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Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe

Defunct retail companies of CanadaIndependent bookstores of CanadaJewish Canadian literatureJews and Judaism in TorontoShops in Toronto

Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe, 1926–1971, was widely known in the Jewish community as Hyman's Bookstore. It was an important part of the early history of Spadina Avenue in Toronto, as well as the early Jewish community of Toronto. The store was founded in 1926 by Ben Zion Hyman and his wife Fannie (also known as Faygle). For most of its 45-year history, Hyman's Bookstore was located at 412 Spadina Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The book store specialized in Jewish books of both secular and religious interest in English, Yiddish and Hebrew. Hyman's Bookstore carried a complete line of Jewish ritual objects such as talleisim, tfillin, kiddush cups, menorahs, shabbath candlesticks, kippot and jewelry (e.g., mezuzahs and magen davids). It was also the main supplier of all the Jewish schools in Toronto. In 1941, Hyman used books from the store to found the Toronto Jewish Public Library. Hyman's Bookstore started a book registry in the late 1940s, so that there would be no duplication in Bar Mitvah gifts. Another one of Hyman's specialties was office supplies. In addition, the business was renowned for its Jewish greeting cards sold during major Jewish holidays. Many Jewish landsmanshaften [organizations of people from the same European area] depended on Hyman's service for mimeographing multiple copies of local community society newsletters and minutes. The store gained its fame as a meeting place of Jewish political ideas and viewpoints. It was often referred to as the "Jewish Parliament." Many heated conversations took place in the store, over bottles of Coca-Cola. They discussed viewpoints such as Labour Zionism, Mizrachi, Revisionism, and so on. All points of view were welcomed except for Communism. Many people came to the bookstore to have letters written in Fanny Hyman's handwriting (in English, Polish or Yiddish) to be sent home to their families in eastern Europe. "Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe" was the name of the store from 1926 to 1953. "Hyman and Son" was the name of the store from 1953 to its closing in 1971. A northern branch was opened at 1032 Eglinton Avenue West (near Bathurst Street). It was owned and managed by Ruth Warner and Gurion Hyman from 1953 to 1962.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Hyman's Book and Art Shoppe
Spadina Avenue, Toronto

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N 43.65617 ° E -79.39963 °
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Spadina Avenue 406
M5T 2G7 Toronto
Ontario, Canada
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Broadway Methodist Tabernacle
Broadway Methodist Tabernacle

Broadway Methodist Tabernacle was a prominent Methodist church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that existed from 1872 to 1924. The congregation was originally housed in a wood chapel at the intersection of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street, which at that time was known as St. Patrick Street. It was originally named the Spadina Avenue Methodist Church. Rapid growth in the congregation saw it seek a new home, and in 1876 a larger lot was purchased at the northeast corner of Spadina and College Street. The wooden church was transported on rollers north to the new location. The old site eventually became the location of the Standard Theatre. In 1879 work began on a new brick church that would be able to seat 900. The church was also renamed Broadway Methodist Church, as at that time the wide stretch of Spadina from College to Bloor was often known as Broadway. That church also became too small, and in 1887 it was almost completely demolished and replaced by a third structure. This building was designed by E. J. Lennox, the most prominent architect then practicing in Toronto. At the request of the congregation he copied the basic floor plan and design of his earlier Bond Street Congregational Church, but at a larger scale. Rather than employing the neo-Gothic style, as he had with Bond Street, Lennox designed the church in the Romanesque Revival style. The building thus had many similarities in style of the City Hall that Lennox was working on simultaneously. The new Tabernacle opened in 1899; near to the large working-class population of west Toronto and the textile mills of Spadina, it became an important social centre. This was especially true under the leadership of Salem Bland, one of the leading Social Gospel advocates in Canada, and who led the church from 1919 to 1923. However, the nature of the neighbourhood was changing. New immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, most notably a large Jewish population, were moving into the working-class area and the Methodist English were moving north to other neighbourhoods. The merger of churches that created the United Church of Canada in 1924 led to the eventual closing of the Tabernacle. The building was demolished by 1930, and replaced by the four storey office building that stands on the site today.