Metrolinx | as I walk Toronto

Posts Tagged ‘Metrolinx’

around Oriole station

Posted: October 17, 2025 in construction, transportation
Tags: 401, bridge, bridges, construction, GO, Leslie St., Metrolinx, oriole, pedestrians, sidewalks

Oriole GO station is on the Richmond Hill line. It is located at Leslie and the 401 highway and for many years the parking lot for the station was under the 401. With the recent changes to the Leslie/401 interchange, and all the construction that that entails, this parking lot is gone. Also, the old station building is no longer in use and the platform has been moved slightly north. A new metal pedestrian bridge has been built over the tracks south of the station to replce an older wood structure – this provides access to the residential area to the south.

below: Under the 401 highway

below: Access to Woodsworth park involves getting over the tracks via a new pedestrian bridge.

below: Caged!

below: The bridge is high! The top of it is level with the traffic on the ramp between the eastbound 401 and Leslie Street. This is the view north and slightly west from the bridge.

below: Another view from the bridge, this time looking northeast

below: Looking east over all the lanes of the 401, including the new Leslie Street on-ramp on the south side.

below: At track level

It was very quiet here. Oriole station is the first stop north of Union but trains only run during rush hours. There are four trains that run southbound in the morning and five trains for northbound trips in the afternoon. No trains stop here between 8:35 a.m. and 4:14 p.m. There don’t seem to be any stats online re the number of people who use this station.

below: Old station building in the background that is no longer is use (i.e. there are no washroom facilities here at the moment).

below: You may have seen this giant billboard if you have driven past on the 401. It stands beside the Oriole station platform. Recently, the platform was under under the 401 and therefore, protected from the rain. It has been moved slightly north to bring it closer to Leslie subway station (TTC)

below: All pedestrian access to the old station as well as the parking lot has been closed.

below: There is another entrance to the station at the north end where the tracks cross Esther Shiner Blvd. [extra note: Esther Shiner was a North York municipal politician who was first elected in 1972. She served as councilor, as well as a short stint as Deputy Mayor until her death in 1987.]

Not everybody walks to IKEA!

below: The tracks cross Esther Shiner Blvd, but the sidewalk doesn’t and all pedestrian traffic is routed to the south side. If you want to transfer to the TTC (Leslie station), there is a walk involved. It takes about 10 minutes I think.

below: Turn left at Old Leslie if you are looking for the TTC subway. Straight through gets you to Leslie Street (at North York General Hospital, north of the 401 highway and south of Shepard).

below: The signs still direct you to the GO station via under the 401….

below: …. but the road is actually closed to traffic.

below: Looking northwest across Leslie, south of the 401 (towards Yonge & Shepard).

below: Making sidewalks.

below: Old and faded, rules and regulations for prevention of the spread of COVID-19

Ontario Line – north end of Pape

Posted: June 22, 2025 in construction, locations, stores, transportation
Tags: catchoo, construction, Cosburn, Donlands, graffiti, hoardings, lemon bucket orchestra, Metrolinx, Ontario line, Pape, people, Ritz restaurant, stickers, subway, trp 613, TTC

On a hillside along the Don Valley Parkway (DVP), there is a large construction project underway. This is where the new Ontario Line subway will go underground after crossing the DVP by bridge.

From this angle it’s difficult to see the work that has been done on the north side of the DVP but the ground has been cleared for construction of the support pillars for the large bridge that will take the LRT from Don Mills Road to this point at the top of Pape.

It has altered the quiet East York neighbourhood at the north end of Pape.

Ontario Line construction has also affected Pape Avenue. Here at Cosburn, a long stretch of what used to be stores and restaurants are now behind plywood hoardings. The main entrance to the station will be on the northwest corner of Pape and Cosburn. The final decision on the look of the station is not yet made (according to the Metrolinx website) but at least some of the renderings show that Infrastructure Ontario is involved and maybe the site will include other uses such as housing or offices.

Demolition has started but it looks like this project is going to take a while. The subway is going to run just west of Pape, under these buildings. Construction will kill (has killed?) street life but traffic shouldn’t be affected as much. Someone somewhere made that decision.

below: Some of the buildings from the back side, behind the plywood

below: There is a large Coca-Cola advert on the side of the building that is about to be demolished.

below: Bethany Baptist Church

below: There are little semi circular “ears” at the top of this building. I doubt that they had a function but along with the 3-D pattern across the top of the building, it adds a little bit of interest to the street scene.

below: Cat and dog at Floyd … while the crossing guard takes a break.

