Month: January 2017

260 – 326 Carlaw: Brick dust into silver

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260 – 326 Carlaw: Brick dust into silver What do Lauren Harris (the Group of Seven), William Gooderham of Gooderham Worts (the Distillery district), Col. R. S. McLaughlin (General Motors, Oshawa) and Rumpelstiltskin have in common? And what does that have to do with Carlaw Avenue? And how does E P. