Once it was the hinterland but now it feels like the city just goes on and on and on….
below: In 1955 this was the view looking south on Yonge from just north of Cummer/Drewry. This was the center of the community of Newtonbrook, named after the Newton Brook Wesleyan Church founded in 1857. A general store and post office were opened here in 1863 on the northeast corner of Yonge & Drewry (possibly the buildings on the right side of this photo).
photo credit: James Victor Salmon, found on Toronto Public Library website (public domain).
below: It’s not taken from exactly the same viewpoint (traffic!) but this is what you see looking south on Yonge Street now.
below: Looking north up Yonge Street from just south of Cummer/Drewry. The large house is on the southeast corner of Cummer and Yonge.
photo credit: Tim Chirnside, found on Toronto Public Library website (public domain)
below: The intersection of Yonge and Cummer (to the east) and Drewry (to the west) today. The large house in the black and white photo above would be on the far right of this picture.
below: Yonge Street is also Provincial Highway 11.
below: It is a major transportation/transit route.
below: Happy Nowruz! or in other words, Happy New Year! It is the Iranian New Year; the beginning of spring; a new day! The banners were by sponsored by Tirgan, an organization that “promotes cross-cultural dialogue between Iranian-Canadians and the global community at large.”
below: There are many other cultures that are well represented in this part of the city.
below: Like so many parts of Toronto, there is a lot of redevelopment taking place. Blue and white development notice signs are everywhere.
below: To be (possibly) replaced by 25 storeys, 347 residences and a daycare.
below: Seoul Plaza with it’s Korean BBQ restaurant and other businesses (not all Korean) – also with a development notice sign in front. I’m not sure of the size of the development but it looks like your average 20ish storeys on podium condo.
below: Looking south from Moore Park Ave
below: Looking north to the intersection of Yonge and Steeles. Steeles Ave has been the northern boundary of the City of Toronto since 1953. All of the tall buildings in this picture are north of Steeles and are in Thornhill (York Region).
below: Pro Ukraine stencil graffiti.
below: I’m not sure what the spring will do but someone has been putting up a lot of posters for the Communist Party.
This blog post looks at a portion of one of the exhibits now on at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. “Topologies of Air” by Shona Illingworth was commissioned by The Power Plant; it involves some video pieces that I have not included here. “Amnesia Museum” is a series of small works exploring how memory and forgetting intermingle. A sample (with apologies for the poor quality of the image):
below: Paintings from “Topologies of Air”
below: The full title is “The Right to Live Without Physical or Psychological Threat from Above” and it fills a wall. Across the top the images are related to satellites and the solar system. Images of people and human activity are on the bottom. The words fill the air gap between the two.
Some of the text: “Airspace also encompasses shared radio frequencies, our electromagnetic commons. Each drone is operated by a team of a dozen or hundreds who watch video and audio-track cell phones. Companies operate powerful algorithms in military command centers half a world away to decide who is a combatant and is not. But never forget that these are almost indistinguishable from the algorithms that are used by Facebook and Twitter to categorize us and profit from us. There algorithms are often staggeringly inaccurate. The margins of error built into these powerful databases are huge. ” and “Humans need protecting. We’ve got an air gap. We’ve always lived with an air gap, which is simply the unconnected world. The ability to conduct your activities of any kind, in any way you want, without any form of connectivity, surveillance or control.”
We can argue as to whether or not this wall is art; we can argue as to the validity of some of the statements. But as I stood looking at the wall, it was thoughts of Ukraine that went through my head. The idea that air supremacy over that country was being fought over at that moment and that the Russians would love to control those skies. Not for the first time. Countries have used air power throughout recent history, from the time of the invention of the zeppelin and the airplane through to the introduction of drones into the modern arsenal.
We can also argue over the merits of living in a connected world but I’ve already ventured far from the focus of this blog. I’ll just end with three short notes. First, without a connected world, you wouldn’t be reading this. And second, how do you separate the good uses from the bad? Lastly, is this art’s role?
