The Silver Dollar Club
was a place anyone could go to blend in with the crowd and take in some
of the world’s best “never-heard-of” blues acts.
Or, in the case of James Earl Ray: to hide from the law.
Ray, the man who
assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, is said to have spent his
days on the run drinking at the bar while holed up at the Hotel Waverly,
on Spadina Ave. near College St.
The People’s Poet, Milton Acorn, lived in the hotel in the 1970s, penning some of his most acclaimed work.
Bob Dylan and Levon
Helm both graced the stage unannounced in the club’s 55-year storied
history — Canadian icons The Barenaked Ladies and Blue Rodeo, too.
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Even when it was a strip club for a brief period in the 1970s, dancers there performed to a live blues band.
The 113-year-old hotel
and bar property, however, has seen better days. If they get approval,
its owners plan to tear down the low-rent residential hotel and build a
20-storey student housing complex, with the Silver Dollar reopening on
the first floor.
“You can’t re-create
flavour, but you can try,” said building owner Paul Wynn. “It won’t be
the same, but we’re hoping it’ll be better.”
Having spent time
working for a film company in the 1980s and travelling in Europe,
staying in hostels, he dreamt of a similar life for the hotel when he
purchased it upon returning to Canada.
It never worked out.
“People weren’t backpacking through Canada the same way they were in Europe,” he said.
A wooden structure that was built “piecemeal,” said Wynn, the hotel building is “rotted out.”
Renovation wouldn’t be
economical, added Wynn, now owner of The Wynn Group. “It’s always been
added on, before there was any building code,” he said.
“I’ve lived with it for 20 years, trying to figure out what to do with it. We’re taking a very logical approach to it.”
A building that would
offer 200-plus units for students — to help with the growing need for
rental units for students at the nearby University of Toronto campus —
made the most sense.
When his daughter
needed an affordable place to live near the university, Wynn said it was
impossible to find — not even in his own rental units could he find a
four-bedroom apartment for her and three roommates.
But losing the hotel
will leave others in the lurch, said manager Kuma Nava, who has run it
for 22 years. While some of the tenants are temporary, a half-dozen
seniors have lived there for more than 15 years — some even longer.
“They’re very angry,” he said. “They don’t want to lose their home.”
The low- to mid-rise neighbourhood has come under increasing development pressure in recent years.
Last year, the city
turned down a proposed 24-storey student residence just east on College
St., after neighbourhood organizations mounted a vocal opposition.
Residents compared plans for the privately run residence, which would
include 759 bedrooms but no kitchens, to a massive rooming house.
But the city said such
a building couldn’t be considered a rooming house — a designation
limited to 25 units — and there is no bylaw to regulate a building of
that type and size. Residents also argued the scale was out of keeping
with the low-rise nature of the neighbourhood.
The developer,
Knightstone Capital Management, appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board,
which is scheduled to hear the case next month. In the meantime,
Knightsbridge acquired an adjacent property on College St. and added
another storey, and 100 more units, to the original application.
The city is considering another proposal to build a 19-storey highrise just a few doors east on College.
Wynn said his plan is
to have units that include a common living room and kitchen area with
four bedrooms, each with their own private bathroom.
Nava said residents,
including himself, don’t want large buildings in the area, especially
with a school nearby that could be overshadowed by the structure.
“They’ve tried before and I don’t think they get what they want,” he added.
With files from Patty Winsa
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thanks for this news story Chris.
perhaps it's time to have Milt's plaque taken care of before it's lost.
those developers don't give a damn about it's past history.
there goes another great memory of our Toronto arts scene.
So sad ! I remember some great nights at the old Silver Dollar.
best regards,
Peter Rowe
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Hi Peter,
Yes, it's sad to think of no more Silver Dollar : ( I stopped in there for
a pee on the way to Allan Briesmaster's reading at Q Space a couple of
months ago. Also we held the second presentation of Milt's Award there
- circa 1988? I arranged for Robert Priest & his reunited bank to play
that nite - then Robert ended up receiving his own Acorn Award a few
years later.
And we used to go to the SD for drinks during CLM because our national
office was right on the corner of College & Spadina.
I've left many a brain cell in the Silver Dollar Room!!!
peace & poetry power!
Chris & Chase Wrfffffffffffffffffffff!
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