Goodbye Suspect Video!

I find myself actually in mourning today for the cluttered, lively, shabby exuberance that was the south side of Queen Street West east of Bathurst. I am especially sad about Suspect, and can only hope that a huge proportion of their stock was out on loan yesterday, and that the borrowers return them. I have spent scores of happy hours browsing Suspect's delightfully idiosyncratic collection, and they helped me survive an especially rotten few months of my life a decade or so ago.

But I also got my skates fitted at Duke's, and of course as a member of the bike community, I know how active Gary Duke has been among the bike retailers in town.

Nikolau was another favourite of mine; some of our kitchen knives and a few of my favourite baking tools came from there. It was a serendipitous source for cooking tools that were hard to find elsewhere.

And just a few weeks ago I bought a record player at National Sound. I can't believe that messy, fascinating shop is gone. Not to mention Preloved, Ali Baba and the others.

It's a great blessing that everybody (and apparently all their pets) got out safe. My hope is that the city will rally around all the business owners and residents and help them rebuild their homes and work and lives.

I haven't got anything more inspired or wise to say about this; except maybe this is what a city is really about: the intersection of public and private lives and the human-made geography that they shape and that is shaped by them. It's a tragedy to lose such an old, dense and intricate piece of our urban fabric.

An update: A trust fund has been established for residents who have been affected by the Queen Street fire. Donations can be made to the Queen Street Fire Fund at all Scotiabank locations across the city, beginning tomorrow. To find out more, contact City Councillor Adam Vaughan's Office at 416-392-4044. Rumour also has it that the monthy Critical Mass bike ride will pass by Duke's and also collect donations for the fund. The ride meets as usual tomorrow (Friday the 29th) at the corner of Bloor and Spadina, at 6 p.m., departing at 6:30.

Photo from Virtual City. If you look closely, you can see the spirit of Suspect. Oh no, sorry, that's just Jack Skellington.