Lost Road and Bridge: Lawrence Avenue

[adma]

Purely astonishing. It never occurred to me that the DVP would have continued on up to Woodbine; only that they would have ended it various streets till the time to move it north... so I imagined that, at least for a bit, it just dumped everyone on Lawrence while they got around to subsuming Woodbine. A great discovery to realize that it was pushing through to narrow down to Woodbine somewhere around that house... just like it used to do just north of Sheppard till 1977 or so.

Or, of course, the 427/Indian Line transitions in the 70s/80s/90s. (Complete w/"temporary" traffic light at Morningstar, etc.)

Ultimately, though, it does make sense: if you're going the effort to take the DVP up to Lawrence w/plans to take it further, might as well finish *a* Woodbine connection there and there as a bookmark for the future.

I do wonder, though, if (judging from appearance) the Geraldine Ct house might be a replacement for an earlier farmhouse--or maybe it was just a typical postwar exurban something-or-another subdivided off existing farm fields. (By appearances, it seems--at least in its present state--much too precocious for the late 40s in Toronto; maybe what we're seeing is a "rear addition"?)

 

[Lone Primate]

Or, of course, the 427/Indian Line transitions in the 70s/80s/90s. (Complete w/"temporary" traffic light at Morningstar, etc.)

That reminds me; have you seen that video someone put up on YouTube of that very light? Let me see if I can find it again and then post it in the appropriate thread...

 

[Chip?]

One wonders if the current owners know of this historical value. Anyone game enough to contact them?

This house is just down the street from me. I'd go over there if I wasn't such a wuss.

I wonder if this is a custom built home by Henry Fleiss? He designed several custom houses in this general area--such as: The Yarmon House at 91 Laurentide Dr. (this should be a heritage building) http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=91+laurentide&hl=en&ll=43.756403,-79.335322&spn=0.013112,0.027874&hnear=91+Laurentide+Dr,+Toronto,+Toronto+Division,+Ontario+M3A+3E5&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=43.756475,-79.33949&panoid=nG51VZuQNUPP_nZ7Spg&cbp=12,64.48,,1,-3.4

He designed and lived in the first home built on Barnwood Ct. I believe it's this one: http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=91+laurentide&hl=en&ll=43.751421,-79.340091&spn=0.000823,0.001742&hnear=91+Laurentide+Dr,+Toronto,+Toronto+Division,+Ontario+M3A+3E5&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=43.751421,-79.340348&panoid=kEpbSKyVTP3_7PHBH0pRFg&cbp=12,312.39,,1,-4.22

 

[Lone Primate]

This house is just down the street from me. I'd go over there if I wasn't such a wuss.

Just today I was thinking, you know, it might be fun to print these pages up and just mail them to the folks there. They'd either find it interesting or creepy-weird, but either way, no confrontation. Just quirky, nerdy knowledge.

 

[Chip?]

Just today I was thinking, you know, it might be fun to print these pages up and just mail them to the folks there. They'd either find it interesting or creepy-weird, but either way, no confrontation. Just quirky, nerdy knowledge.

Go for it. You've got nothing to lose.

 

[Goldie]

This house is just down the street from me. I'd go over there if I wasn't such a wuss.

I wonder if this is a custom built home by Henry Fleiss? He designed several custom houses in this general area--

Beat you to it, Chip!

Lone Primate's excellent contributions to the mystery of the last house on Woodbine have prompted me to also visit Geraldine Ct. where I was greeted by the owners, George and Konstantina Angelov, a delightful and hospitable couple.
They bought the home in 1973 (7 years after coming to Canada from Turkey).
Apparently, the original house was built and occupied (for a time) by Del Zotto, the well known Toronto developer, who eventually developed the surrounding community.
The house is on Geraldine Ct., named for Del Zotto's wife and the nearby Lia Cr. is named for his daughter.
The original garage which connected to Woodbine Ave. may have been built as early as 1957. That garage is gone now and the superbly landscaped property is now separated from the DVP by a tall sound-barrier.

backyard site of first garage

owners, George and Konstantina Angelov

 

[Goldie]

Just today I was thinking, you know, it might be fun to print these pages up and just mail them to the folks there. They'd either find it interesting or creepy-weird, but either way, no confrontation. Just quirky, nerdy knowledge.

Good thinking, Lone Primate.
You and Chip could deliver the souvenirs to this lovely couple in person.
They're very friendly.

 

[Mustapha]

Beat you to it, Chip!

