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On your behalf, I am advocating for a more thoughtful, creative, and responsible approach to policy issues at City Hall. I take very seriously the responsibility to make informed decisions that are based on evidence, community consultation, and the merits of arguments – rather than partisanship. I will continue representing our community at Council meetings on transit, tenant concerns, childcare, green space, and other issues that matter most to Midtown residents. Or, you can reach us by phone at 416 392-7906.
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Saving Sam the Record Man’s Giant Spinning Discs
July 22, 2014
Mark Byrnes
CityLab at The Atlantic
Saving Sam the Record Man's Giant Spinning Discs
A huge flashing sign from a shuttered record store in Toronto gets a new home after a lengthy preservation battle.
- MARK BYRNES
- @markbyrnes525
- Jul 22, 2014
- 2 Comments
A 2009 photo of Sam the Record Man's flagship store just before the building was demolished and the signs were put in storage. (Mark Byrnes)
Surrounded by buildings as tall as they are often uninteresting, few places in downtown Toronto attracted as much attention as the stand-alone record store that once stood at the corner of Yonge and Gould Street.
Since selling its final CD in 2007, Torontonians have been waiting to find out what would happen to the flashing neon discs that used to lure them into Sam the Record Man's flagship store for nearly 40 years. The property's new owners initially agreed to incorporate the storefront into their construction plans. After reneging on that promise, city officials were able to finally secure the storefront's fate earlier this month—on top of a mid-rise tower one block away.
A nationwide chain, Sam's was ubiquitous across Canada while it lasted. Founded by Sam Sniderman (who helped create the Junos, Canada's music awards), the company started with a single location in Toronto in 1937 before eventually growing to more than 100 stores across Canada by the 1990s.
