Then and Now: 295 Davenport Rd

This photo was taken in 1948.

Then:

Looking south onto the seemingly quiet Bedford Rd. The CN tower was absent from this view until 1976.

On the right is the Creed’s Storage Vault building, which was the storage and cleaning location for Creed’s Fur Ltd.

Creed’s was a women’s specialty store which specialized in furs and high end designer fashion. The retailer opened it’s doors in 1916 but went bankrupt in 1990.

The building itself is designed in the Art Deco style, embellished with hard-edged designs and geometric shapes. To keep costs down, ornamental treatment was limited to the most visible parts of the building.

In Ontario, the style was adopted by wealthy and very fashionable patrons who wanted the Art Deco detailing to make their buildings look lavish and exotic.

Now:

The building was converted into residential lofts in the mid 80s. Named the Creed Lofts, the space contains 19 multi-level units with 13 foot ceilings, skylights, and atriums. The original building had only two stories, the third storey was added during the loft conversion.