THE WAY WE WERE: Toronto is 'a city within a park'

Mike Filey
Published Jun 08, 2019  •  1 minute read
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This City of Toronto Archives photo looks east along Front St. from Bathurst St. in 1960. The dominant building in the distance is the Royal York Hotel. To the extreme left of the view is a showroom identified as 25 Bathurst St. that was added to the old machinery supply company building, whose huge painted PETRIE sign (later BATHURST TOOL) was visible from the harbour, the Gardiner and lower Bathurst St. for decades. The building was actually erected in the late 1800s on a site that before extensive land filling was very close to the edge of the Toronto Harbour. It was in this building that over the years several successive ship building companies (Doty, Bertram then Canadian Shipbuilding) manufactured components for such vessels as the Toronto Island ferries Primrose and Mayflower and the extremely popular Lake Ontario passenger steamer Cayuga. This landmark structure continued to dominate the northeast corner of Bathurst and Front for many years until demolished in 2013. Condominiums now occupy the site. Map historian Nathan Ng has written a fascinating story about this Toronto intersection. View it at: http://skritch.blogspot.com/2011/06/hw-petrie-ltd-machinery-diamond-calk.html
This City of Toronto Archives photo looks east along Front St. from Bathurst St. in 1960. The dominant building in the distance is the Royal York Hotel. To the extreme left of the view is a showroom identified as 25 Bathurst St. that was added to the old machinery supply company building, whose huge painted PETRIE sign (later BATHURST TOOL) was visible from the harbour, the Gardiner and lower Bathurst St. for decades. The building was actually erected in the late 1800s on a site that before extensive land filling was very close to the edge of the Toronto Harbour. It was in this building that over the years several successive ship building companies (Doty, Bertram then Canadian Shipbuilding) manufactured components for such vessels as the Toronto Island ferries Primrose and Mayflower and the extremely popular Lake Ontario passenger steamer Cayuga. This landmark structure continued to dominate the northeast corner of Bathurst and Front for many years until demolished in 2013. Condominiums now occupy the site. Map historian Nathan Ng has written a fascinating story about this Toronto intersection. View it at: http://skritch.blogspot.com/2011/06/hw-petrie-ltd-machinery-diamond-calk.html

Our city is fortunate when it comes to an abundance of parks — 1,473 to be precise.

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In fact, Toronto’s Parks, Recreation and Forestry Division’s motto is “A City Within a Park.”

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These parks range from the huge Rouge Park East and the sprawling High Park (the latter, contrary to popular belief, was not GIVEN to the citizens of Toronto by its owner, John George Howard of Colborne Lodge — lifetime annuities for his wife and himself made it possible) to the 15 interwoven islands (the major ones being Ward’s, Centre and Hanlan’s) that make up Toronto Island.

On the subject of Toronto Island, a large area is under stress owning to rising water levels. As serious as this occurrence is, Island flooding is certainly not a new phenomenon.

Island to be Submerged, Harbor Officials Fear was a scary Toronto newspaper headline.

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The date? March 13, 1930.

Historically, one of the smallest of the city “parks” (if not the smallest) was a stretch of land set aside in the spring as a memento of the upcoming visit in September 1860 by Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII).

The Prince’s Walk (aka Prince of Wales Walk) was adjacent to the embankment on the south side of Front St. stretching from Bathurst St. to near Simcoe St. It was graded and lined with planted poplar, chestnut and spruce trees.

In a related news report, the citizens who sponsored the project hoped their fellow citizens would give their hearty concurrence to the scheme. They did … then came the railways.

Similar view taken in 2018. In addition to the many new condominium towers the most obvious addition to the scene is the Puente de Luz (“bridge of light”), a bicycle and pedestrian bridge that connects Concord’s CityPlace community with Front Street West, opposite Portland St. The 125 meter long bridge was built as part of the City of Toronto’s requirement that the new neighbourhood south of the rail corridor be linked to the rest of the city. The bridge was designed by Chilean artist Francisco Gazitua and cost approximately $8 Million to construct and install. Missing is anything related to the Prince of Wales Walk.
Similar view taken in 2018. In addition to the many new condominium towers the most obvious addition to the scene is the Puente de Luz (“bridge of light”), a bicycle and pedestrian bridge that connects Concord’s CityPlace community with Front Street West, opposite Portland St. The 125 meter long bridge was built as part of the City of Toronto’s requirement that the new neighbourhood south of the rail corridor be linked to the rest of the city. The bridge was designed by Chilean artist Francisco Gazitua and cost approximately $8 Million to construct and install. Missing is anything related to the Prince of Wales Walk.
Looking north on Bathurst St. towards the Front St. intersection. The site of the former ship building factory and later the Petrie machinery showroom and later still, the home of Bathurst Tool which is now occupied by new condominium towers. (Toronto Public Library Digital Archives)
Looking north on Bathurst St. towards the Front St. intersection. The site of the former ship building factory and later the Petrie machinery showroom and later still, the home of Bathurst Tool which is now occupied by new condominium towers. (Toronto Public Library Digital Archives)
In tribute to the arrival of Queen Victoria’s eldest son the 18-year-old Edward, Prince of Wales, Toronto city fathers as well as several businesses, erected ceremonial arches scattered along the route the Prince would travel during his brief time in Toronto. One of the most spectacular was the one seen in this sketch. Located close to the water’s edge at the foot of John St. it was designed by prominent local architect William Storm and was 65 feet high and 27 feet wide. As the Prince and his entourage made their way to Government House at the southwest corner of King and Simcoe Sts. they would have seen the words Welcome to Toronto at the top of the arch, his name on either side, several Prince of Wales plumes and a huge colour portrait of the young Prince. It’s assumed the group made their way east along Front St. before turning north on Simcoe St. to the Government House. A portion of the Front St. route was officially titled the Prince of Wales Walk. Special reference to it was mentioned in the annual fiscal report on the upkeep of the city’s parks. As the railways expanded their trackage in this part of downtown, figures related to the upkeep of the Prince of Wales Walk were eventually deleted. The last reference was in a 1911 Parks Department report. Wonder if the property on which the Walk was laid out is still owned by the city?
In tribute to the arrival of Queen Victoria’s eldest son the 18-year-old Edward, Prince of Wales, Toronto city fathers as well as several businesses, erected ceremonial arches scattered along the route the Prince would travel during his brief time in Toronto. One of the most spectacular was the one seen in this sketch. Located close to the water’s edge at the foot of John St. it was designed by prominent local architect William Storm and was 65 feet high and 27 feet wide. As the Prince and his entourage made their way to Government House at the southwest corner of King and Simcoe Sts. they would have seen the words Welcome to Toronto at the top of the arch, his name on either side, several Prince of Wales plumes and a huge colour portrait of the young Prince. It’s assumed the group made their way east along Front St. before turning north on Simcoe St. to the Government House. A portion of the Front St. route was officially titled the Prince of Wales Walk. Special reference to it was mentioned in the annual fiscal report on the upkeep of the city’s parks. As the railways expanded their trackage in this part of downtown, figures related to the upkeep of the Prince of Wales Walk were eventually deleted. The last reference was in a 1911 Parks Department report. Wonder if the property on which the Walk was laid out is still owned by the city?

mfiley@postmedia.com

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