Honest Ed's and the Immigrant Experience Commemorative plaque, 2022.
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Original JPG File | 8400 × 6515 pixels (54.73 MP) 71.1 cm × 55.2 cm @ 300 PPI |
6.5 MB | Restricted |
Low resolution print | 2000 × 1551 pixels (3.1 MP) 16.9 cm × 13.1 cm @ 300 PPI |
730 KB | Restricted |
Screen | 1032 × 800 pixels (0.83 MP) 8.7 cm × 6.8 cm @ 300 PPI |
261 KB | Restricted |
Resource ID
10118
Access
Open
Address
780 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON M5S 2R6
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2022
Historical Themes
Business History, Entertainment and Leisure, Immigration and Multiculturalism
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
1900-1953, 1954-1998, 1999-today
Caption
Honest Ed's and the Immigrant Experience Commemorative plaque, 2022.
Description
For 68 years, Honest Ed’s was a landmark at Bloor and Bathurst Streets. Opened in 1948 at Bloor and Markham Streets as Honest Ed’s Famous Bargain House, the discount department store was a maze of buildings, festooned in lights and goofy slogans.
The business was popular with newcomers to Toronto and Canada because it was an affordable place to buy furniture, clothes, kitchenware, and other essentials — a first winter coat or cooking pot. The nearby Seaton Village, Annex, and Harbord Village neighbourhoods have long been home to large immigrant communities who shopped at Honest Ed’s for groceries.
A tireless promoter, store owner “Honest Ed” Mirvish dreamed up endless promotions and marketing events to lure customers. Honest Ed’s sold some items at a loss — potatoes for a dime, nylons for a nickel — and gave out free frozen turkeys at Christmas. The Mirvish family regularly extended the store into neighbouring buildings and they eventually owned most of the properties on the block.
The Mirvish family business also expanded into entertainment by buying and building theatres. In 2016, the family closed Honest Ed’s to focus on entertainment. The store was demolished and the land was redeveloped as Mirvish Village.
Marker lat / long: 43.664955, -79.411322 (WGS84)