Honest Ed's

Ed Mirvish opened Honest Ed's in 1948 at the corner of Bloor Street West and Bathurst Street, a discount department store built on hand-lettered, self-deprecating sale signs and a deliberately chaotic bargain-bin atmosphere that turned shopping there into something like an event. The store's sprawling, maze-like floor plan and thousands of exposed light bulbs studding its exterior made it one of the most recognizable buildings in the city, and its low prices built a loyal following across generations of Torontonians, particularly new immigrants furnishing a first apartment on a tight budget.

Closure and demolition

Honest Ed's closed permanently at the end of 2016 after Mirvish's heirs sold the property, and the building was demolished starting in 2018 to make way for a mixed-use condominium and rental development called Mirvish Village. Pieces of the original store, including its hand-painted signs, were distributed to the public and local institutions before demolition, and the site's redevelopment remains a frequently cited example in debates over the loss of independent, idiosyncratic Toronto landmarks to condo development.

Sources

• The Canadian Encyclopedia — Ed Mirvish
• Wikipedia — Honest Ed's

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