In 1913, businessman Miller Lash bought a piece of land at what is now Old Kingston Road and Morningside Avenue where the Highland Creek flows. He built a house for his family by the creek and a coach house for his collection of cars nearby. They were made of poured concrete faced with river rocks that had been collected from the creek. The two buildings remain on they site but now they are owned by the University of Toronto Scarborough campus and have been repurposed.
below: Lace curtain in a window of the Miller Lash house.
The University of Toronto acquired the land in the 1960s. Toronto architect John Andrews designed the initial two buildings, the Humanities Wing and the Science Wing, which opened for students in January 1966. Both were built at the top of the ravine.
Last week when I walked around the campus it was very quiet; very few students were present. Most of the people I saw were like me, taking pictures of the buildings, or they were out for a walk through the woods. In class learning for UTSC’s almost 13,000 students resumes tomorrow, February 7th.
below: “Tall Couple” (or “Un Grand Couple”) by Louis Archambault (1915-2003) stands beside one of Andrew’s buildings, the Humanities Wing. This metal sculpture was first on display at Expo ’67 in Montreal.
The newest building on the campus is Highland Hall located by the main entrance to the campus on Military Trail. It features large pillars, red accents, and a glass facade.
below: The west side, main entrance side, above the pillars is a large glass feature that shows a satellite image of Scarborough.
below: East side of Highland Hall. The upper level on this side features an aerial image of Scarborough in the mid 1960s when the college first opened.
below: From CONTACT Photography 2021 (on view until March 2022), is “I’m Listening” by Ebti Nabag.
below: From the Solar Walk around the campus, information about Mars.
below: … and also Neptune. The Solar Walk was supported by the Canada 150 Fund that celebrated Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation. The position of the planets on the walk represent to position that they were in on 1 July 1867.
below: The Highland Creek still runs through the campus. There is a new walkway that winds its way down the side of the ravine from the main part of campus to the tennis courts, athletic fields, creek trails, and park. Here the new path curves in front of the Science Wing.
below: Signs of human activity beside the trail.
below: Construction crew working on the banks of the Highland Creek.
below: Koa Hall, side view
below: The modern equivalent of the smoking lounge?
below: Ulysses Curtis mural by Danilo Deluxo McCallum. Curtis (1926-2013) played for the Toronto Argonauts football team in the 1950s. He was considered to be the first black player on the team.
The Downsview area and airplanes have been linked since the late 1920s when land here was being used for airfields—Barker Field, the Canadian Express Airport and the Toronto Flying Club. In 1929 de Havilland Aircraft of Canada purchased 70 acres of farmland along Sheppard Avenue West. In the mid-1950s de Havilland moved its operations to newly constructed modern facilities to the southeast. De Havilland Canada was sold to Boeing in 1988 and then to Bombardier in 1992.
below: Bombardier facility and GO tracks on the east side of the park. Downsview Park station at the north end of the park connects the GO system with the TTC’s Line 1.
In 2017, the Sesquicentennial Trail was developed on part of the site. Sesquicentennial means 150 years, as in Canada was 150 years old in 2017.
below: The North Plaza of the trail features a semi-circular wall of rusted steel with cutout silhouettes of real historical photographs showing various people, buildings, and airplanes that was designed by John Dickson.
Small models of four of the aircraft built by DeHaviland ‘fly’ over the trail – the DH.60 Gipsy Moth, the Dash 8, the DHC-6 Twin Otter, and the Mosquito. They cover years of both DeHaviland and aircraft history from the bi-winged Moth in the mid-1920’s to the turboprop Dash8. The later was developed in the early 1980s and is still in production today.
below: High overhead, a DHC-Beaver, a bush plane developed in 1947 here at Downsview.
Grounded! But still great for child’s play.
Hundreds, and probably thousands, of trees have been planted on the site.
below: Tulip tree
below: Other areas have been set aside for native grasses and wildflowers such as milkweed, purple coneflower, and wild lupine.
below: There is a large hill in the park and this is the view to the southwest from there.
below: At the top of the hill stands an installation of blue flags along with two of the many red muskoka chairs scattered around the park. This is “Wind Rose” by Future Simple Studio. This picture doesn’t show it very well but at the northwest corner, two of the flags are not blue – one is black and the other white (black for west and white for north). These two flags, “The Turtle and the Traveller,” were designed by Mi’kmaq artists Chris and Greg Mitchell. They are best seen when the wind is blowing!
