West End Retail Furriers and the Krehm Family Commemorative plaque, 2021
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Original JPG File | 8400 × 6515 pixels (54.73 MP) 71.1 cm × 55.2 cm @ 300 PPI |
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Low resolution print | 2000 × 1551 pixels (3.1 MP) 16.9 cm × 13.1 cm @ 300 PPI |
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Screen | 1032 × 800 pixels (0.83 MP) 8.7 cm × 6.8 cm @ 300 PPI |
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Resource ID
8694
Access
Open
Address
1575 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON M6K 1T9
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2021
Historical Themes
Immigration and Multiculturalism, Music History, Political History
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
1900-1953, 1954-1998, 1999-today
Caption
West End Retail Furriers and the Krehm Family Commemorative plaque, 2021
Description
This store was the location of West End Retail Furriers, a fur dealership run by Sarah and Hyman Krehm. In the apartment upstairs, the Krehms raised their children: Ida, a concert pianist-conductor, and William, an activist and opponent of fascism.
Sarah and Hyman Krehm came separately to Canada from Russia between 1905 and 1910. Like many Jewish newcomers, they lived in St. John’s Ward and worked in the city’s booming garment industry. Their business struggled, however, and Hyman also worked other jobs.
Ida Krehm (1912–1998) was a promising musician from childhood. She studied at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music and the Chicago Musical College. She won major awards, toured widely, and recorded Rachmaninoff, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky, among others.
William Krehm (1913–2019) joined the Communist League at age 15 and started his own left-wing workers’ organization in 1934. He was taken prisoner in the Spanish Civil War, and in 1938 led opposition to Canada’s Nazi party. Krehm was a reporter for Time in the 1940s and later became a successful property developer.
Marker lat / long: 43.649692, -79.434149 (WGS84)