Queen St. Fire: the Aftermath

A day after the fire on Queen St., there is just a hole where Duke's cycle shop used to be. If I remember right, there was a dollar store next to it that has also burned to the ground. You can see that the apartments that backed onto it from Richmond St. are completely gutted.

It really is a sorry thing to stand in the cold and stare at the remains of something you walked by every day and completely took for granted. As I snapped these photos, I wasn't alone. Many others were gathered with me on the north side of Queen St. to peer through the newly-erected fence at the devastated south side. As we snapped our photos and rolled our video cameras, we could smell the charred, acrid ashes of the rubbish heap.

Still visible is the iconic Suspect Video sign, basically the only recongnizable bit of the store that is left. Inside, I imagine, are piles of melted DVD cases with the discs fused inside them, blackend bits of vintage VHS tapes of foreign-language movies, essentially irreplacable now, and ashes of comic books and movie mags from eras gone by.

Out front, shards of icicles dangle dangerously from the lamp post, transformer and hydro lines, remnants of the fire department's gallant but failed effort to save this historic bit of real estate.

As I said yesterday, I really was sad to contemplate the demise of Preloved. Really a lovely little shop. I hope they decide to open up again somewhere else.

In case you're interested, you can donate to the "Queen St. Fire Fund" at any Scotiabank branch. The money will go to help the residents of these buildings who are now homeless in the middle of winter.