Downsview has also been associated with the military. In 1937, the Royal Canadian Air Forces expropriated portions of the site to establish the RCAF Station Downsview. The site once had two residential areas with barracks – one for the enlisted soldiers and their families and another for the commissioned officers and their families. Over the years the base expanded to include the original de Havilland lands. In the 1960s, the military expropriated the lands adjacent to the Downsview Airport and closed 2.5 miles of Sheppard Avenue between Dufferin and Keele Streets. That is why Sheppard Avenue swings north around what is now Downsview Park.
In 1996 CFB Toronto officially closed. Parc Downsview Park Inc. was established in 1999 to build and operate Downsview Park but administrative control over the land wasn’t transferred to the Park until 2006.
below: ArtworxTO Hub North with a mural by Mediah. At the time, the site was being used by a film crew.
below: Another mural on the exterior of the ArtworxTO Hub building. This one was painted by Kreecha.
East of Brimley and north of Lawrence is a large park, Thomson Memorial Park.
I have mentioned the Thomson family’s role in the history of Scarborough in a blog post about St. Andrews Bendale cemetery where many of the Thomsons are buried. St. Andrews is adjacent to this park and is on land donated by David Thomson.
In this blog post I wanted to look at a corner of the park – the southwest corner is home to the Scarborough Museum and it’s small collection of old buildings.
below: The McCowan log house is one of the houses.
The McCowan Log House This cabin was built about 1830 in the northeast part of Scarborough and was moved to its present site by the Scarborough Historical Society in 1974. From 1848 until his death, it was occupied by William Porteous McCowan (1820-1902) who had come to Canada in 1833 with his parents, Margaret Porteous and James McCowan, a coalmaster of Leshmahagow Parish Scotland. The McCowan family, including four sons and four daughters, settled near the Scarborough Bluffs east of the present McCowan Road. “Uncle Willie” McCowan narrowly escaped death by cholera which claimed his father and brother the same night in 1834. A bachelor, “Uncle Willie” was succeeded as owner by his nephew James McCowan.
below: There is another plaque nearby, this one for Rhoda Skinner who you have probably not heard of. She had a lot of children!
This plaque is dedicated to the women who pioneered the wilderness of Ontario in the early 19th century and, in particular, to Rhoda Skinner (1775-1834). In addition to laborious household chores, assisting with the farming, and coping with fears and challenges unheard of today, they were often called upon to raise huge families. Rhoda was the mother to 37 children by two husbands. Her children and their years of birth are as follows: [names & birth years of the children are then given]
Let’s take a closer look at Rhoda:
First, Rhoda married Parshall Terry (1754-1808) whose wife Amy Stevens died in 1792. Parshall was 20 years her senior and already had 7 children, 3 boys and 4 girls. Or at least, I assume that a child with the name Submission is a girl, sadly. The oldest, Parshall Jr. was born in 1777; he was only two years younger than Rhoda would have been 15 when his mother died.
Rhoda’s first child was Simcoe born in 1794 when she was 19. Her oldest step-daughters, Mary and Martha, would have been 14 and 11 – instant babysitters and helpers. IF they had survived. Considering the higher infant mortality rate of the time it is possible that some of these offspring didn’t make it to adulthood.
Rhoda went on to have 12 children with the youngest, Eliza, being born after her father died. 12 children in 16 years. Parshall Terry drowned in the Don River in 1808. At the time he and Rhoda’s brothers, Isaiah and Aaron Skinner, had a sawmill and a grist mill at Todmorden Mills. Terry was also a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.
Rhoda must have married William Cornell (1766-1860) shortly after because Rhoda and William had a son, Edward, in 1810. William Cornell was a widower with 12 children already. He and Rhoda had 5 more children after Edward. In the end, Rhoda gave birth to 18 children, the last one in 1821 when she was in her forties and when her eldest, Simcoe, would have been 27.
