Toronto Star

It's not the sound of the rolling metal wheels of the 501 Queen streetcars that reverberate in Alec Keefer's ears. He hears the old buildings speak in a language the architectural and social historian understands. Each block has a mix of styles – among them masonry-built Edwardian and timber-framed High Victorian. Many have patterned bricks, others artistic cornice work, windows arched and hooded. But one block is now silent. Wednesday's fire gutted four buildings on Queen between Portland and Bathurst Sts. leaving, at best, skeletal remains of the past. It's no wonder it was a six-alarm blaze, said the president of the Toronto Architectural Conservancy. Built using "balloon construction," the frames were made of long timbers. They went up like tinder. Structures built using that method are found in other parts of old Toronto. "But those lost were the best and biggest examples of balloon construction in the city," said Keefer. "They were very rare. We've lost a crucial piece of history."