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Rare Maps of Toronto

Great aerial shots.

Looking at them, as far as I can see, there is no indication of Elway or Fraserwood in the 1947 one. That puts the development into the 1950's, and the buildings there would support that I think (based on a cursory Google look).

Ordinarily, I'd agree with your DIY subdivision idea (especially around that area), but I'm not so sure here. If we say that they were developed post-1950, I don't think its unrealistic to think that Metro was assembling parcels by that time. If Elway et al were developed later than most of the surrounding streets, it would explain why they account for the Allen and the earlier streets do not. It may perhaps explain Elway being a cul-de-sac from the get go, a relatively unusual configuration in the neighbourhood.
 
I notice that it looks as tho' both Fraserwood and Elway were laid out in a manner that anticipated the construction. Those on Fraserwood backing onto the Allen look would have only lost their sheds for the most part, though they were removed entirely in the end. Elway seems to have only lost two properties. I assume that the province or Metro had assembled the relevant property long in advance of actually planning construction, and this would seem to support that assumption.

Elway Court's been a kind of interest of mine since I saw a comparison of aerial shots of the area from the about 1940 to the mid-70s. I've done a fair amount of photographic research on the street and lately even found a handful of ground level shots of the properties there, some still standing, some long gone.

Elway and Fraserwood/Meadowbrook were, indeed, added as afterthoughts. By 1956 everything that surrounds them already existed, but they were still both just fields. In aerial shots from 1957, you can see them roughed in. By 1960, the buildings that survive on Elway, plus the two others you identified, were there. So were all the properties that would ever be (or cease to be) on Fraser. But curiously, little was built at the time on the east side of Elway (though there's evidence other homes were being roughed-in there by 1960). By 1964, five more buildings appear along that side... I mentioned them earlier in this tread. I don't know what the delay was; it makes sense it had something to do with the Spadina; but nevertheless, they were built. In aerial shots they're thinner than the other buildings on the street, but appear to be multiple-dwelling homes with parking in the back. These places stood for only a few years, and were gone by 1968, which led me to wonder here a few days ago why anyone took the trouble. But they did. Interestingly, as they were the last to go in, the were the last to disappear. In 1967, homes in the way of the Spadina on adjacent streets, and even on Fraserwood/Meadowbrook, have been razed... but everything on Elway is still standing.

Fraserwood/Meadowbrook and Elway never connected and, as far as I can tell, nothing was ever done with the considerable space between them. It remained open field until the Spadina/Allen was finally constructed through it in 1968. Must have been a great place to play if you were a kid.
 
Elway and Fraserwood/Meadowbrook were, indeed, added as afterthoughts.

Well, maybe "afterthoughts" as concrete entities; but the nature of the gridiron around these parts suggest that their road allowances were always "planned for". (In a way, it reminds me of the subdivision patterns in places with French-style rangs, whether in Quebec or in Windsor...)
 
Well, maybe "afterthoughts" as concrete entities; but the nature of the gridiron around these parts suggest that their road allowances were always "planned for". (In a way, it reminds me of the subdivision patterns in places with French-style rangs, whether in Quebec or in Windsor...)

Oh, sure, I don't doubt they were on a plan somewhere. The nature of the buildings on those streets are multi-dwelling, as opposed to what's largely single-family homes around them. It's a guess, but I'd say a different company with a different schedule and agenda was responsible for those streets and buildings.

What always puzzles me is why they built when and where they did. I suppose the plans for the Spadina might not have been formalized down to the exact measurements in 1956, but there must have been a wide corridor where they knew it would be... yet they still built in the path. All I can think of is that it must have been financially worth the while to do it. I'm surprised Metro didn't withhold some of the land, though, just so they wouldn't have to buy it back later.
 
Fascinating stuff, Mr. Primate. If I might speculate some more, I suspect the required road allowance for the Allen as constructed, likely was larger than the Allen as envisioned in the initial planning phase. That would account for there being a gap between the two developments, their layouts, and the subsequent removal of only a few properties.

As an aside, I find that houses like those on Elway have not aged well at all. I don't know what it is, but they seem to look "cheaper" some how.
 
