Notice of intention to designate, City of Toronto, Province of Ontario

347 and 349 Yonge Street: Sam the Record Man sign

Take notice that Toronto City Council intends to designate the lands and buildings known municipally as 347 and 349 Yonge Street under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.

Reasons for Designation

Description:
The properties at 347 and 349 Yonge Street are worthy of designation under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act for their cultural heritage value and interest, and meet the criteria for municipal designation prescribed by the Province of Ontario under the categories of historical and contextual value. Located on the east side of Yonge Street, north of Gould Street, the properties were the location of the Sam the Record Man flagship store between 1961 and 2007, and contain distinctive signage that is described in the heritage attributes below. The property at #349 Yonge, previously the site of Steele's Tavern, was included on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties in 1974.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value

Historical or Associative Value
The Sam the Record Man Sign is historically significant for its association with the company co-founded by Sam Sniderman. The origins of the business date to 1937 when Sam Sniderman opened a record department in his family's College Street radio shop. With the success of the enterprise, the retail music operation was named Sam the Record Man and relocated to Yonge Street in 1961.

As well as his business prowess, Sam Sniderman is recognized for his promotion of Canadian musicians who represented different musical genres and generations, ranging from Gordon Lightfoot and Buffy Sainte-Marie to Oscar Peterson and the Guess Who. In the 1970s, Sniderman was instrumental in convincing the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to impose Canadian content regulations for radio stations. He was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada in 1976 for co-founding the Sniderman Sound Recording Archive at the University of Toronto's School of Music, his constant support of Canadian talent, and his concern for the preservation of Canada's cultural heritage. The recipient of an honorary doctorate from Ryerson University, Sniderman also accepted the 1999 Governor General's Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement for volunteerism in the performing arts.

Operating for nearly half a century, Sam the Record Man's Yonge Street store was famous for its Boxing Day sales and discounts. While the company developed into one of Canada's most successful music chains with over one hundred outlets across the nation, its flagship store on Yonge Street remained a mainstay in the commercial centre of Toronto where it was renowned for its knowledgeable staff and range of selections. Following Sam Sniderman's retirement in 2000, a second generation of the Sniderman family took over the business. After declaring bankruptcy at the end of 2001, the company quickly rebounded to reopen a number of stores in January 2002, including the Yonge Street location. With growing competition and advancing technology, particularly music downloads from the internet, Sam's auctioned off its vast collection of music memorabilia and closed the Yonge Street store on June 30, 2007.

Contextual value
Positioned between the department stores built by the T. Eaton Company at Yonge and Queen Streets (later the Eaton Centre) and Yonge and College Streets (now College Park), this stretch of Yonge Street became a commercial and tourist destination in Toronto with its disparate collection of businesses marked by neon signs. Sam the Record Man's signage was the most visible of all with its iconic 'spinning records' motifs. Despite changes to Yonge Street during the past half century, Sam the Record Man remained a local landmark on the thoroughfare, identified by its unique signs.

The properties at 347 and 349 Yonge Street are located on the east side of Yonge Street in the short block between Gould Street (south) and Gerrard Street East (north). The neighbouring Richard S. Williams Block (1890) at #363 Yonge is one of a series of sites in the vicinity that are recognized on the City's heritage inventory. On the opposite side of Yonge Street, the Thornton-Smith Building at #340 and the former Dominion Bank branch at #378 are local landmarks designed by the famed Toronto architect, John M. Lyle.

Heritage attributes
The heritage attributes of the Sam the Record Man Sign related to its historical and contextual value as the symbol of a long-standing business in Toronto and a landmark on Yonge Street consists of the identical signage on 347 and 349 Yonge Street, with a backlit sign, a neon sign on a solid background, and a rooftop sign, specifically:

• Over each entry, the backlit sign with a white background labelled "SAM" in red letters and flanked by "YES THIS IS" and "THE RECORD MAN" in black lettering
• Above each backlit sign on a background of red panels, the oversized neon sign in the shape of a disc that, when illuminated, appears to spin like a vinyl record
• Along the flat roof over each unit, the raised red letters spelling "SAM"

The Reasons for Designation, including a description of the heritage attributes of the property, are available for viewing from the City Clerk's Department or from Heritage Preservation Services, Policy and Research Section, City Planning Division, City of Toronto.

Notice of an objection to the proposed designation may be served on the City Clerk, Attention: Christine Archibald, Administrator, Toronto and East York Community Council, Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, 12th floor, Toronto, ON, M5H 2N2, within thirty days of the 20th of July, 2007, which is August 20th, 2007. The notice must set out the reason(s) for the objection, and all relevant facts.

Dated at Toronto this 20th day of July, 2007.

Ulli S. Watkiss
City Clerk