes
• Business services: Advertising Agency, Courier, Mail services, Office supplies, Photocopies, Printing
• Cleaning services: Cleaning service, Cleaning supplies, Dry cleaner, Launderer, Laundromat
• Clothing: Bags, Clothes, Furs, Hats, Lingerie, Shoes, Tailor
• Convenience: Convenience
• Department store: Catalog store, Department store
• Drugs: Cannabis, Cigars, Drug paraphenalia, E-cigarettes
• Educational: School
• Electronics: Computers, Electronics
• Entertainment: Cinema, Entertainment venue, Mystic readings
• Financial: Bank, Income tax, Insurance, Money services, Pawnshop, Precious metals, Tax services
• Food: Beer, Bread, Butcher, Cheese, Coffee, Dairy products, Fish, Food, Health food, Produce, Supermarket, Tea, Vitamins, Wine
• Home furnishing: Bedding, Beds, Candles, Ceramics, Cloth, Coffee equipment, Cushions, Drapery, Floor covering, Furnishings, Furniture, Futons, Hemp products, Kitchen equipment, Mattresses
• Home maintenance: Building materials, Hardware, Home improvements, Interior design, Paint, Plumber
• Internet parlor: Internet parlor
• Legal services: Law office
• Lodging: Hotel
• Media: Newspaper, Publisher, Radio station
• Medical: Acupuncture, Dentist, Drug store, Herbalist, Masks, Medical, Medical supplies, Optician
• Miscellaneous: Bee products, Clocks and watches, Crystals, Cultural centre, Daycare center, Electrical appliances, Environmental products, Flowers, Funeral parlor, Houseplants, Miscellaneous, Post office, Shoe repair, Soft toys, Toys, Upscale goods, Used goods, Watch repair, Wool
• Newsagent: Magazines
• Personal adornment: Jewelry, Tattoos, Threading
• Personal care: Barber, Beauty products, Beauty salon, Cosmetics, Hairdresser, Hairdressing school, Massage, Nail Salon, Skin care, Spa, Waxing, Wigs
• Pets: Dog care, Pet grooming, Pet supplies, Pets, Vetinary clinic
• Phones: Phone repair, Phone service, Phones
• Political: Politician's office
• Prepared food: Bakery, Bar, Café, Candies, Deli, Donuts, Fast food, Fish and chips, Food court, Frozen yogurt, Ice Cream, Juice, Pizza, Prepared food, Restaurant
• Realtor: Realtor
• Recreation: Betting, Billiards, Dance studio, Dive shop, Games, Gym, Martial Arts, Party supplies, Pool bar, Sports equipment, Video games, Yoga studio
• Religion: Church, Religious items, Religious organization
• Social services: Child and family services, Shelter, Social agency
• Travel: Airline ticket office, Rides, Travel agent
• Unknown: Unknown
• Variety: Cards, Gifts, Variety

In some cases, I break down the types into subtypes. For example, I classify restaurants according to the cuisine they serve. In some cases, classifying a business is not straightforward. For example, the dividing lines between restaurants, cafés, bars, and fast food establishments are not clearcut.

Here is a list of all types and subtypes. The category to which each type belongs is given in parentheses.