Back in November 2024, I posted some photos of the changes around Pape station (at Danforth). I ended that post just north of Danforth with the comment, “There is another station under construction at Cosburn, a few more blocks north but that’s for another day.” I guess that you could say that now is that day.

below: The top sticker is for the Lemon Bucket Orchestra and on the bottom it’s something about Kirby and Zaku and if you are into such things you might understand the reference.

intersections – King & Bathurst

Posted: January 20, 2025 in construction, history
Tags: Bank of Montreal, Banknote Bar, bathurst st., clock tower, construction, facade, King St., Metrolinx, pianos, redevelopment, streetcars, TTC, Wheatsheaf Tavern

below: 504 King streetcar on a snowy January afternoon

As you all know, Toronto is being demolished and redeveloped. Almost every part of the city is affected by the construction of new condo buildings or the upgrading of public transit. It can be difficult to keep up documenting the changes! A few weeks ago I posted some pictures from Queen & Spadina where Metrolinx is building a new subway station for the Ontario Line. The next stop west from there is at King and Bathurst.

Infrastructure Ontario wants to build what they call a Transit-Oriented Community (TOC) at King and Bathurst. The gist of the plan is that these sites will feature high density development around transit hubs. Some of the plans for condo and office may still be at the concept level but the new subway station work is well underway.

below: Looking south on Bathurst from King. On the southwest corner is the Wheatsheaf Tavern which has been here since 1849. The exterior of the building hasn’t changed much in 170 years! It remains untouched by today’s construction.

below: The Banknote Bar on the southeast corner is now gone, or at least most of it has been demolished. The north facade will be incorporated into the new station, the King-Bathurst station (Are they really going to call it that? So Dull. So Bland.).

This 4 storey brick building was previously a Bank of Montreal. It was built in 1901/02 for the Canadian Biscuit Company. It then had a series of tenants until 1923 when Bank of Montreal moved in.

Previously, a mixed use development rising above the old brick structure had been proposed for the site (prior to Metrolinx). Cancelled. At this point there is no other development on this corner.

below: Looking east on King

You can see that the corner (above picture) is now covered by a very big white temporary structure where construction of another station underway. What will be revealed? Plans suggest a mixed office/residential tower above with rebuilding of most portions of the TD bank that was on the corner, as well as the building directly east of it. No car parking spots, bikes only. Concept stage? Or further along? One day we might find out!

Last, the northeast corner –

below: Clock Tower lofts dominates the corner. There really are two clocks on the side of the building, both of which are difficult to see. But that doesn’t matter since they don’t work anyhow.

below: 1919 photo of the Clocktower Building. It was in bad shape in 1980 and was demolished. The Clock Tower Lofts (above) replaced it. In 1919 it was home to Otto Higel Piano Company. The church in the background is St. Marys Roman Catholic church at Bathurst and Adelaide.

1919 black and white photo of a brick building on northwest corner of king and bathurst. 4 storeys, with small clock tower on one corner, church in the background

photo credit: City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1244, Item 3008

The building dates from 1895; it was built for the Toronto Lithographing Company who used it until 1901. Next, the Newell & Higel Co. Ltd take over the building where they manufacture piano actions, keys and hammers, and organ keys, reeds, and reedboards. By 1912 they employed 450 people. They developed a Player Piano that became famous around the world and business boomed. They expanded the building north to the corner of Adelaide Street West.

By the way, a Player Piano is one that plays itself. The 1920’s were their heyday but advances in technology, especially the introduction of radios and record players, helped kill the Player Piano. By the 1930s production ceased.

below: A 1970s view of the northwest corner.