Rhoda died in 1834 and is buried in St Margarets in the Pines cemetery in Toronto (at Lawrence near Morningside) as Rhoda Terry Cornell. Her second husband is buried there too – written on his stone is “A native of Rhode Island U.S. and settled in Scarborough in A.D. 1800 being the second settler in the Township”.
below: The Cornell House. It was built by Charles Cornell and his wife Matilda. Charles was the son of William Cornell & Rhoda Skinner.
below: ‘GrandMother Moon (and the Equinox Wave), 2019’ by Catherine Tammaro, Spotted Turtle Clan (photo taken in 2020).
below: Thomson Memorial Park. One of the many attractions of the park is the fact that it is the western end of The Meadoway – a project to turn a hydro corridor into green space with bike paths and walking trails. (but that’s another – blog post! – see link!)
Starting at King and Berkeley and walking a little bit north and a bit farther west.
below: This wall, at King and Berkeley, used to have a large painting of a black chair on it. Now it has two boys on the run with an Afghan flag.
below: It was painted by Mahyar Amiri a few months ago in an effort to raise awareness of the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.
below: In front of the Alumni Theatre on Berkeley Street.
below: Also on Berkeley Street, the old Christie Brown stables are now the lower floors of a condo building.
“This building was once a stable that housed horses and wagons for one of Canada’s largest biscuit manufacturers. From here, Christie, Brown & Co delivered baked goods prepared at its Adelaide Street factory across Toronto.” “Designed by the architectural firm of Sproatt & Rolph, the building’s Beaux-Arts Classical style was popular at the turn of the 20th century for its appearance of stability and grandeur. With elements such as the contrasting stone trim and arcade windows, it was built to reflect the appearance of the nearby Christie factory. The state-of-the-art stable included two floors of wagon storage with a purpose-made elevator, stalls in the back for the care of sick horses, and a central horse shower underneath a large skylight. “ “Founded by Scottish-born businessman William Christie (1829-1900), Christie Brown & Co manufactured over 400 types of baked goods at its peak. In 1928, Nabisco acquired the company. The stable was later used as a garage, seed plant, and film production office. It is now part of a residential complex. “
below: Christie Brown biscuit factory on Adelaide street in 1902. The building still exists and is part of George Brown College. It takes up the whole block between George and Frederick streets.
below: This neighbourhood advertises itself as “Old Town, since 1793”.
below: But a lot of it is starting to look shiney and new (what? a new parking lot in downtown Toronto?)
below: A copy of a late 1890’s lithographic poster advertising bicycles from Fernand Clement & Cie Cycles Paris. The original artist was Jean de Paléologue (1860-1942). This version is a large mural on Worts Lane.
below: Mother of God of Prousa Greek Orthodox Church on Richmond East
below: Old and not so old. The taller grey building is the Chapter House for the Greek Orthodox church that is immediately to the east.
below: Apparently everything ends here on Ontario Street
… and around the corner
below: This street art faces a parking lot between Brigden and Queen East that is now fenced off. It is one of 4 or 5 paintings along that wall.
below: This is one of the street art pieces on the same wall. The photo was taken in 2012 when the site was accessible and before the vines and shrubs took over.
below: A very large empty building and vacant lot that used to be a car dealership. This is part of a large section of land that has been under redevelopment for at least five years (includes the parking lot in the photos above).
below: … The original proposal back in February 2016 was three towers of 39, 45 and 39 storeys, on top of two base buildings ranging from 3 to 11 storeys within a site bordered by Queen Street East, Ontario Street, Richmond Street East and McFarrens Lane. That was turned down by the city. Since then there has been various modifications, appeals, and litigation (ongoing?).
below: On what was once a Honda dealership there is now an art installation with words…
below: … and pasteups from jumblefacefoto aka Jeremy Lynch
below: On the same wall: In the line of fire – urban ninja squadron‘s t-bonez takes aim with very heavy firepower. It looks like spudbomb has already been hit by an arrow and is bentoghoul providing the target?
below: Looking west on Richmond from Brigden Place. Richmond Street jogs to the right at Jarvis – it doesn’t dead end like it looks in the photo.
