It’s not the busiest station on the University Line but changes are in the works. It is going to become one of the transfer stations with the new Ontario Line. This line will cross downtown underground with stations at: Corktown, Moss Park, Queen, Osgoode, Queen/Spadina, and King/Bathurst.
When the University Line was built in 1966, Osgoode station was yellow with greenish accents.
Like other University Line station, it is nondescript and built with the minimum of fuss.
One could say the bare minimum
One of the only extras that have been added to the station recently is direct access to the Four Seasons Centre on the southeast corner.
The other three corners of the University and Queen West intersection have stairwells on the sidewalks that connect to Osgoode station. But…. I didn’t really mean to dwell on the station itself….
below: Canada Trust building on University Avenue
I came here to document the intersection as it is now, pre-Ontario Line construction (and years of disruption!)
below: Looking north up University Avenue from Queen, east side of University (including the present subway entrance on the sidewalk – close to where the pedestrians are in the photo).
Behind the black wrought iron fence is the former Osgoode Law School (for which the subway is named). There is public access to the grounds and it is an oasis of green and shade in the summer time. Green ribbons have been tied around the large trees.
… and at least one tree has been tagged as an historic tree.
Metrolinx wants to build another subway entrance here. Apparently a third-party independent review of alternative station designs is in the process but hasn’t been completed yet. Metrolinx decided that in the meantime they’d cut down the trees on the 5th of December (this coming week) anyhow. If you want to see one of the ideas for the plan, there are artist’s renderings on their website: The Ontario Line – Neighbourhood Updates – Downtown – Osgoode Station. As usual, what is pictured now is never guaranteed to be the end product!
The Law Society of Ontario is the custodian of this greenspace and they have formally objected to Metrolinx trying to short-circuit the process.
The middle of three new bridges built for the Port Lands redevelopment has just been opened to traffic.
The bridge may be open to traffic, but the area is still a construction zone!
Eventually Cherry Street will be realigned so that there is no jog in it at Lakeshore. At this point in time, the south part of the realignment is closer to completion. This is where the new bridge is.
Commissioners Street has been extended westward to join the new segment of Cherry Street.
below: This is the east intersection of Commissioners and Cherry (looking east). Yes, it’s a mess! There are traffic signals even though only two of the four approaches are open. If you are traveling south on Cherry, you have to turn right onto Commissioners.
below: Same intersection, looking west.
below: New part of Commissioners Street
below: The west part of Commissioners ends here
below: If you stand in the same place as the above photo but turn to your right, this is the view that you see. This is the new part of Cherry Street being realigned to match the section north of Lakeshore Blvd. The new bridges over the Keating Channel are in place but there is still a lot to be done before this part of Cherry Street can be opened.
below: Looking south… It is the middle bridge that has been opened to traffic first. It is located approximately where the T ‘n T grocery store used to be. An interesting line of large boulders!
below: This is the view from the new bridge looking west. The large white crane structure predates the construction. The channel has always been here as it provides water/ship access to the Lafarge cement site on the south side of the waterway. What is new is that the channel is being extended eastward to join the mouth of the Don River.
below: Traveling northbound
below: Looking east from the bridge. Pinewood studios in the background on the right.
below: Another view to the east but slightly more south. This time Pinewood Studios is more to the left in the photo. A pedestrian bridge is already built to span the new water channel that is under construction.
below: Looking north up Cherry Street towards the Distillery District. The old, and now closed part, of the street is being torn up. The new street and bridge are to the left in this photo.
below: To the south, the lift bridge on Cherry Street is being refurbished but not replaced. This part of Cherry Street is not being moved.