1970s black and white photo of Otto Higel Piano Company, now a furniture factory

photo credit: City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1526, File 7, Item 5,

below: Looking out the window of the Wheatsheaf Tavern. How many people have sat here and looked out this window? What did they think about?

intersections – Queen and Spadina

Posted: November 20, 2024 in construction, history, old buildings, people, public art
Tags: buses, construction, hoardings, Metrolinx, Ontario line, people, Stephen Cruise, streetcars, subway

Subtitle: More Ontario Line mess

below: Spadina and Richmond…. A giant thimble (by Stephen Cruise) sits on a stack of buttons. Behind it, a building is shrouded in blue netting.

below: Blue, blue, my world is blue… walking north on Spadina under blue netting that protects the sidewalk from work being done on the southwest corner of Queen and Spadina. The whole block between Richmond and Queen is under wraps. This is a future subway station with the imaginative name of Queen-Spadina.

below: Southwest corner of Queen and Spadina

below: A look at what’s happening behind the hoardings….

below: Mcdonalds on the northwest corner is unaffected by the changes around it.

below: Looking south on Spadina with a good view of the southeast corner of the intersection with Queen West.

below: There is a lot happening in the northeast quadrant, all by Metrolinx. the yellow framework that protects and stabilizes a facade is becoming a common sight in Toronto.

below: In case you can’t remember what was on that corner, this is a photo taken back when they were laying streetcar tracks in 1912. Most recently there was a CIBC bank on the corner.

black and white photo from 1912 of brick building on the northeast corner of Queen and Spadina.

Photo taken from WIkipedia Commons, in public domain. Originally from City of Toronto Archives.

below: A couple of the old houses/stores on Queen beside the old brick building seem remarkably unchanged since 1912. (As a light grey car partially blocks the pedestrian crossing at the intersection).

below: The 510 streetcars are not running during this construction.

below: But because the buses are too wide for the streetcar lanes, the middle of Spadina is very quiet… so I can stand here and take pictures.

below: It also means that the replacement buses are now running… and competing with cars for a limited space.

below: Painting over the graffiti

below: Just north of Queen, there is a large vacant lot on Spadina. So large you can see through to Cameron Street.

below: Cameron House and other houses on Cameron Street and beyond.

a walk around Pape station

Posted: November 6, 2024 in construction, old buildings, stores, transportation
Tags: Addis Kidan church, construction, Danforth, development, Eaton Ave., halloween, houses, Metrolinx, Ontario line, Pape, subway, TTC

Have a seat! It’s a rather warm autumn this year, isn’t it?

below: A Hallowe’en spider caught in a rather thick web. It doesn’t have much to do with Pape subway station although you might feel inclined to put “scary” and “TTC” together.

Anyhow back to the main story…. Pape station is where the existing Bloor-Danforth line is going to meet the new Ontario line.

below: Do you remember when Pape station was being renovated? Now the site is a mess again.

Pape station is a short block north of the Greektown section of Danforth.

below: Looking south on Pape towards Danforth

below: Across the street from the subway station

below: See that bright white building in the picture above? I bet that it’s not white anymore.

below: My idea was to walk around the whole site. …

below: Looking back at the Danforth and Pape intersection, north side. The white stone Royal Bank building stands on the northwest corner. Behind it, the steeple and little green dome of Holy Parish church points upward.

below: Ontario Line construction along the Danforth, northside. Metrolinx seems to have a lot of property here.

below: Any idea what this is? What is happening here?

below: I wasn’t the only one taking pictures!

below: Eaton Avenue runs parallel to Pape, just to the east.

below: Northeast corner of Danforth and Eaton

below: Eaton Ave entrance to Pape station lined with plywood hoardings. This station isn’t that old – the update was completed in 2013. I think that it is being retained but it is hard to tell from the Metrolinx website. A brand new entrance is planned for the Danforth as well (and may be very large and very grand, not quite to scale with the present neighbourhood?).

below: Houses on Eaton Ave with Metrolinx construction behind them.

This area has been serviced by the Bloor Danforth line since 1966. In general, most of the residences are single family houses, often as some form of row housing. Smaller houses with small yards seems the norm… i.e. a fairly typical East York neighbourhood.

