The Bar Towel

I got a call from my mum on Friday to say that the Alpine Hotel was closing on that very night. I have looked for articles or listings online to corroborate, with no results. So for now we will all have to take my mum's word for it.

Both my mum and dad enjoyed the Alpine, particularly in their youth, but still more recently once or twice a year with their friends, all of whom are old tyme East Enders.

As a century-and-a-half East End institution in hostelry, it had once served farmers on their way home from market in old Toronto. The horses pulling the wagons would have just climbed the big incline up from Queen Street and hence (I'm conjecturing) the name. No doubt the fact that it was just across the municipal boundary in Scarborough helped its early successes, since the Beach ward was historically a dry ward. (If anyone can speak with any authority on this topic, please feel free to contradict me.)

The beer has not been good at the Alpine since the great levelling of Prohibition, or earlier. But it's a 150-year East End institution, and one of the tap rooms was the former stables. They don't make 'em like that anymore. And as they tear it down, the builder will no doubt turn up all sorts of historical goodies. Certainly that was the case when the Derby was torn down at the corner of Parliament and King 20(?) years ago.

But the business has been operated as a family concern for a long time, first as an old style tap room and more recently on the sports bar model. And the building had suffered from reno's which obscured or smothered the historical character of the building and the business. (For contrast, see the change in fortunes at the Miller.) In the end, it was a "land bank", occupying a site and remaining a going concern only until it could eventually be sold off for housing. And that is, apparently, what is happening: condo's.

Mum just told me that they and a few of their old chums went for a couple of final 8-ouncers on Friday afternoon. The place was heaving.

Very interesting. I used to pass by the place fairly frequently but I didn't know the history of it.
I'll keep an eye out for the tear down, as I love combing through construction sites for historical debris.

And while we are on the topic, here is a link to pictures of old Toronto hotels. From a folder within Toronto History's postings to Flickr.

Once again, very few of these establishments would have been included in anyone's good beer guide. But the buildings are generally lovely, and they are a part of the heritage and culture of the city.

Reviving an old thread just to point out that another historic (read: old) east end pub is nearing its end.

The Noah's Ark stands at the corner of Dawes Road and Danforth Ave. The bar has been closed and "For Sale" signs have been sensitively nailed into its exterior.

The sign over the door says the business was established in 1903, but Dawes Road itself dates to the time when the British military built many of the roads in this part of the continent. Dawes was one of the roads splaying north from Kingston Road. Although it is obscured now, the original course of the road ran from what is now Kingston Road and Main St. north. Until the Grand truck railway was built, and the York railway yards and the streets of the new surrounding village of East Toronto erased that length of the road.

As for the Noah's Ark itself, it has been a beer wasteland for a long time, like the Alpine Hotel. Post-apocalyptic, even. And it appeared to still have been operated under a "hotel" license, with a half-dozen rooms upstairs being rented to older gentlemen of limited means who enjoyed the company that the bar provided. The rooms were upstairs in the older part of the building.

I understand from my local community association that another hotel taproom further west on the Danforth formerly known as the Wembley House (currently "Wiseguys") is also for sale. The author of the article sounded quite pleased, but my family has lived around here a little longer. I have pangs when I hear that these venerable watering holes are succumbing to the superior returns proffered by condo developers. This is my history, man.

The good news as regards the closing of Noah's Ark is that Sweet Daddy Siki's Karaoke is safely installed at the Duke (of York) at Queen and Leslie.

And things may not be all bad. The Linsmore Hotel just east of Greenwood appears to making a break with its beer parlour past. Despite the sign for "50" over the door, the place is advertising bands in the window. Has anyone been in?

Funny, as I started to read your post I thought: they better not be messing with the Linsmore!

It is still indeed a hole, I was there a few months back. They have added a few more molbats taps, but the bartender eagerly joked that "they all came from the same bucket".

Still, there is the charm of a place that you walk out of half cocked on a sunny afternoon and curse the real world. I'm also fond of the old tiny draft glasses. What are they 8oz or so?

Another great place along those lines is the Congress on Yonge south of Sheppard. It's not so old, but in an area of corporate veneer, it's a pleasure to see the holdouts.

Perhaps we should organize a bartowel pub (ahem, tavern) crawl of a different sort...

Uncle Bobby wrote:The Noah's Ark stands at the corner of Dawes Road and Danforth Ave. The bar has been closed and "For Sale" signs have been sensitively nailed into its exterior.

You missed the bailiff's notice sensitively taped to the window.