Another day, another walk through the city starting at the Distillery District and heading west towards the waterfront and downtown Toronto.
below: Posing under the heart, Distillery District.
below: Posing with the LOVE locks.
below: Flowered Dress Madonna” by Ann Agee, 2021 as seen in the Corkin Gallery in the Distillery District.
below: Looking east on Front Street from Berkeley. Police Division is the old brick building. Both sides of Front are lined with black hoardings as redevelopment of those sites started recently.
below: Berkeley St., south of Front
below: Another hole in the wall; another vacant lot waiting for redevelopment on Parliament Street. More tall buildings coming to the Distillery District.
below: Looking south from the end of Parliament Street and across Lakeshore Blvd to the start of Queens Quay East. Many changes here!
below: The CN Tower peaks through the gap created by one of the onramps for the Gardiner Expressway.
below: No Parkin’, Victory Soya Mills in the background
below: Looking east towards the Port Lands redevelopment. The new Cherry Street bridge is in the background.
below: From the same spot on the waterfront as the above picture, but looking in the other direction.
below: Queens Quay East
below: Relaxing by the lake.
below: Sugar Beach, spectator section, in the shade.
below: On the rocks, Sugar Beach
below: I am not sure who this is or why he’s on the waterfront. He’s made of wood – someone constructed him and left him here.
below: Closed – ramp to the the eastbound Gardiner at Lower Jarvis.
below: Lower Jarvis
below: A bucket full of bright and cheerful sunflowers on the sidewalk by St. Lawrence Market.
below: Market Street closed to traffic at Esplanade.
below: Marvelous peppers and other veggies for sale at St. Lawrence Market
below: Someone’s looking a little distraught. Remember how your parents used to say that if you frowned too much, or you made too many weird faces, your face would freeze in that position? That is what this poor fellow reminded me of. “Frozen” in time on the side of St. Lawrence Hall.
below: In a window. The title of the painting is “Alone” so perhaps she is alone in the city albeit surrounded by flowers. Unfortunately, they are yellow and blue flowers so I suspect that there is Ukrainian symbolism at play here and that ‘alone’ has a much deeper significance.
below: Leader Lane ends at Wellington.
below: Mama elephant and her two little ones are still walking through the courtyard behind Commerce Court. They haven’t reached the pool yet (but at least there’s water in the pool now).
below: This is one of the five Big City Blooms murals found around the city (west side of Commerce Court). The big bold and cheerful flowers in reds and pinks are the work of Alanna Cavanagh.
below: Same Commerce Court building as the above picture but from a slightly different angle.
below: Melinda Street
below: Narrow city alley views, framing the gorgeous stone and brick work on the older building with its arched windows.
below: There appears to be a forest path in the middle of Brookfield Place. It is actually a photograph that is part of an exhibit called, “Take Your Seat With the Group of Seven, Nature the Inspires Us”. (now gone from Brookfield Place).
below: In this exhibit, locations used by the Group of Seven in their paintings were revisited. Photos were taken using a red director’s chair, placing the chair in the artist’s position. In this set of images, two small paintings from Coldwell Harbour are paired with a large photo of present day Coldwell Harbour – the chair is small but you should be able to see it on the rocky outcropping. The harbour is on Lake Superior near the town of Marathon.
Yesterday, Sunday of the long August weekend, I was sitting on a streetcar after walking around downtown. I was in no rush; I was enjoying the scenery and the people watching. The streetcar detoured off route so I didn’t end up where I expected to. But no problem, I had my camera with me.
These photos are glimpses of life in the city as seen through a streetcar window as it passes by. Most of them were taken through glass… and often the streetcar was moving… so please don’t expect technically perfect shots!
below: Northeast corner of Spadina and College streets.
below: “The Best in Town”for banana boats! cones! sundaes! shakes!
below: Dundas at Bay. Ryerson School of Management, Best Buy, and Canadian Tire.
below: Reflections on Dundas
below: Surfacing from Dundas subway station
below: The newest mural near Dundas and Victoria.
below: University buildings at Dundas and Church – and the rebranding of Ryerson as TMU (Toronto Metropolitan University).
below: Ran out of gas, northeast corner of Dundas and Church
below: Dundas and Mutual. An old building put to a modern use.
below: The sign says it all. Every time I pass Filmores I am surprised to still see it standing. I thought that it was supposed to be torn down months (years?) ago. I was also surprised to see Filmores on sites like Expedia, Hotel.com and Booking.com. You can’t actually book one of their “straight forward rooms” on these sites, you have to call or email the hotel directly. If you want to know more than that, you’ll have to do your own research!
below: You might be able to stay at Filmores, but you can’t eat at The Love Cafe anymore.
below: Christmas wreaths on the doors of Dunhill Electric Co.
