Silk gowns worth $2000

Here’s a brief article from the December 31 1921 edition of the Toronto Daily Star about a theft of ladies’ dresses.

$2000 in 1921 is equivalent to over $30,000 today, so this was quite a haul.

Out of curiosity, I tried to look up the business at 104 Dundas West that was robbed, but I turned up nothing meaningful. The 1921 Toronto city directory lists a plumber, Abraham Brandwein, at 104 Dundas West; in 1922, Bernard Adler, a dry goods merchant, was listed at that location.

The 1922 directory does list two ladies’ wear merchants on Dundas West, one at 120 Dundas West and one at 150A Dundas West. Since the article doesn’t mention the name of the robbed establishment, I don’t have any idea if any of these were the victim of the crime.

Interestingly enough, this stretch of Dundas West contained a number of ladies’ wear establishments that started up in 1923, as that year’s directory lists sellers of women’s clothing at 104, 108-110, 114-116, 120, and 124-130 Dundas West. This block was in the centre of The Ward, an impoverished neighbourhood that was frequently the first home for immigrants and other newcomers. Given this, it’s understandable that the neighbourhood would be constantly changing – and it’s also understandable that a theft of $2000 worth of clothing would be devastating to the firm that was victimized.