below: Looking north on McFarrens Lane to Queen Street
below: About 1910 this is what the northeast corner of Richmond and Sherbourne Streets looked like. Not surprisingly, this is all long gone.
below: From biscuits to hot dogs…. Soloways Hot Dog Factory Outlet, in business since 1927. They sell a wide range of bulk meat, meta products, and plant based meat products both wholesale and to the public.
below: Richmond and George, with the bright red of the George Diner dominating the intersection.
below: The windows have been painted.
below: Old newspaper articles taped to the window. The top one is a review of the restaurant (with apologies for it being too small/fuzzy to read). The bottom one has a headline that reads “Don’t be like Dick”. With an image like that I immediately think of Dick and Jane (yikes, those of us who remember Dick and Jane from our childhoods are dwindling in number!).
below: At Richmond and Jarvis, northeast corner
below: Mystic Muffin on the southeast corner of Jarvis and Richmond.
below: Richmond Street bike lanes are now separated from traffic by a low kerb that has been decorated by a number of street artists. This section is the work of AndreaCataRo aka Andrea Rodriguez
below: Another view of the bike lane barrier, this one at the intersection of Richmond and Berkeley and looking west towards the city center.
Today, the intersection of Finch and Weston Road is a mess. Metrolinx is preparing to start construction on the Finch LRT, more than 12 acres on the southeast corner is being totally rebuilt, and water mains along Finch are being upgraded. The intersection also has the misfortune to lie in a hydro corridor.
below: Looking west on Finch at Weston Road.
below: Canadian Pacific tracks cross Finch just east of Weston Road
below: Emery train station just after 1900. This was a a flag station built for the Toronto Grey and Bruce Railway in 1870 (i.e. trains only stopped if you flagged them down). In the early 1880s the line was acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. Photo source: Toronto Public Library
Like the rest of the GTA, development here began as a village that supported the surrounding farms. In 1796, Isaac Devins and his wife Mary Chapman were given 200 acres of land, south of what is now Finch Ave from Weston Road to Islington. Devins had worked with Governor Simcoe as a superintendent on the construction of Yonge St. Two of their grandsons opened businesses near the corner of Finch and Weston Road. – one was a blacksmith and the other a carriage maker. A brick schoolhouse came shortly after 1850 and the Methodist church followed in 1869. A post office was established in 1879… and Emery was officially a village.
Celebrating the history of Emery are some plaques on display at a couple of bus stops on Weston Road. The one below describes two musicians with local roots, Claudio Vena and Alfie Zappacosta. Both men have streets named after them.
below: Finch West Mall was built in 1971 on the southeast corner of Finch and Weston Road on what had previously been farm land. Step-brothers Aubrey Ella and Orrie Truman had farmed here since 1930. …. but you can’t go shopping there any more. [transcription of the text can be found at the bottom of this post]
below: Development notice sign at the site of the former Finch West Mall. The proposal includes 5 towers, 2237 residences ranging from bachelors to 3 bedroom, some retail, and a park. All rentals.
below: Construction is only in the early stages so there isn’t much to see
below: Preparations for the construction of the Finch LRT are underway.
below: But not always well thought out – here sidewalk access ends but the only way to go is to cross Finch in mid-block with no help
Also like many places in Toronto, Emery has become very multicultural.
below: African Food & Groceries as well as Comida Colombiana
below: A Vietnamese restaurant and a West Indian grocery store
below: North York Sikh temple
below: Confusion?
below: More restaurants and businesses
below: Ghanaian Presbyterian Church, since 1994 (as seen from Finch Ave)
below: Prayer Palace
below: Lindylou park
below: Emery Creek south of Finch
below: Finch Avenue West, looking eastward towards Weston Road
below: Slightly closer to Weston Road (from Lindyloou park looking northeast)
below: Not taken from the same spot but also Finch Avenue West, looking eastward towards Weston Road in 1958 when Finch was still a dirt road. The brick building is Emery Public School (built 1914); and it looks like it had a portable in the yard… and is that an Elmer the Safety Elephant flag? The school was demolished shortly after the picture was taken. Photo source: Toronto Public Library, photo by James Victor Salmon
below: Farther east, now past Weston Road. If you go even farther you will come to Hwy 400
below: Most of the area north of Finch is zoned for light industry including this business, the making of prefab concrete staircases. With all the condo development in the city at the moment, there must be a lot of demand for these stairs!
