Lost Neighbourhood: Blondin Avenue

[Lone Primate]

An article in the Toronto Star, Sunday September 23 1984 talks about the remaining homes on Blondin Ave that developers wanted to pick up for the land for commercial development. Toronto Star's pages of the past is a great way to look up old articles and print them out, really brings back memories from years ago looking at old ads, beats going through the Microfiche at the reference library lol,


Friday November 16 1984 is another article as well as..
among many others that year, as well in '85

It sounds really interesting... how do you access it?

 

[Millstone]

I "think" it may have been used only when the CNE was open at one time. I have a vague recollection of it.


I always thought that bridge still served some industry on the west side of the 410, but perhaps I'm wrong.

It served a quarry before it dried up. Then it served as an access road for a subdivision to be built before it was closed off. Someone UER'd it and it can be seen here:

http://www.uer.ca/locations/show.asp?locid=26305

Check out the aerial photographs.

 

[Millstone]

North Service Road - Oakville
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=43.406067,-79.746146&spn=0.001091,0.002167&t=k&z=19&om=0

I'm surprised more people haven't commented on this one. This used to be a full-service interchange at the QEW before Burloak Drive's interchange was completed in the 1980s. There were 4 ramps in total. Its fate is certain and it will be removed very shortly for the QEW widening project.

 

[Mustapha]

This has been an interesting thread.

CNE ramp - The unused small off ramp from the Gardiner into the CNE was used up to about the mid 80s - I'm relying on memory here. There were a series of booths where they would take your parking and admission money (they counted up the number of folks in the car - how quaint - and you and your car and passengers would be admitted.

Blondin - The 'hold-out' on Blondin reminds me of the hold-out on Redpath Avenue in North Toronto - this was - now gone - a wooden home on the east side north of Erskine and south of Keewatin. The home was here long after even Redpath itself was eliminated.

 

[CDL.TO]

I always figured the CNE ramp was a remnant from when the Gardiner terminated at Jameson. Interesting to hear it's not.

 

[Panzerfaust]

I couldn't help but notice this rather strange anomaly by Kipling and Steeles, and I felt that it's in the same vein as this thread.

http://maps.google.ca/?ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=43.760262,-79.592042&spn=0.00358,0.007296&z=17

It looks like an east-west access road behind that building that leads... absolutely nowhere. On top of that, there appears to be a broken-up abandoned road heading north from that access road. Does anyone know what's going on there?

 

[Edward Skira]

Access road for the old garbage dump?

 

[Panzerfaust]

Access road for the old garbage dump?

I was unaware that a garbage dump ever existed there. I suppose that's as good an explanation as any.

 

[Edward Skira]

That field between Steeles, the rail line and the river was a garbage dump before Steeles was connected.

 

[adma]

And that E-W access road is the former path of Steeles, before it was connected across the Humber.

 

[Towered]

Probably a dumb question but has there ever been thought given to re-connecting Kipling?

 

[Dan416]

Oh wow, who knew Kipling was severed!

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

How far back does the dump go. I definitely don't remember it in the late 80's and early 90's.

As for the Kipling connection. I'm sure it's planned or at least thought of. It seems logical.

 

[Edward Skira]

I remember when Steeles finally went through. Might have been early 80's so the dump would have closed late 70's/early 80's.

 

[Jarrek]

Abandoned Martin Grove Road?

http://maps.google.ca/?ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=43.758863,-79.605134&spn=0.001042,0.002167&z=19