Filey - Toronto Sketches 9

Toronto Sketches 9

MIKE FILEY

THE DUNDURN GROUP

TORONTO

Copyright Mike Filey, 2006

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Design: Andrew Roberts

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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Filey, Mike, 1941

Toronto sketches 9 : the way we were / Mike Filey.

ISBN-10: 1-55002-613-5

ISBN-13: 978-1-55002-613-9

1. Toronto (Ont.)--History. I. Title. II. Title: Toronto sketches nine.

FC3097.4.F5496 2006 971.3'541 C2006-900524-9

1 2 3 4 5 10 09 08 07 06

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Table of Contents

Mike Fileys column The Way We Were has appeared in the Toronto Sunday Sun on a regular basis since 1975. Many of his earlier columns have been reproduced in volumes 1 through 8 of Dundurn Presss Toronto Sketches series. The columns in this book originally appeared in 2003 and 2004. Appended to each column is the date it first appeared as well as any relevant material that may have surfaced since that date (indicated by an asterisk).

The New Old Toronto Street

One of the most historic streets in Toronto is little Toronto Street. Its only one block long, if you dont count the intersection it makes on the east side with Court Street, another small thoroughfare that also has some interesting history. To further define the limits of the present-day Toronto Street, it connects King Street to the south with Adelaide to the north. Notice that I used the expression the present-day Toronto Street, since what we have today is not the Toronto Street originally laid out by a few pioneer surveyors back in the late 1700s.

Historically, todays Toronto Street is, in relative terms, a rather recent addition that came into being sometime after 1830. Dr. Scadding in his book Toronto of Old identifies the original Toronto Street as todays Victoria Street, and a very busy street it was. Thats because in the early days of York (Torontos original name), Yonge Street did not extend south of Lot Street (now Queen) due to the presence of a marshy swamp. Back then the small communitys downtown was along King Street east and west of Church Street. To get there pedestrians as well as animal-drawn wagons and carts from the north and northwest would have to detour around the marsh and continue the trip via a thoroughfare called Toronto Street that connected Lot with King.

When it was decided to fill in the marsh and extend Yonge Street south of Queen, the original Toronto Street was closed and that land given to those who owned property through which the newly lengthened Yonge Street now ran. By the way, it should be noted that back then opening and closing roads was no big deal since in most cases these so-called roads were usually no more that dirt paths.

Looking north on Toronto Street from the same vantage point on King Street in 1914 and in 2002.

Some years later a new street was opened east of Victoria that connected King with Adelaide. To identify it an old street name was resurrected. It became todays Toronto Street. Several grand buildings were erected on the new street only a couple of which still exist. They can be seen in the accompanying photos taken from the same vantage point and separated in time by more than 90 years.

To the extreme left is the Seventh Toronto Post Office (185153), a Greek temple-like structure now occupied by the Argus Corporation. Still on the left and at the top of the street is the Excelsior Life Building erected in 191415 and designed by Old City Hall architect E.J. Lennox. Opposite it, and barely visible in the modern photo, is the Consumers Gas Building (erected 1876, with an 1899 addition).

At the top of the street in the old photo is the Eighth Toronto Post Office of 1876. It was sacrificed in 1960 for the modern office building that looms in the background of the 2002 view. For transportation buffs, the old view features a horse and wagon, a couple of bicycles, and a half-dozen or so of the new-fangled gas buggies.

January 5, 2003

Bridging the Western Gap

So there I was reading one of Torontos newspapers when I came across another of those articles concerning the building of a bridge from the foot of Bathurst Street over the Western Gap to Toronto Island. This one had some interesting comments that I thought the reader would find of interest.

While on a recent tour around the harbour, the chairman of the Toronto Harbour Commission stated that the work of constructing a bridge connecting the city and the Island at the foot of Bathurst Street should be started at once.

How would you finance it? he was asked.

I believe that the Dominion and Provincial governments, the city and the Harbour Commission should contribute to its construction, he replied.

And what about the objections raised by the Island residents that it would mean cars over there?

I have only this to say, that the Island is for all the citizens, and not for a few.

With the Island bridge very much in the news these days, one might conclude that this article appeared in a recent edition of the newspaper. However, eagle-eyed readers will no doubt have noticed references to the Toronto Harbour Commission and the use of the expression Dominion government in the article. The former vanished in 1999 with the creation of the new Toronto Port Authority, and the infrequent use of the word Dominion these days provides clues that the news item as quoted is an old one. But how old you may ask?

It actually appeared in the Telegram on April 1, 1924! And mercy me, theyre still haggling over the project.