Exploring on Pape…..

below: Working on Pape, fixing a porch (or just watching)

below: Addis Kidan Church, Greek Gospel Church..

below: Tzatziki cafe with the painting above the entrance – interior restaurant scene

below: Mixed use – once a line of single family homes, now some are businesses.

below: There is also another construction site at Sammon

below: Looking north on Pape Ave from MacPhail. There is another station under construction at Cosburn, a few more blocks north but that’s for another day. (Updated 22 June 2025 – there is now an Ontario Line – North Pape blog post)

I’ll end instead the way I began – with a little bit of Halloween to distract you from the constant noise of construction.

looking for north Ontario

Posted: May 6, 2024 in construction, locations, transportation
Tags: clear cut, community gardens, construction, DVP, hydro poles, indicator post, McAvity, Metrolinx, Millwood bridge, North Toronto Wastewater treatment, Ontario line, Overlea, raccoon, ravines, stumps, Thorncliffe, trees, workmen

… the northern end of the Ontario line that is. It was a foggy, overcast day when I went searching so I have many grey low contrast pictures with the occasion sunny image when the clouds parted for a few minutes. As construction progresses there will be lots of opportunities for better photography! It may be many years yet.

The plans on the Metrolinx website show the Ontario Line ending at the Science Centre station at Eglinton and Don Mills. From the Science Centre, an elevated line runs south to a Flemingdon Park station near Gateway Blvd and Don Mills Road. The map suggests that the line runs over or parallel to Don Mills Road.

below: Northeast corner of Don Mills and Gateway Blvd. Grey on grey I’m afraid.

below: Map, screenshot from Metrolinx website. Pink sections of the line are elevated and blue sections are underground.

It is difficult to determine from the map the exact route the line will follow along Don Mills Road. At the moment, the east side is largely undeveloped between the Science Centre just south of of Eglinton to the school at Overlea. The west side of Don Mills Road is already home to a number of tall office and residential buildings as well as stores and restaurants. Whatever the route, traffic on Don Mills is about to get ugly again (having just returned to normal after the Eglinton LRT construction).

below: West side of Don Mills Road, looking north towards Eglinton from hydro right of way.

South of Flemingdon, and before Overlea Blvd, the line swings west and crosses the West Don River.

below: This is the section of land that has been clear cut recently. It is on the northern edge of a Hydro right of way that crosses the city.

below: Photo taken from the same place as the one above, but looking more north. It was a bit foggy but what you are looking at is E.T. Seton Park and the archery range there. A tiny bit of the Science Centre can be seen near the top right. The black bridge is the railway bridge just south of Eglinton near the foot of Leslie Street.

below: A spot of colour, spring blossoms on an old and gnarly crab apple tree.

below: More grey concrete. A wall of Valley Park Middle School at the northwest corner of Overlea Blvd and Don Mills Road.

When the Ontario line swings west of Don Mills Road, it will run parallel to Overlea Blvd as it crosses the West Don River.

below: This is the plaque on the bridge, the Charles Hiiscott Bridge apparently (does anyone call it that?). It was named after the mayor of Leaside at the time (1960). I’m willing to bet that everyone just calls it the Overlea bridge. Whatever you call it, it’s 62 1/2 feet long and rises 115 feet above the valley floor.

below: Looking north from the bridge over the West Don River and the Seton Park trail. There is a clear cut hill on near the top left corner of the photo where the Ontario Line will pass. I have tried to find any drawing or plans that Metrolinx has that might illustrate what this section would look like beyond the fact that it will be elevated. Some sort of bridge over the Don is needed but the details seem to be up in the air as well.

After crossing the West Don, the tracks will (probably) run behind the buildings on the north side of Overlea. until Thorncliffe where a station is planned at the intersection of Thorncliffe and Overlea.

below: The Greek Orthodox church has a large presence in this stretch of Overlea.

below: There is a large community garden there now.

below: This is still on the Hydro right of way.

below: That’s the back of Costco just peaking into the photo.

below: Road closures and empty buildings.

below: A “trash panda” raccoon checks out the old metal bin behind Costco

below: On the west side of Costco there is a row of apple trees now in blossom

below: But on the other side of the apple trees is a very large, now vacant, plot of land surrounded by hoardings. This is Metrolinx. This is where the Ontario Line turns to join Overlea at Thorncliffe Park.

below: Much of Overlea to the west of Thorncliffe is either empty or about to be. The exception is the Salvation Army headquarters at the corner of Overlea and Millwood – the blue and white striped building in this photo.

below: Part of the plan for the neighbourhood is this new Islamic Centre that replaces an older building that will be demolished to make way for the Ontario Line.