below: Another vacant lot
*****
Transcription of Plaque (above):
“Emery’s first large indoor shopping complex was built in 1971. It was called the Finch West Mall and was located on the southwest corner of Finch and Weston Road… Prior to the mall being constructed, the land was used for farming. A farmhouse, barn, and some other farming structures remained on the property up until the construction of the mall began in the early 1970s. Aubrey Ella and Orrie Truman built a farmhouse on the lot in the 1930s just south of the intersection of Finch and Weston Road. During this time, the entire property permitted wide range agriculture with even an arena for sheep.” “The opening of the Finch West Mall in 1972 was a big hit for the community. A sizable Towers outlet first appeared but it swiftly merged into a Zellers retail store. Zellers was the principal leaseholder located at the far north end of the mall. Safeway Canada quickly decided to build a grocery store connected to the south end of the mall.” “In 1973, McDonald’s restaurant was added onto the site but as a separate building situated at the far south of the property. It was one of the first McDonald’s restaurants opened in Canada along with another outlet at Dufferin and Wilson. This McDonald’s even featured an outdoor sitting patio with six stone tables made out of lightly coloured presses marble complete with matching benches. Close to this historical marker was a dirt trail that was upgraded into a long set of wooden steps that permitted pedestrian entrance onto the site.” “On occasions local bands were permitted to conduct live concerts right in the mall.” “When Zellers shut down their store in the 1980s, Canadian Tire quickly opened an outlet to take its place. However, they too decided to close their doors at the turn of the new millennium. The commercial banks began moving out and countless other stores too. The mall had ceased to have sound commercial value and disappointingly started to become an endless array of dollar stores.” “The owner of the mall (Medallion Properties) recognized these telltale signs and thought it might be ideal for a development upgrade which could inspire financial resurgence within the general community. The City of North York Planning Department made a recommendation to establish a Business Improvement Area (BIA) to stimulate economic recovery.” “With the organized structure of the Emery Village BIA in place, city staff suggested creating a new secondary plan for the entire general community…The mall was demolished in 2006.”
*****
One of life’s unexpected coincidences… I didn’t read the text before I took the picture so it wasn’t until a few days later that I saw the name Orrie Truman. I have Trueman ancestors in this area… was he related? Orrie Truman was Orrie Levi Richard Trueman. I don’t know where the name Orrie comes from but Levi and Richard were his grandfathers, Levi Coulter and Richard Trueman. William Mellow Trueman married Eleanor (Nellie) Coulter and Orrie is their son. William died shortly after and Nellie subsequently married Ella. Going back a generation, William Mellow Trueman is the son of Richard Trueman and Rebecca Mellow who happen to be my great great great grandparents. My great grandmother, Ina Rebecca Moore was named after Rebecca Mellow, her grandmother. Ina would have been Orrie’s first cousin. Question: What relation am I to Orrie Trueman?
I read in the news this morning that the graffiti and artwork on the hoardings around the old foundry site in Corktown/Canary District are being painted over now. I had previously mentioned some of the stencils and posters that we here when I first saw them back in February. Unfortunately I am a bit behind on my posts so I haven’t uploaded the pictures that I took on a subsequent visit to the area…. here they are now. This is what is being painted over today:
below: “The history that is represented in this era of globalization is very important not to bulldoze”
“I want to save the Foundry because the buildings lend character to an area that is being made more and more bland every day.”
Meanwhile Doug Ford can’t keep his hands off Toronto City Hall.
below: “Municipal Destruction Minister Steve Clark screws up plans for A-Ford-A-Bull-Housing.”
below: Up beside the Don Valley Parkway and way off the beaten track this time.