• Acupuncture (Medical)
• Advertising Agency (Business services)
• Airline ticket office (Travel)
• Art (Art, books, music, video)
• Art supplies (Art, books, music, video)
• Art workshop (Art, books, music, video)
• Audio equipment (Art, books, music, video)
• Automobiles (Automotive)  •  Used
• Automotive supplies (Automotive)
• Bags (Clothing)
• Bakery (Prepared food)  •  Generic  •  Hungarian  •  Vietnamese
• Bank (Financial)
• Bar (Prepared food)
• Barber (Personal care)
• Beauty products (Personal care)
• Beauty salon (Personal care)
• Bedding (Home furnishing)
• Beds (Home furnishing)
• Bee products (Miscellaneous)
• Beer (Food)
• Betting (Recreation)
• Bike repair (Bikes and e-bikes)
• Bikes (Bikes and e-bikes)
• Billiards (Recreation)
• Books (Art, books, music, video)  •  Antiquarian  •  General  •  Used
• Bread (Food)
• Building materials (Home maintenance)
• Butcher (Food)
• Café (Prepared food)  •  Board games  •  Bubble tea  •  Chinese  •  Colombian  •  Ethiopian  •  French  •  Generic  •  Internet  •  Korean  •  Shisha  •  Sports  •  Tea  •  Vegetarian  •  Vietnamese
• Candies (Prepared food)
• Candles (Home furnishing)
• Cannabis (Drugs)
• Cards (Variety)
• Catalog store (Department store)
• CDs (Art, books, music, video)  •  New  •  Used
• Ceramics (Home furnishing)
• Cheese (Food)
• Child and family services (Social services)
• Church (Religion)
• Cigars (Drugs)
• Cinema (Entertainment)  •  Documentary  •  Generic  •  X-rated
• Cleaning service (Cleaning services)
• Cleaning supplies (Cleaning services)
• Clocks and watches (Miscellaneous)
• Cloth (Home furnishing)
• Clothes (Clothing)  •  Athletic  •  Children  •  Formal  •  General  •  Men  •  Used  •  Women
• Coffee (Food)
• Coffee equipment (Home furnishing)
• Comics (Art, books, music, video)
• Computers (Electronics)  •  Games  •  New  •  Printers  •  Rental  •  Repair  •  Used
• Convenience (Convenience)
• Cosmetics (Personal care)
• Courier (Business services)
• Crafts (Art, books, music, video)
• Crystals (Miscellaneous)
• Cultural centre (Miscellaneous)
• Cushions (Home furnishing)
• Dairy products (Food)
• Dance studio (Recreation)
• Daycare center (Miscellaneous)
• Deli (Prepared food)
• Dentist (Medical)
• Department store (Department store)
• Digital imaging (Art, books, music, video)
• Dive shop (Recreation)
• Dog care (Pets)
• Donuts (Prepared food)
• Drapery (Home furnishing)
• Driving school (Automotive)
• Drug paraphenalia (Drugs)
• Drug store (Medical)
• Dry cleaner (Cleaning services)
• DVDs (Art, books, music, video)  •  New  •  Used
• E-bike repair (Bikes and e-bikes)
• E-bikes (Bikes and e-bikes)
• E-cigarettes (Drugs)
• Electrical appliances (Miscellaneous)
• Electronics (Electronics)
• Entertainment venue (Entertainment)
• Environmental products (Miscellaneous)
• Fast food (Prepared food)
• Fish (Food)
• Fish and chips (Prepared food)
• Floor covering (Home furnishing)
• Flowers (Miscellaneous)
• Food (Food)  •  Ethiopian  •  General  •  Hispanic  •  Indian  •  Japanese  •  Korean  •  Lebanese  •  West Indian
• Food court (Prepared food)
• Frozen yogurt (Prepared food)
• Funeral parlor (Miscellaneous)
• Furnishings (Home furnishing)
• Furniture (Home furnishing)
• Furs (Clothing)
• Futons (Home furnishing)
• Games (Recreation)
• Gas station (Automotive)
• Gifts (Variety)
• Gym (Recreation)  •  Boxing  •  Climbing  •  General  •  Martial arts
• Hairdresser (Personal care)
• Hairdressing school (Personal care)
• Hardware (Home maintenance)
• Hats (Clothing)
• Health food (Food)
• Hemp products (Home furnishing)
• Herbalist (Medical)
• Home improvements (Home maintenance)
• Hotel (Lodging)
• Houseplants (Miscellaneous)
• Ice Cream (Prepared food)
• Income tax (Financial)
• Insurance (Financial)
• Interior design (Home maintenance)
• Internet parlor (Internet parlor)
• Jewelry (Personal adornment)
• Juice (Prepared food)
• Kitchen equipment (Home furnishing)
• Launderer (Cleaning services)
• Laundromat (Cleaning services)
• Law office (Legal services)
• Library (Art, books, music, video)
• Lingerie (Clothing)
• Magazines (Newsagent)
• Mail services (Business services)
• Martial Arts (Recreation)
• Masks (Medical)
• Massage (Personal care)
• Mattresses (Home furnishing)
• Medical (Medical)
• Medical supplies (Medical)
• Miscellaneous (Miscellaneous)
• Money services (Financial)
• Multimedia studio (Art, books, music, video)
• Music (Art, books, music, video)
• Music studio (Art, books, music, video)
• Musical instruments (Art, books, music, video)
• Mystic readings (Entertainment)
• Nail Salon (Personal care)
• Newspaper (Media)
• Office supplies (Business services)
• Optician (Medical)
• Paint (Home maintenance)
• Paper (Art, books, music, video)
• Party supplies (Recreation)
• Pawnshop (Financial)
• Pet grooming (Pets)
• Pet supplies (Pets)
• Pets (Pets)
• Phone repair (Phones)
• Phone service (Phones)
• Phones (Phones)
• Photo studio (Art, books, music, video)
• Photocopies (Business services)
• Photofinishing (Art, books, music, video)
• Photography equipment (Art, books, music, video)
• Picture framing (Art, books, music, video)
• Pizza (Prepared food)
• Plumber (Home maintenance)
• Politician's office (Political)
• Pool bar (Recreation)
• Post office (Miscellaneous)
• Posters (Art, books, music, video)
• Precious metals (Financial)
• Prepared food (Prepared food)
• Printing (Business services)
• Produce (Food)  •  General  •  Organic
• Publisher (Media)
• Radio station (Media)
• Realtor (Realtor)
• Records (Art, books, music, video)
• Religious items (Religion)
• Religious organization (Religion)
• Restaurant (Prepared food)  •  Arabic  •  Argentinian  •  Asian  •  Barbecue  •  Brazilian  •  Burgers  •  Caribbean  •  Chinese  •  Colombian  •  Eritrean  •  Ethiopian  •  French  •  Generic  •  Greek  •  Hawaiian  •  Hungarian  •  Indian  •  Italian  •  Japanese  •  Korean  •  Lebanese  •  Malaysian  •  Mediterranean  •  Mexican  •  Middle Eastern  •  Nepalese  •  Nicaraguan  •  Pakistani  •  Salads and wraps  •  Salvadorean  •  Seafood  •  Singaporean  •  Spanish  •  Swiss  •  Taiwanese  •  Takeout  •  Tex-Mex  •  Thai  •  Turkish  •  Vegetarian  •  Vietnamese
• Rides (Travel)
• School (Educational)
• Shelter (Social services)
• Shoe repair (Miscellaneous)
• Shoes (Clothing)
• Skin care (Personal care)
• Social agency (Social services)
• Soft toys (Miscellaneous)
• Spa (Personal care)
• Sports equipment (Recreation)
• Stationery (Art, books, music, video)
• Supermarket (Food)
• Tailor (Clothing)
• Tattoos (Personal adornment)
• Tax services (Financial)
• Tea (Food)
• Threading (Personal adornment)
• Toys (Miscellaneous)
• Travel agent (Travel)
• Unknown (Unknown)
• Upscale goods (Miscellaneous)
• Used goods (Miscellaneous)
• Variety (Variety)
• Vetinary clinic (Pets)
• Video (Art, books, music, video)
• Video games (Recreation)
• Vitamins (Food)
• Watch repair (Miscellaneous)
• Waxing (Personal care)
• Wigs (Personal care)
• Wine (Food)
• Wool (Miscellaneous)
• Writing center (Art, books, music, video)
• Yoga studio (Recreation)

