It’s a beautiful sign honouring a very popular Yonge Street record shop and its owner, the late Sam Sniderman. The Eyeopener, one of Ryerson University’s student newspapers, reports that the cost of restoring and installing the iconic spinning discs was $841,510.

Ryerson estimates the monthly maintenance costs of $1,100 will keep the sign lit, and this will amount to about $13,200 annually. Ryerson’s president Mohamed Lachemi said “it took time to find a space for storage and the restoration. The sign was in really bad shape. We made the commitment to honour the legacy of Sam Sniderman and the role the family played in TORONTO’s history.” – Justin Chandler/The Eyeopener, February 28/2018

From SPACING ‘Sam the Record Man Exposed’ by Shawn Micallef, March 11/2009 – “I noticed the the double record sign facade had been finally taken down revealing the original building below. It was a surprise to see hiding underneath is a fairly standard Second Empire building, quite common along Yonge Street. The front windows had been bricked up and the dormers on the left had been sheered off and covered with sheet metal. It’s rough, but compelling. A brief vision of old Yonge Street half-preserved, half-decayed.”

<ABOVE – Sam the Record Man in all its glory on Yonge Street at Gould>