Another Crosstown update…. The first of the new LRV trains are going through tests on the eastern end of the Crosstown line where the tracks are above ground. Work continues on the underground portion. Although Eglinton Avenue isn’t as much of an obstacle course through orange cones as it used to be, there is still a lot of work to be done. This is what it looks like at the moment at Eglinton West and Oakwood.
below: Still working on Oakwood station.
below: Looking west along the north side of Eglinton from Oakwood
below: Asian Massage Therapy Center seems to have survived the upheaval but many storefronts are empty.
below: Dodging orange cones and traffic
below: Canadian Korean Buddhist Association and Nadines Hair Studio along with some good news perhaps – an “opening soon” sign on Betta Yaad seafood catering. If google is correct, ‘yaad’ is Jamaican patois for ‘home’.
below: The River Restaurant & Bar beside Weemedical Society.
below: Peoples Choice Grocery, Casual International Hair Salon, and a few porta-potties
The most exact information that I can find for an opening date for the Crosstown LRT is 2022.
Sometimes I choose my walks randomly and sometimes I am on a mission to find something in particular. The other day, June 1st, definitely falls in the latter category. I have been following the Crosstown LRT/subway construction so when I heard that the new LRT trains were arriving for testing near Kennedy I knew that I had to see it for myself. While I was there, why not check out the area?
below: On Eglinton, east of Kennedy
below: It’s not the most pedestrian friendly stretch of road but it’s also a bridge over railway tracks.
below: Kennedy station is already a GO train station. The east end of line 2 (Bloor-Danforth line) swings north as it crosses Scarborough. By Kennedy it is at Eglinton Ave and here it connects with the above ground TTC line 3 (Sheppard line). The blue train is the latter.
below: Looking west towards the intersection of Kennedy and Eglinton.
below: Northwest corner of Kennedy and Eglinton
below: The Crosstown LRT tracks are on the surface for
most of the Scarborough portion of its route. Just west of Kennedy station they go underground.
below: A new LRT train on the tracks between Ionview and Kennedy stations. It had been unloaded from a truck minutes before I arrived. At least two other trains where scheduled to arrive that day.
below: Ionview station
below: Traffic flow
below: That’s one way to use a construction sign. Whether Mike is responsible or has been pranked is anybody’s guess
below: The new Kennedy LRT station (at the eastern end of the line) is almost complete. The LRT is scheduled to be operational “sometime in 2022”.
below: What people keep on their dashboards…..
below: Kiss ‘n Ride at Kennedy station
below: TTC subway train, line 3, enters Kennedy station.
below: Danger due to yetis
below: Parking for an underground church? Or underground parking for a church?
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?
A few weeks ago I read a blog post about Agincourt history in Bob Georgiou’s Scenes from a City. It reminded me that I had once tried to walk that area but I only got discouraged because of weather (grey, damp) and nostalgia. Sheppard Avenue just east of Kennedy now has this large concrete underpass (Metrolinx/GO trains) which was a shocking change from my childhood memories. My parents were living here with their parents when then met and my paternal grandparents remained in the neighbourhood until they passed. One of my great-grandfathers lived on Agincourt Drive in a house that backed onto the railway tracks.
This time round, I waited for a sunny day before I tried walking here again. For the most part, I walked Sheppard Avenue East between Kennedy and Brimley and the photos below are what I saw – what you see there these days. If you are more interested in the history of the area, then you need to be reading Bob’s blog as mentioned above.