Here are the dates of my surveys.

• 1995: 1995-08-23 to 1995-08-25
• 1996: 1996-08-21 to 1996-08-23
• 1997: 1997-08-26 to 1997-08-27
• 1998: 1998-08-25 to 1998-08-27
• 1999: 1999-08-06 to 1999-08-09
• 2000: 2000-08-24 to 2000-08-28
• 2001: 2001-09-15 to 2001-09-16
• 2002: 2002-09-03 to 2002-09-05
• 2003: 2003-08-31 to 2003-09-01
• 2004: 2004-08-26 to 2004-08-27
• 2005: 2005-09-05 to 2005-09-06
• 2006: 2006-09-10 to 2006-09-10
• 2007: 2007-08-31 to 2007-09-02
• 2008: 2008-08-25 to 2008-08-25
• 2009: 2009-09-07 to 2009-09-07
• 2010: 2010-09-06 to 2010-09-06
• 2011: 2011-09-05 to 2011-09-05
• 2012: 2012-09-09 to 2012-09-09
• 2013: 2013-09-02 to 2013-09-02
• 2014: 2014-09-01 to 2014-09-01
• 2015: 2015-09-01 to 2015-09-01
• 2016: 2016-09-05 to 2016-09-05
• 2017: 2017-09-04 to 2017-09-04
• 2018: 2018-09-03 to 2018-09-03
• 2019: 2019-09-02 to 2019-09-02
• 2020: 2020-09-06 to 2020-09-19
• 2021: 2021-09-06 to 2021-09-06
• 2022: 2022-09-05 to 2022-09-05
• 2023: 2023-09-04 to 2023-10-12 (Spadina-Christie surveyed 2023-9-4. Christie-Lansdowne completed 2023-10-12.)
• 2024: 2024-08-30 to 2024-09-02

Directories

Starting in 1833, and in most years since 1859, up to 2001, directories of all addresses in Toronto were published. For each address, the name of the business or the head of the household is given. For many businesses, the nature of the goods or services sold, if unclear from the name of the business, is given. Phone numbers are also given in most cases, once telephone service became available. Most of these directories have been scanned and are available on archive.org — see this page of the website of the Toronto Public Library.

I am currently entering the data for the Spadina-Christie sector of my survey area for years prior to 1995, when I conducted my first survey. I will discuss here the nature of the data once I have entered it.