Bloor Street

Data description

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, Radios, Records, Stationery, Televisions, Video, Writing center
Automotive: Automobile repair, Automobiles, Automotive supplies, Driving school, Service station
Bikes and e-bikes: Bike repair, Bikes, E-bike repair, E-bikes
Business services: Accountant, Advertising agency, Courier, Mail services, Office supplies, Photocopies, Printing
Cleaning services: Cleaning service, Cleaning supplies, Dry cleaner, Launderer, Laundromat
Clothing: Bags, Clothes, Furs, Hats, Leather goods, Lingerie, Shoes, Tailor
Convenience: Convenience
Department store: Catalog store, Department store
Drugs: Cannabis, Cigars, Drug paraphenalia, E-cigarettes, Tobacco
Educational: School
Electronics: Computers, Electronics
Entertainment: Cinema, Entertainment venue, Mystic readings
Financial: Bank, Income tax, Insurance, Money services, Mortgages, Pawnshop, Precious metals, Tax services
Food: Beer, Bread, Butcher, Cheese, Coffee, Dairy products, Fish, Food, Health food, Produce, Supermarket, Tea, Vitamins, Wine
Home furnishing: Appliances, Bedding, Beds, Candles, Ceramics, Cloth, Coffee equipment, Cushions, Drapery, Floor covering, Furnishings, Furniture, Futons, Hemp products, Kitchen equipment, Mattresses, Upholstering, Upholstery
Home maintenance: Builder, Building materials, Hardware, Home improvements, Interior design, Paint, Plumber
Internet parlor: Internet parlor
Legal services: Law office, Notary public
Lodging: Hotel
Media: Newspaper, Publisher, Radio station
Medical: Acupuncture, Chiropractor, Dentist, Drug store, Herbalist, Masks, Medical, Medical clinic, Medical laboratory, Medical supplies, Optician, Optometrist, Physician
Miscellaneous: Bee products, Clocks and watches, Coins and stamps, Crystals, Cultural centre, Daycare center, Electrical appliances, Environmental products, Flowers, Funeral parlor, Houseplants, Luggage, Miscellaneous, Post office, Shoe repair, Soft toys, Toys, Upscale goods, Used goods, Watch repair, Watchmaker, Wool
Newsagent: Magazines
Personal adornment: Jewelry, Jewelry repairs, 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, Caterer, Delicatessen, Donuts, Fast food, Fish and chips, Food court, Frozen yogurt, Ice Cream, Juice, Pizza, Prepared food, Restaurant, Snack bar
Realtor: Realtor
Recreation: Betting, Billiards, Bowling, 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.

Accountant (Business services)
Acupuncture (Medical)
Advertising agency (Business services)
Airline ticket office (Travel)
Appliances (Home furnishing)
Art (Art, books, music, video)
Art supplies (Art, books, music, video)
Art workshop (Art, books, music, video)
Audio equipment (Art, books, music, video)
Automobile repair (Automotive)
Automobiles (Automotive) • General • Used
Automotive supplies (Automotive)
Bags (Clothing)
Bakery (Prepared food) • Generic • Hungarian • Swiss • 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 • Exchange • General • Used
Bowling (Recreation)
Bread (Food)
Builder (Home maintenance)
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)
Caterer (Prepared food)
CDs (Art, books, music, video) • New • Used
Ceramics (Home furnishing)
Cheese (Food)
Child and family services (Social services)
Chiropractor (Medical)
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 • Uniforms • Used • Women
Coffee (Food)
Coffee equipment (Home furnishing)
Coins and stamps (Miscellaneous)
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)
Delicatessen (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) • Caribbean • Dry goods • Ethiopian • General • Greek • 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)
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)
Jewelry repairs (Personal adornment)
Juice (Prepared food)
Kitchen equipment (Home furnishing)
Launderer (Cleaning services)
Laundromat (Cleaning services)
Law office (Legal services)
Leather goods (Clothing)
Library (Art, books, music, video)
Lingerie (Clothing)
Luggage (Miscellaneous)
Magazines (Newsagent)
Mail services (Business services)
Martial Arts (Recreation)
Masks (Medical)
Massage (Personal care)
Mattresses (Home furnishing)
Medical (Medical)
Medical clinic (Medical)
Medical laboratory (Medical)
Medical supplies (Medical)
Miscellaneous (Miscellaneous)
Money services (Financial)
Mortgages (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)
Notary public (Legal services)
Office supplies (Business services)
Optician (Medical)
Optometrist (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)
Physician (Medical)
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)
Radios (Art, books, music, video)
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)
Service station (Automotive)
Shelter (Social services)
Shoe repair (Miscellaneous)
Shoes (Clothing)
Skin care (Personal care)
Snack bar (Prepared food)
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)
Televisions (Art, books, music, video)
Threading (Personal adornment)
Tobacco (Drugs)
Toys (Miscellaneous)
Travel agent (Travel)
Unknown (Unknown)
Upholstering (Home furnishing)
Upholstery (Home furnishing)
Upscale goods (Miscellaneous)
Used goods (Miscellaneous)
Variety (Variety)
Vetinary clinic (Pets)
Video (Art, books, music, video)
Video games (Recreation)
Vitamins (Food)
Watch repair (Miscellaneous)
Watchmaker (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. The publisher had canvassers who visited every address. For residences, they obtained the name and, in some cases, profession and employer, of the head of the household, and asked whether that person owned or rented the accommodation. For businesses, they obtained the name and noted the nature of the goods or services sold, if unclear from the name of the business. Phone numbers were also obtained in most cases, once telephone service became available. Up to 1967, each directory presents this information in three ways: an alphabetical listing by last name of all individuals, a listing by street, and a listing of businesses classified by they type of goods or services they offered. After 1967, the third section was replaced by a listing that includes only businesses that paid to be included. 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 in these directories for the Spadina-Christie sector of my survey area for years prior to 1995, when I conducted my first survey. The information page about the directories on the Toronto Public Library site suggests that the data published in the directory for any year y was collected in year y - 1, and I have associated that data with year y - 1 in my database. For directories labelled with two years, like 1985–86, I have associated the data with the first of the two years.