It's interesting to see how the plans for the Spadina Expressway evolved in the south end. The first maps (and green sketches) show the first interation: Madison and Spadina as paired one-way streets between Bloor and south of Dupont that would have preserved many of the hosues on both streets, the actual freeway would not have started until the junction with the Crosstown.

After the rejection of building the Crosstown (and the inner ring system of DVP, Crosstown, Christie-Clinton and Gardiner), the plans changed to those we see in the black and white sketches - Davenport gets a partial, high speed interchange to filter traffic towards Avenue Road/University Avenue, and the Spadina Expressway is a full freeway to south of Harbord and the old Knox College building is demolished. Note how the U of T athletics building and New College have blank concrete walls set back from Spadina - they were built witht the later Spadina Expy plan in mind.

Also, you will notice that many of the houses on Spadina Road are owned by the city - direct connection there. Also note some of the TCHC houses being sold earlier were in the path of the Christie-Clinton alignment. This explains why the city purchased many of those units!
 
Note how the U of T athletics building and New College have blank concrete walls set back from Spadina - they were built witht the later Spadina Expy plan in mind.
whoa, i actually had noticed that, years ago, but never made the connection

it's hard to imagine the equivalent of the DVP disgorging its load in that area...
 
Fascinating stuff, Mr. Primate. If I might speculate some more, I suspect the required road allowance for the Allen as constructed, likely was larger than the Allen as envisioned in the initial planning phase. That would account for there being a gap between the two developments, their layouts, and the subsequent removal of only a few properties.

I think your explanation is correct, according to this extract from a column by Ron Haggart in the Toronto Star (Dec 12 1961 page 7 if you want to look it up).

Spadina.JPG
 

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Note how the U of T athletics building and New College have blank concrete walls set back from Spadina - they were built witht the later Spadina Expy plan in mind.

New College, yes. Fort Jock, hard to tell--after all, it was finished around '78, long after the Spadina was stopped. (Its blank concreteness as built strikes me more as the generic consequence of the 70s brutalist-athletic-megastructural aesthetic, than as a response to the Spadina Expressway.)
 
it's hard to imagine the equivalent of the DVP disgorging its load in that area...

No need to imagine; just go stand on Eglinton at the end of the Allen and take it all in. :)
 
Spectacular find, Anna! And it looks like EL called the shot. So that explains it... they were building for the ages after all. They just didn't know the plan was going to change.
 
No need to imagine; just go stand on Eglinton at the end of the Allen and take it all in. :)
true, true

but that's only a portion of the traffic volume that would've come down the allen, if it went all the way down past bloor

anyone driving downtown from the northwest nowadays surely doesn't take the allen to eglinton and then side streets from there

we've gotta work on getting more folks everywhere to start telecommuting
 
thecharioteer began this fantastic thread,

As many of you know, I love old maps, and we've all seen various editions of the Goad Fire Insurance Maps. The Toronto Public Library has recently revamped their website and have posted high-res versions of maps from their extensive collection.

Like most of you, I have spent considerable time looking at, or tracking down specific plates of the Goad Atlas of Toronto. Aren’t they beautiful?

goad1884coversmall.jpg


I was excited to see Atlases put up by the TPL, but soon discovered that navigating their catalogue was painful, as the database titles don't include plate numbers, nor can you sub-sort results by plate. Meanwhile, the version put up by the Archives suffers from being trapped in a wretched file-format that is essentially unsupported on Linux and OSX.

I decided to put together a simple website to allow myself to easily locate and view the maps. The result -- isn't anything you haven't seen before, but it has sufficient advantages (and disadvantages!) that make it a rudimentary, but useful and complementary mode of accessing Goad’s Atlas (1884, 1890, 1893, 1899). You should be able to use any major browser, any platform, no extra software required.

Rather than keep the tool to myself, I’d like to share the work with you, and other Toronto heritage enthusiasts at large. I hope some of you will find it of use. (I know the maps aren’t 'rare' in the sense of not being familiar, and so technically this doesn't belong in this thread, but -- I trust you will indulge me.)

Here’s the introductory post to the site -- enjoy exploring Victorian Toronto!

Note: best viewed using a large monitor (a double monitor setup is even better)
 
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VERY nice, thanks so much for sharing. TPL told me a few weeks ago that they will 'soon' be indexing their Goads properly but your site is excellent.
 

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