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Brick and cobblestone streets in Toronto

Speaking of brick roads in Forest Hill, I've always found the short stretch of brick to be such a tease on Highbourne Road, just south of Oxton Avenue. It looks great but it's a shame that it's such a short section.

Google Street View: http://goo.gl/maps/X3Jm6
 
For lovers of brick streets perhaps we should press the City to buy this Dutch machine!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-work.html?ICO=most_read_module#axzz2KWshUEBv

That machine is impressive. The city used a machine to lay the concrete pavers on Pine Crescent, though not one that looks as advanced. See page 9 of this pdf.

Since this old thread is revived.... Google Streetview now includes much of the Toronto Islands. Here's a view of the bricked roads at Nottawa and Seneca on Algonquin Island:
http://goo.gl/maps/Yl01p

It's great that Google Street View has Toronto Islands coverage as it helps to complete the experience of using my Google map (Brick and Cobblestone Streets in Toronto)--being able to find brick streets and explore them virtually, getting a glimpse of different neighbourhoods and parts of the city along the way. I was surprised that Google didn't get coverage of the Distillery District, though. I'm still researching Toronto's history of brick and stone street paving, and I hope to finish the project and perhaps publish some articles and do some lectures this summer.
 
St Nicholas street is bricked ( I think historically it used to be cobblestoned) and I love the fact that it is and right near Bloor and Yonge. However, it is being decimated by the ongoing condo construction at the corner of St. Nicholas and St Mary and we've also had 2 under ground water main pipes break in the past year which I'm convinced is related to the condo construction (since it hasn't happend before in the nearly 10 years I've lived here). So now there are ugly tar patches. Bricked streets are expensive to keep up and I hope the City will rebrick St. Nick's when the construction is finished.

I think it is a wonderful idea to do research on this area of Toronto's history and it would be great to add current and historical photos.
 
^ Ah yes, St. Nicholas Street. I totally forgot about that one. Great street at the heart of Yonge & Bloor.

Google Street View (looking south): http://goo.gl/maps/u9sRz

You can see the construction going on for Nicholas Residences on the east side.
 
Thought this article might be of peripheral historical interest:

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It's quite interesting how wood block paving was touted as practical at the turn of the 20th century and installed on various streets in Toronto, yet disappeared completely here and throughout North America. Brick and stone paving was preserved around the world, but not wood. Thanks for posting that article, wwwebster.
 
Speaking of brick roads in Forest Hill, I've always found the short stretch of brick to be such a tease on Highbourne Road, just south of Oxton Avenue. It looks great but it's a shame that it's such a short section.

Google Street View: http://goo.gl/maps/X3Jm6

Isn't that just a traffic calming device? I've seen residents there complain about Avenue road traffic using Highbourne as a shortcut and assumed this was to discourage that. It reminds me of these traffic calming devices used in the Bridle Path.
 
Speaking of brick roads in Forest Hill, I've always found the short stretch of brick to be such a tease on Highbourne Road, just south of Oxton Avenue. It looks great but it's a shame that it's such a short section.

Google Street View: http://goo.gl/maps/X3Jm6

That's a great find! I've added it to the Google map. I like that at Oxton Avenue, the brick pavement is separated from the asphalt pavement by three rows of granite block pavers. But it looks like it isn't in good shape. The brick pavement might have been recovered from under a layer of asphalt.

Isn't that just a traffic calming device? I've seen residents there complain about Avenue road traffic using Highbourne as a shortcut and assumed this was to discourage that. It reminds me of these traffic calming devices used in the Bridle Path.

Forest Hill has such traffic calming devices, but Highbourne Road looks to have a traditional brick pavement. Then again, the city might have removed the asphalt as a novel traffic calming measure.

So here's my brief write up for Highbourne Road for the Google map, and entries for a couple of other new finds that are now on the map:

Highbourne Road:
Highbourne Road south of Oxton Avenue has a short stretch of traditional red brick paving. It appears crudely patched with asphalt and in need of restoration. Interestingly, the brick pavement is separated from Oxton Avenue's asphalt pavement by three rows of granite block pavers.

Courts of Clanton Park:
In a rare suburban example of brick street paving, several streets in this Clanton Park (Wilson Heights) subdivision have lengths of modern brick paving. The most prominent instance is the landscaped traffic circle at Joel Swirsky Boulevard. Two colours of bricks are used in a herringbone pattern: grey at the intersections, and red-grey around the traffic circle. A small park is attractively landscaped and was evidently designed as meeting space with a sense of place. It has a sidewalk around the traffic circle with smaller grey concrete pavers. Square slabs of natural stone are used for the park's walkways.

The other examples of modern brick paving in this area are at the ends of the cul-de-sacs on Thamesford Court, Ambassador Place, Fairgate Close, Tillingham Keep, and a small circular patch at Clanton Court. Unfortunately, the modern concrete bricks are in bad shape with many off-colour patch repairs. But the traffic circle on Joel Swirsky Boulevard remains a unique place in a sea of generic suburban streets. It could use a formal name for the park.

Scrivener Square:
A part of Scrivener Square is paved with grey concrete bricks in a herringbone pattern around Summerhill-North Toronto Station. This landmark Beaux Arts train station from 1916 was restored and is now used as an LCBO with its ornate interior intact. Bands of lighter grey pavers run perpendicular to the road surface, adding visual interest to the pavement.

Walton Street:
Walton Street has a short stretch of modern grey concrete pavers in the cul-de-sac leading up to the entrance to the Delta Chelsea hotel from Yonge Street.
 
I don't count very short bits of concrete brick paving used for traffic calming as making a brick street. Such bits of paving are perhaps noteworthy in terms of urban design, but when it comes to modern brick paving, it has to be a more significant stretch of road to count for this list. However, I include any length of traditional paving, unless it's used merely for a speed bump.
 
Now you can include Bremner Blvd. by the Air Canada Centre. It's quite a large area all done with modern pavers. Not yet on streetsview, though.

Mariner Terrace and St. George south of Harbord (or whatever they call it there) are honorary mentions.
 
Did anyone say sudbury street? Im not sure if you guys are counting that sort of thing.

It's very short, but not as short as some of the examples of traffic calming, so I might include it.

Now you can include Bremner Blvd. by the Air Canada Centre. It's quite a large area all done with modern pavers. Not yet on streetsview, though.

Mariner Terrace and St. George south of Harbord (or whatever they call it there) are honorary mentions.

I'll take a look at Bremner by the ACC the next time I'm in the area and decide whether or to include it. Mariner Terrace is short and only includes the "driveway" area for the condos, so it's not enough as far as modern examples go for this list. The part of St. George with pavers is also too short in my opinion to be included. It's only the stretch in front of Sidney Smith Hall, and even there, it's just a series of poured concrete sections and pavers.
 
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