below: A discovery – hiding in the bushes. This looks like an old fire hydrant.

below: It’s actually a “fire main indicator post” made by the McAvity Company. It marks an underground valve that controls the water supply. Thomas McAvity started in business in 1834 in St. John New Brunswick; he was followed by most of his 6 sons and together they built a large, thriving company with foundries that produced plumbing parts, among other things. They started making fire hydrants in 1903 but sold the company in 1960.

below: Digging holes on one side of the street

below: And laying orange conduit for future cable on the other side

below: Sidewalk hieroglyphics, speaking a language most of us don’t understand.

below: Looking east on Overlea approaching Millwood. The new Islamic Centre is the building with the turquoise upper level. Somewhere in here, sometime in the future, an elevated train will run. At least that’s the plan.

From Thorncliffe Park station at the intersection of Thorncliffe Park and Overlea Blvd., a train running towards downtown will now need to cross Millwood, the Don River, and the Don Valley Parkway.

below: I had more luck with finding possible ideas for this second bridge. On a page on the Metrolinx website there is a rendering of the bridge that will cross both the Don River and the Don Valley Parkway (DVP). This view is from the northwest. It shows the new bridge running parallel to the Millwood bridge (shown here as the shorter straighter bridge).

A pretty picture. But what does in mean? What are the implications?

A hint….

below: Another section of Toronto ravine lands cleared of trees. This is immediately west of the Millwood Overlea intersection. The Millwood bridge is in the background.

below: The clearing has made the North Toronto Wastewater Treatment facility much more visible. There is a lot of upgrade work going on there too! Twenty five million dollars worth of upgrades in fact, yes $25,000,000. (source: Bennett Construction Group)

below: “The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto” in stone and embedded in the concrete of the Millwood bridge. In the center is the “Arms” of the municipality created in 1991. Because the internet is the source of amazing trivia, this is the description that I found on the Governor General of Canada’s website, “Argent on a chevron Gules between two open books Argent edged Or bound Gules in chief and a caduceus Or fimbriated Gules in base a representation of the Royal Crown Or on a chief Azure a cogwheel winged Or;” One questions leads to many more, right? Well, “gules” = red, “fimbriated” = has a narrow border,

below: Under the Millwood Bridge. The fence has been repaired so access to the structural underparts is restricted. Back in 2015 it was easy to get underneath – Under the Millwood Bridge.

intersections – McCowan and Sheppard

Posted: November 11, 2023 in construction, graffiti and street art, intersections, locations, transportation
Tags: construction, equipment, machines, Metrolinx, Nugget Ave., railway, Scarborough, Sheppard, subway, trains, trucks, tunneling, West Highland Creek

After years of false starts, indecision re routes, and all the other consequences of being City Council’s favorite political football, the new Scarborough subway extension is underway.

Once upon a time, the extension was to only go to Scarborough Town Centre and was derided as the “One Stop Subway”. Now it seems to be three stops from the present Kennedy station with the end point being at McCowan and Sheppard. In true Metrolinx style, it seems like the last station is going to be called Sheppard East. Such imagination! … to have three stations called Sheppard! That seems to be the situation at present…. as for tomorrow’s situation? Who knows…..

In case you’ve never been to that intersection, let me show you what’s there…..

below: Looking west on Sheppard approaching McCowan with Metrolinx site on the right hand side. This construction site is very large and dominates the area.

below: One of the entrance gates to the Metrolinx construction site. Note all the stacked concrete sections that will form the tunnel walls.

below: This blue object is part of the equipment needed to move dirt brought to the surface by the Tunnel Boring Machine that is working underground (There is also a TBM working out in Rexdale on the Crosstown West).

It is a very big machine

below: Gate B

In general, the area south of Sheppard is residential while the area north of Sheppard is industrial or commercial. Canadian Tire is on the northwest corner.

below: Apartments on Sheppard (south side, east of McCowan)

below: Because of the angle from which this photo was taken, the exact locations are slightly unclear. The Medical Clinic is 4651 Sheppard East. To the west of that is a vacant lot that used to be a gas station and it is on the SE corner of McCowan and Sheppard; it is in the process of being redeveloped. The apartment building is actually on the SWt corner of McCowan and Sheppard.

below: looking east on Sheppard from McCowan

below: Walking McCowan north of Sheppard is partially impeded by a fence across the sidewalk…. but it is easily bypassed. Nugget Avenue is just beyond the fence.

below: Looking southeast from McCowan and Nugget where West Highland Creek branches. The large Metrolinx site fills the triangle formed by McCowan, West Highland Creek, and Sheppard Avenue. The white apartment building in the distance is on Sheppard Ave.

