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#OnThisDay in 1914 the Canadian Pacific ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sank near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River after colliding with the SS Storstad in thick fog. Of the 1,477 people on board, 1,012 died, making it the worst peacetime marine disaster in Canadian history. 
167 members of the Salvation Army were among those who perished on the Empress early that morning, only 22 were found. Their remains were ceremoniously interred at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.
In 1916 a unique monument was erected at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in sacred memory of Salvationists lost in the Empress of Ireland disaster. Designed by Salvation Army Major Gideon Miller, it depicts ocean waves with a crowned cross, beautifully sculpted in granite by Emanuel Hahn
Cool Find!!! Adam Wynne recently messaged me to ask if I had any information about the ghost sign on the south side of 111 River Street in Toronto. The building is currently under threat of demolition.
I wrote back that I had nothing on it, surprised because I didn't even know there was a ghost sign at the location. However, I agreed to dig further. All the lettering I could make out from the photos at the beginning was choppy, "Office... .... & Co."
I stared at this faded sign through several years of Google Street Views for far too long, messaged back and forth with Adam about the history of the surrounding area, dove into the usual some online research, and started tracing what lettering I could decypher...