But obviously some people with spray paint know about this little green corner of North York.
below: More graffiti (text, throw ups) along the concrete barrier beside the southbound traffic
below: A dead end on an abandoned road. This is part of the remains of an onramp for the southbound Don Valley Parkway from westbound York Mills Road.
below: This ramp was closed in 2005 and replaced with the present road configuration where all the on and off ramps are on the south side of York Mills. Except for creating a mound of earth along the York Mils side, the site was left untouched. Small trees are slowly taking over as nature gains the upper hand.
below: Still no parking
below: Walking east on York Mills Road
below: Any idea what this is? Something old and to do with water? At first I thought that it was sidewalk feature but now I suspect that someone ditched it here.
below: Looking eastward on York Mills Road
below: Walking through Deerlick Park
below: Playground on Deerlick Trail
below: CN Tower and the downtown Toronto skyline in the distance
below: Trilliums under the Don Valley Parkway. Part of a mural on both sides of the underpass at Brookbanks. It was painted by Sarah J. Collard with help from Manny and Sonja Wiebe.
below: Church of Our Saviour with its large triangular stained glass window that was apparently designed by a local high school student.
From Three Valleys I tried to find a way to get back north to York Mills Road via parks and green spaces but I couldn’t do it. The next blog post was the result of a subsequent walk when I started farther north and attempted to find a path south.
The other day, later in the afternoon, I was driving along the Lakeshore when I noticed that perfect lighting on the south side of the Keating Channel. I’ve done blog posts about the Port Lands development but I hadn’t looked at it from the other side. A quick change of plans – a parking spot nearby and a walk along the Lakeshore. This is some of what I saw that day.
below: At the bottom of Cherry Street
below: At the corner of Cherry and Lakeshore.
below: Along the Lakeshore, looking south towards Port Lands at Cherry.
below: The Gardiner curves slightly northward as it aligns with the Keating Channel. Lakeshore Blvd takes a wider turn and comes out from under the Gardiner for a few brief moments before slipping back under as both roads parallel the channel.
below: On the south side of Lakeshore, there is no sidewalk here but the grassy area is wide enough…..
below: Walking here offers a different view of the Port Lands. The “smokestack” on the right is the old Hearn Generating station.
below: Some of the buildings that remain on Villiers Street.
below: Panorama of Keating Channel being developed, 1916, before there was much on the Port Lands and Cherry Street was just a one lane dirt road.
below: Keating Channel, 1916
The original plan for the diversion of the Don River called for a more curved mouth of the river before it joined the Keating Channel. But the British American Oil Company who owned the land fought that idea. Instead, the 90 degree turn that still exists today was built to avoid crossing B/A property.
below: A few years after the channel was upgraded (1934)… From vacant land to a forest of BA oil tanks. There are railway tracks along the edge of the channel. From Wikipedia: “In 1908, with 8 shareholders, B/A built Canada’s third refinery on 3 acres on the eastern waterfront in Toronto. The company refined imported crude oil and its main product was kerosene; a then-useless by-product was gasoline, which was dumped into a swamp.”
Photo by Arthur Beales. Toronto Port Authority Archives, PC 1/1/10769. Found at Wikimedia Common
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below: BA refinery with the Don River on the right, 1931. There were still storage tanks here in the 1960s when the city was building the Gardiner Expressway.
below: This rusty “fence” isn’t going to hold anyone or anything back. I had visions of tumbling into the icy channel if I went near it. I think that just looking at it made it wobble.
below: There are still places to tie up your boat
below: A big tap? It’s attached to a pipeline but is it functional? (It doesn’t look like it). There is a lot of infrastructure buried under the Lakeshore, sewer lines, water mains, electricals, etc., but this looks like a piece of history. Pleased correct me if I’m wrong! Also – if you plan to explore here, there are stretches where the only option is to walk right beside the road.
below: Likewise, the box structure is probably there to protect the rest – but what are they? Valves of some kind?
below: Looking north to Canary District and West Don Lands development. The oil tanks are long gone.
below: Looking up from Lakeshore, under both the Gardiner and the ramp from the DVP
below: Looking west from Don Roadway along the Keating Channel to the new Cherry Street bridge.
below: Intersection of Lakeshore and Don Roadway.
below: Two metal transmission towers standing side by side. Geometrical, straight lines, yet lace-like.
below: From the Don Roadway, northbound and homeward
as I walk Toronto 