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The Rawlinson Story In 1885, Marmaduke Arthur Rawlinson started what was, for the city of Toronto, a comparatively new venture, a household goods moving company. Victorian Toronto was a much different city than it is today, an outpost of the British Empire whose northern boundary was Bloor Street. Even so, Rawlinson saw that with the increasing affluence of local merchants and overseas traders, many families could now afford to pay another party to safely move their household goods. His foresight quickly paid off, and soon, in the fashionable neighbourhoods of Rosedale and Forest Hill, Rawlinson furniture vans (the horse-drawn type) were a familiar sight. Rawlinson's, in fact, moved the furniture into the newly-built Casa Loma, forever linking two great names in the city's history.
By the 1950's, Rawlinson was the largest mover in Toronto, with more than seventy vehicles in service, seven downtown warehouses and suburban facilities in Downsview, Scarborough, Willowdale and Oakville. In the 60's, however, both the moving industry and Rawlinson began to change. In 1968, with the passing of J.R Warren, M.A. Rawlinson's nephew, the company passed from family hands for the first time. The following year, the company gave up it its historic home at 610 Yonge Street and relocated to the suburbs. |
Mr.
Rawlinson ran the business until shortly before his death in 1921.
At that time, his son, M.A. Rawlinson Jr., became president. The
junior Rawlinson had much bigger ambitions than just being the biggest
and best in Toronto. He foresaw that people would soon want to move
to the new cities springing up across the nation, and that consolidating
household goods shipments would lower operating costs and improve
service for all concerned. To this end, Mr. Rawlinson banded with
several local movers in cities around the country. In 1930, they
incorporated as ALLIED VAN LINES, Limited and became the first "van
line" in Canada. 