Lone Primate's excellent contributions to the mystery of the last house on Woodbine have prompted me to also visit Geraldine Ct. where I was greeted by the owners, George and Konstantina Angelov, a delightful and hospitable couple.
They bought the home in 1973 (7 years after coming to Canada from Turkey).
Apparently, the original house was built and occupied (for a time) by Del Zotto, the well known Toronto developer, who eventually developed the surrounding community.
The house is on Geraldine Ct., named for Del Zotto's wife and the nearby Lia Cr. is named for his daughter.
The original garage which connected to Woodbine Ave. may have been built as early as 1957. That garage is gone now and the superbly landscaped property is now separated from the DVP by a tall sound-barrier.

backyard site of first garage

owners, George and Konstantina Angelov

Exceptional, Goldie!

 

[GenerationW]

Lone Primate's excellent contributions to the mystery of the last house on Woodbine have prompted me to also visit Geraldine Ct. where I was greeted by the owners, George and Konstantina Angelov, a delightful and hospitable couple.
They bought the home in 1973 (7 years after coming to Canada from Turkey).

Amazing!

Also interesting to me as someone with Balkan roots that they came from Turkey in 1966 and have what appear to be Bulgarian names. In the early 20th century, there were massive population movements between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, so I can't imagine many Bulgarians were left in Turkey by 1966. The Angelov family history must be at least as interesting as that of Woodbine Avenue.

 

[EVCco]

A fantastic photo-feature, Goldie - especially the portrait!

 

[Lone Primate]

Beat you to it, Chip!owners, George and Konstantina Angelov

I thought I was the mighty table king,
But I just handed my pinball crown to him.

 

[Lone Primate]

A fantastic photo-feature, Goldie - especially the portrait!

Yeah... it's a gorgeous house, and they really are a sharp-looking couple. Can't fire Goldie enough props for first having the courage to knock on that door, and the personality to carry off what is, let's face it, a rather unusual request.

 

[Lone Primate]

Boy, I'd like to take a sec and really thank all you folks. Your research and photographic skills have shown me things this week about the history of this little part of town that I really never imagined I'd see. And the best part is, it's here for other people like us; maybe years from now. Maybe they're not even born yet.

Every city should have something like this.

 

[Anna]

Beat you to it, Chip!

Lone Primate's excellent contributions to the mystery of the last house on Woodbine have prompted me to also visit Geraldine Ct. where I was greeted by the owners, George and Konstantina Angelov, a delightful and hospitable couple.
They bought the home in 1973 (7 years after coming to Canada from Turkey).
Apparently, the original house was built and occupied (for a time) by Del Zotto, the well known Toronto developer, who eventually developed the surrounding community.
The house is on Geraldine Ct., named for Del Zotto's wife and the nearby Lia Cr. is named for his daughter.
The original garage which connected to Woodbine Ave. may have been built as early as 1957. That garage is gone now and the superbly landscaped property is now separated from the DVP by a tall sound-barrier.

Interesting, because I did some research too.

I took a look at some old Voters Lists and the Toronto Star.
In 1953 , what I thought was 'our' house was occupied by John Greenan, mechanical engineer, and his wife Margaret. Their address was RR1 Todmorden. By 1963 their address was 'Woodbine Ave' and they were included in the polling station for Three Valleys Drive. John F Greenan was the President of Don Valley Building Ltd. and Universal Plumbing & Heating Co.

"The first office building to be erected in Don Mills is to get underway immediately. The four-storey building located south of Lawrence Ave E and west of Donway West, will contain 30,000 square feet of rentable space. It is to be called Don Valley building and will be operated by Don Valley Building Ltd."

In 1965, at age 45, Mary Margaret Greenan was killed when she lost control of her sports car on the Don Valley Parkway south of Eglinton. At that time she was living on Brimley Road. John Greenan died in 1970.

I couldn't find the house in the 1965 and 1968 voters lists, although I thought I found the right polling station. But I did find it in 1972, with the address 6 Geraldine Court, and was occupied by Gordon Hall (self-employed) and Lillian Hall.

 

[Goldie]

Also interesting to me as someone with Balkan roots that they came from Turkey in 1966 and have what appear to be Bulgarian names. In the early 20th century, there were massive population movements between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, so I can't imagine many Bulgarians were left in Turkey by 1966. The Angelov family history must be at least as interesting as that of Woodbine Avenue.

Perhaps I should have mentioned that the Angelov's origins are Bulgarian and Macedonian. They were in Turkey during their educational years.