The creek’s concrete bed might make for easy management of the water flow but it makes for an ugly scene – unfriendly to both nature and people. There are parks north of here on both branches of the creek but here where most of the land use is industrial or commercial, little attention is paid to the esthetics.

below: Dufferin Concrete at Nugget and McCowan

below: Nugget Avenue crosses West Highland Creek. The plaza at 20 Nugget Ave, with the red and white stripes, was shut down (bought out) by Metrolinx. Apparently, the two-acre property is needed for an emergency exit and underground tail track for the future Sheppard East Station.

below: Spotted on a bulletin board at a bus shelter on Nugget (It’s a collection of bible verses).

below: Immediately north of Nugget Avenue are train tracks. This is the western edge of the large CPR Toronto Yard. If you are interested in this yard and some of the trains, I blogged about it previously (Around the marshaling yards – with love and peace).

below: North side of tracks along McCowan

revisiting Ontario Place

Posted: September 26, 2023 in construction, graffiti and street art, landmarks, locations, public art, transportation, waterfront
Tags: abandoned, Better Living Centre, CNE, construction, exhibition, fish, Food Building, GO Transit, Goh Ohn Bell, Horse Palace, Jose Andres Mora, Liberty Village, Metrolinx, Ontario Place, Queen Elizabeth Building, Raymond Moriyama, Ronald Satok, Toronto FC, Toronto Reds

A story in three parts

There has been a lot of talk about Ontario Place in the news lately so I thought that I would take some time to explore that part of the city.

below: My walk started in Liberty Village where I discovered that others are trying to promote walking around and exploring here. If you are interested, Walk Liberty is online. It is a fairly comprehensive guide to the history of the area.

below: Cut into the back of this bench are the words “Is it not the reason we are here”. This bench was designed by Jose Andres Mora was part of the Liberty Village BIA Artist Bench series from 2019. My reason? … Well, I was only passing by because it was a convenient place to have a cup of coffee before walking towards Ontario Place.

below: Comfortable shoes as we keep on walking

When I reached Atlantic Avenue I discovered that most of the south end of the street was now part of a construction site – both sides of the street have Metrolinx Ontario Line hoardings.

below: The Liberty Trail is closed. This sign was posted by Ontario Transit Group. They are the group who are building some of the infrastructure for the Ontario Line. There are a number of companies included in this group with the two leads being Ferrovial Construction Canada Inc., and VINCI Construction Grands Projects. They were awarded the six billion dollar contract in Nov 2022 and if you want to see a list of what that money should buy us, the information is on an Infrastructure Ontario website (while you’re there, spot the typo!).

below: Looking north on Atlantic Avenue

below: The Exhibition GO station is at the south end of Atlantic Ave. The new Ontario line will also have a station here. The ability to transfer between GO and TTC services here will impact a lot of people who commute from the western side of the GTA as they may be able to bypass Union Station.

below: From Exhibition station east towards the city centre, north side. A new street that parallels the railway tracks is being built here. If the plans are correct, the new street will connect Strachan Ave in the east with Dufferin St in the west.

below: Construction on the north side of the tracks at Exhibition station where a new concourse area is being built above the tracks

below: Looking eastward from the south side

After walking through the tunnel under the tracks at Exhibition GO station, you emerge under the Gardiner Expressway, right beside the Exhibition grounds. …. And so begins Part 2. A quick note – when Metrolinx describes Exhibition station on the Ontario Line, they usually add “Ontario Place” to it, i.e. it’s Exhibition/Ontario Place station.

The first building that you encounter on the south side is the Horse Palace

below: South entrance of the Horse Palace. Three levels of government contributed to the construction of this building which opened in 1931. It is two storeys high and covers 4 acres. Originally it accommodated 1200 horses. Today it is home to Toronto’s mounted police unit.

below: Horse in the art deco style, carved in the limestone facade of the Horse Palace.

