An historic stretch of Toronto's Queen Street West — the corner of Queen and Portland — burned to the ground today in a massive fire. This corner was home to the brilliant Suspect Video and the legendary Duke's Cycle, which had been in the same family for four generations.
Many of the gutted buildings were built at the turn of the century, and had recently been declared a heritage conservation district. City Councillor Adam Vaughan called the fire a tragedy for Toronto."It's a tragedy in so many levels. The Duke's Cycle that had been here for four generations is gone. The building is gone. I bumped in one of the brothers, and they're in shock," he said. "But you know, the residents above the stores, and the stores, and we just had the area declared a heritage conservation district. On a host of levels, it's a bloody tragedy.
"It punches a hole in the heart of Queen St."
This was my old stomping grounds, from the age of about 13 until I left Toronto around 1999. Queen Street will never be the same. My condolences to all the people who worked and lived there.
(Thanks, Shannon!)