The directory listings by street contain most of the information I need, but I have encountered the following issues.

In many cases, multiple businesses are listed at the same address, with no indication of which ones were at street level. I have tried to make sensible guesses.
In some cases, the numbering scheme for the current buildings distinguishes between street-level spaces and ones on upper floors. For example, on the north side of Bloor between Brunswick and Howland, 416, 422, 424, 430, 432, and 438 are at street level, whereas 418, 420, 426, 428, 434, and 436 are upstairs, and on the south side between Palmerston and Euclid, 615, 617, 619, and 621 are at street level, whereas 615A, 617A, 619A, and 621A are upstairs. In other cases, second-floor spaces use the same number as the street-level space downstairs. For buildings that no longer exist, I have found no way to be certain about whether a particular number was at street level. In some cases, numbers have been reassigned when buildings have been replaced, in which case I have recorded them as separate locations. For example, 575 is the number currently assigned to the commercial space on the south side of Bloor just east of Markham, but it was previously assigned to a much smaller space half a block east, which I call 575 [o].
After 1967, when no classified listing of all businesses was published, it is not possible to determine the nature of some businesses. In some cases, the nature of a business is apparent from its name, but in other cases it is not. For example, the nature of the business "Basix" listed at 475 in 1994 is unclear. I have classified the type of all such businesses as "unknown".
In some years, some addresses are not listed — presumably errors — or are listed as "–", which signifies that the occupant could not be reached, or say "no return". In some cases, such locations may have been vacant, diminishing the quality of the data on vacancies before 1995. If a business is listed at a given address in years y and y + 2, but there is no listing for the address in year y + 1, I have assumed that the omission in year y + 1 is an error, and have included the business at that address in that year.

For each year prior to 1995, here are the directories from which I have obtained data, with the page number on which listings for the Spadina–Christie section of Bloor begin.

1950: 1951 Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1935
1951: 1952 Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1911
1952: 1953 Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1826
1953: 1954 Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1655
1954: 1955 Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1694
1955: 1956 Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1797
1956: 1957 Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1821
1957: 1958 Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1903
1958: 1959 Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1666
1959: Might's 1960 Greater Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1684
1960: Might's 1961 Greater Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1667
1961: Might's 1962 Greater Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1716
1962: Might's 1963 Greater Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1725
1963: Might's 1964 Greater Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1676
1964: Might's 1965 Greater Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1748
1965: Might's 1966 Greater Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1602
1966: Might's 1967 Greater Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1617
1967: Might's 1968 Greater Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1549
1968: Might's 1969 Metropolitan Toronto City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1628
1969: Might's Metropolitan Toronto (York County, Ontario) City Directory 1970 (Might Directories), p. 1550
1970: Might's Metropolitan Toronto (York County, Ontario) City Directory 1971 (Might Directories), p. 1528
1971: Might's Metropolitan Toronto (York County, Ontario) City Directory 1972 (Might Directories), p. 1548
1972: Might's Metropolitan Toronto (York County, Ontario) City Directory 1973 (Might Directories), p. 1534
1973: Might's Metropolitan Toronto (York County, Ontario) City Directory 1974 (Might Directories), p. 1584
1974: Might's Metropolitan Toronto (York County, Ontario) City Directory 1975 (Might Directories), p. 1620
1975: Might's Metropolitan Toronto (York County, Ontario) City Directory 1976 (Might Directories), p. 1689
1976: Might's Metropolitan Toronto (York County, Ontario) City Directory 1977 (Might Directories), p. 1749
1978: Might's Metropolitan Toronto (York County, Ontario) City Directory 1978-79 (Might Directories), p. 1791
1979: 1980 Metropolitan Toronto (York County Ontario) City Directory (R. L. Polk & Co.), p. 1879
1981: 1981-82 Metropolitan Toronto (York County Ontario) City Directory (R. L. Polk & Co.), p. 1957
1982: 1983 Metropolitan Toronto (York County Ontario) City Directory (R. L. Polk & Co.), p. 2000
1985: 1985/86 Metropolitan Toronto (York County Ontario) City Directory (Might Directories), p. 1830
1987: 1988 Metropolitan Toronto City Directory Central Edition, Volume 1 (R. L. Polk & Co.), p. 1346
1989: 1990 Metropolitan Toronto City Directory Central Edition (Might Directories), p. 1120
1991: Polk 1992 Metropolitan Toronto City Directory Central Edition (R. L. Polk & Co.), p. 1406
1992: Polk 1993 Metropolitan Toronto City Directory Central Edition, Volume 2 (Polk Canada Ltd.), p. 225
1994: 1995 City of Toronto (West of Yonge) & York Directory (Polk Canada Ltd.), p. 585