In August it is busy here as it is the home of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) but September is another story! I didn’t see many people as I wandered around. The buildings are locked up tight.

One of the dominant features of the area is BMO field which was built as a large soccer stadium. In 2016 it also became the home of the Toronto Argonauts, the other Toronto football team.

below: Mural above the entrance, gate 6 BMO Field. This mural can be difficult to see from outside because it is behind a window. It confused me at first because why is there a hockey themed picture at BMO field? – they don’t play hockey here. As I was trying to get a closer look at it from outside, a group of men walked past and one of them asked me if I needed help…. here’s the story: Once upon a time the Hockey Hall of Fame was here. When the building was demolished in 2006 to make way for the soccer field, portions of it were retained including the entrance and this mural, “Face Off” by Ronald Satok.

below: The Hockey Hall of Fame building (1961-1993) at the Exhibition. The mural is behind the glass in the entrance way.

below: Also at BMO Field is a Wall of Honour commemorating iconic moments and MLS Honours (e.g. coach of the year, MVP players, etc). Red and white are the colours of Toronto FC (Football Club) whose home is here at BMO stadium. Note: (MLS = Maple Leaf Sports, owners of the Toronto FC )

After WW2, the popularity of the CNE was booming and more modern spaces were needed. The Hockey Hall of Fame building was a great success so the Food Building (1954), followed by the Queen Elizabeth Building (1957), and the Better Living Centre (1962) resulted. These buildings still stand. All were very modern buildings for their time.

below: Food Building

below: Queen Elizabeth Building

below: Better Living Centre, symmetry of the side entrances. In the 1960s this building housed exhibits during the CNE that featured different rooms decorated with the latest trends and gadgets… like colour TVs! and other consumer goods.

below: Front entrance with its wide stairs leading to the doors as well as one of its curved walls

below: Artwork on the roof of the Better Living Centre is a three dimensional grid of steel with different coloured plexiglass panels in some of the squares.

We entered the Exhibition grounds by tunnel and we will leave by bridge over Lakeshore Blvd…. so to Part 3, Ontario Place

below: Looking west from the bridge over Lakeshore Blvd

Ontario Place consists of three different areas, East Island, West Island, and the pods in the middle. When Ontario Place first opened in 1971, the eastern portion was a children’s adventure playground. Today it is Trillium Park. I didn’t go there last week, but if you are interested, I blogged about it on two previous visits (a rainy day from June 2019, and Ontario Place 2.0 from July 2017)

The middle section of the park is where you find the “pods”, the elevated structures with water below, and the marina.

The contentious part at the moment is West Island.

As far as any plan can be trusted, this is from Infrastructure Ontario, dated April 2023. The majority of the West Island becomes covered with a 12 acre waterpark and spa to be built by an Austrian company, Therme. The majority of that is housed in glass buildings.

This is a conceptual drawing from Therme’s website. That’s a lot of glass. If you know West Island, you’ll realize that this drawing looks nothing like it. That’s because everything is to be removed, leveled, and a lot of landfill added.

Already gone is a bell, the Goh Ohn Bell. This is the Japanese Canadian Centennial Temple Bell. I took this picture on the 20th of Sept and by the 25th it was gone. Despite a protest on the weekend, it was removed to storage. The Temple Bell was installed in 1977 in a structure designed by Raymond Moriyama (1929 – Sept 2023); it was a gift to the province Japanese Canadians living in Ontario to mark the centennial of Japanese settlement in Canada. Now it is in the way of the Therme spa. Even though the project has not been approved, the provincial government is plowing ahead.

Some say that the West Island is under used now anyhow…..

Perhaps. But the biggest reason for that is the neglect (negligence actually) that it’s been subjected to over the years.

Once their were restaurants here but they closed years ago. Their ghosts remain.

below: Pizza anyone?

Once there were amusement rides here, those ghosts too still haunt the place.

below: Yellow lines to stand behind while you waited your turn for a ride.

Once upon a time there was some attempt to make something of the place. Then it was abandoned and ignored. In those quiet years the beach and paths were used by those who knew about them. It became a peaceful spot.