Let’s walk!
below: The area’s Asian character is very obvious.
below: Nutriever?
below: West Highland Creek, north of Sheppard
below: Are you in the market for a used truck?
below: If not a truck, how about a car? I passed at least three used car lots.
below: The old Agincourt GO station has been demolished and a new one is being built.
below: Bell Canada (It’s a white building)
below: In a front yard on a nearby street….. I have many questions.
below: Looking east just before Midland Avenue
below: Part of the reason that Sheppard and Midland looks so empty is this vacant site on the southwest corner. There was once a Lumber King Home Centre here, then it was a flea market and used car lot, but now it’s an empty building on an otherwise vacant 4.7 acres. A plan for 80 townhouses and a park was filed back in 2015 and seems to have been winding its way through the development process ever since.
below: A quick rest at the intersection where there are actually some people. I miss interacting with the people that I see as I walk around… and I’m sure that you’ve noticed the lack of people in these blog posts.
Also, re the TTC – this is Sheppard Avenue, home of the Sheppard subway, or is it LRT now? As I was researching development at 4181 Sheppard, I discovered that Metrolinx has been applying for easements along Sheppard in preparation for anything that might be built on that street.
below: There is always something to remind us of life’s situation these days, such as this ad that was on a bus shelter. I liked the hashtag at the end, #PracticeSafe6ix
below: Knox United Church was built as a Free Presbyterian church in the 1840’s but became Knox United in 1925. This was when the Presbyterians merged with the Methodists to form the United Church of Canada. (Although not all Presbyterian churches went along with the merger).
below: Agincourt Baptist Church
below: There is a second overpass in the area. The CPR tracks pass over Sheppard between Midland and Brimley, just west of Canadian Pacific’s Toronto Yard.
below: On this overpass is a mural by elicser
below: Running parallel to the south side of the CPR line and Sheppard Avenue is a large industrial complex belonging to the International Group of Companies.
below: Toronto has 85 BIAs (Business Improvement Areas) including Sheppard East Village which includes Sheppard between Midland and Markham Road.
below: At Glen Watford and Sheppard there is a large new Seniors residence planned.
below: In the meantime, there are empty stores.
below: North Scarborough Memorial being renovated but the old gate remains.
below: Agincourt Elementary School. Built in 1915 as a Continuation School, (grades 9 and 10) but used as an elementary school since Agincourt Collegiate was built in 1930.
below: (Snow)man down! You’d be tired too if you had to stand outside all winter!
below: Mystery ‘All Way Stop’ in the Walmart parking lot.
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
Most people are still staying home or at least close to home. You’re still not going to see many people in my photos because I am still avoiding them, still walking in quieter places. Sometimes those places happen to be streets that once upon a time (only a month ago?) were busy.
below: An empty parking lot.
below: A very quiet Broadview subway station.
below: A very tall and lanky animal on a pole. It’s missing a leg or two.
below: The TTC streetcar tracks in the middle of being replaced, on Broadview just south of Danforth.
below: More TTC construction, this time another access to Chester station is being built.
below: After a month of no shopping except for food and even no window shopping, this bright red telephone caught me eye as I walked past. Salt and pepper shakers in a store window: Flamingoes, pink swans, penguins, cats, monkeys, and little yellow chicks – cute ones and funny ones like the hot dogs, as well as political ones like Trump and his North Korean counterpart.
below: Inspired to do stuff? I think I identify more with the mug beside these days.
below: A Covid-19 message from the Danforth Music Hall – “Please take care of each other”.
below: Posters reminding people to share smiles and kindness
below: An electric sign outside Eastend United Church invites people to join their Sunday services on Facebook.
below: The mannequins had the most stylish face masks.
below: Beware of rabbit.
below: A hummingbird is painted on the pillar.
below: Takeout with distancing – a story that is repeated all over the city as restaurants try to stay afloat.
below: Social distancing leads to line ups outside Tims
as I walk Toronto 