The Parkdale, Elgin at Gladstone

     The Might Directories indicate that the swank-sounding Parkdale apartment building (first listed as #390-392 Elgin) was constructed around 1912 and that its six rental units replaced two single-family houses of like numbering. Goad 1912 sheet 67 shows this walk-up's brick-veneer-over-wood structure and insists that, because of the indentation created by its Mansard-style roof-line, the Parkdale is a two-and-a-half storey building and not a three.
     Listings as late as 1923 assure us that the Parkdale was not built to accommodate a storefront, but at some point in time that's obviously what happened. The ground floor was gutted, the side windows bricked in, and a projection of what looks to me like 3.5 metres was tacked on to the front of the building. It's been a Mac's for as long as I can remember, not that I've been keeping track. A staircase on the south side of the building permits access to the remaining apartments.
     The Parkdale exudes the charm that comes with peeling paint and a graffiti hit that has persisted unbuffed for at least a year now if not two. The current addresses are 388 Elgin for the store and 390 for the apartments.

Sunny morning, Google Street View — Elgin looking south (L), Gladstone looking west (R)

     This Street View capture shows how far the storefront extends past the original facade. Note the stone foundation and the four bricked-in side windows. The rebuilt balconies take advantage of the storefront roof and may be deeper than the originals.