Unknowns – there are many because there has been nothing transparent about any of the dealings between Therme and the provincial government. Therme gets a 95 year lease but what are the terms? The provincial government is going to pay for an underground (under the water table!) parking lot for 2000+ cars apparently. They will also be responsible for all those little details that you can’t see – like where does the water go when you flush the toilet? – those little pesky things. Rather than go into more detail here, I highly recommend John Lorinc’s article in Spacing magazine, Below Grade Scandal

Not everyone is happy with the plans…..

a tale of two bridges

Posted: September 15, 2023 in construction, locations, old buildings, transportation
Tags: Canadian National Railway, CNR, construction, dump truck, Eastern Ave., GO Transit, Leslieville, Metrolinx, Ontario line, Queen St. East, Riverdale, Riverside, street, traffic, train, trucks, TTC

Traffic on Eastern Avenue near Broadview has faced construction and traffic delays over the past few months. The slow downs are ongoing as work on the railway bridge progresses. This work is because Metrolinx is adding tracks to make room for the new Ontario Line. Like many parts of the city, there are many changes occurring in the area.

Demolition on the north side of Eastern, and poof, gone, one large 5 storey Self Storage facility at 356 Eastern. Removed to make way for new tracks. The beige house faces Lewis Street.

… and now sitting gutted on the south side is another not old building (South side of Eastern Ave between Broadview and the railway tracks).

South side of Eastern, from another angle.

West side approach to the Canadian National Railway bridge

Along with the new railway line, Metrolinx is building what they are calling the East Harbour transit hub. This involves a new Ontario Line station as well as a new GO station on the Lakeshore East and Stouffville GO lines. Eventually, plans are to have TTC streetcars or LRT link here (it is directly south of Broadview and there is a plan to extend Broadview).

below: Construction along the railway line, south of Eastern Ave

below: One side (the east side) of the railway tracks has been demolished. Ultimately the whole bridge will be replaced but it is being done in stages to allow GO trains and VIA rail trains to continue running throughout the process.

A constant flow of dump trucks back and forth, in and out, of the construction site south of Eastern (on both sides of the railway tracks). The 38 acre site that includes the old Lever Bros (Ponds, Sunlight etc) soap factory is being redeveloped at the same time – it extends south to Lakeshore and west to the Don River.

Looking west on Eastern Ave, back towards downtown.

405 Eastern Ave, immediately east of the railway bridge, is also under construction. It has nothing to do with transportation as it is a new Enbridge building. A large 3 storey building with both offices and industrial (computers?) will probably be built here.

Makes sense, gas pipelines on site.

Just north of Eastern Ave, the railway tracks cross Queen St East., crossing over a bridge of the same style and vintage. Once upon a time this was a level crossing with a railway station on the northwest corner, the Riverdale station on the Grand Trunk Railway. This is soon to be the location of the Riverside Leslieville station on the not yet built Ontario Line.

So far the bridge is still intact but it too will be completely changed by the time Metrolinx is finished. The station itself will be on the bridge (if their drawings & plans are to be believed).

Here there will be 6 tracks – 4 for GO Transit and 2 for the Ontario Line.

a quick check on Osgoode

Posted: August 6, 2023 in construction, locations
Tags: construction, cyclist, Metrolinx, Ontario line, Osgoode station, pedestrian, sidewalk, sidewalks, street, subway, traffic, transit, transportation, University Ave.

At the end of last year there was some controversy about removal of some of the trees from the park in front of Osgoode Hall to make way for Metrolinx and the new Ontario Line subway. (see post here – tree removal ).

Well, the trees did come down and subway construction has begun. The northbound lanes on University Ave north of Queen are closed and of course traffic chaos has ensued.

below: One entrance to Osgoode station on the southwest corner of Queen and University (looking north). On the Metrolinx website, the old building that now houses Rexall will become a new entrance to the subway. Or at least the facade of the building from 1929 is being retained. Before it was a Rexall drug store it was a CIBC branch.

below: Pedestrians crossing Queen Street, east side of University Ave (looking south)

below: The other entrance to Osgoode station is on the northeast corner of University and Queen. (Looking south in this photo.) A new entrance is planned for this location too except that it will be within the black wrought iron fence that surrounds Osgoode Hall. This frees up space on the busy sidewalk.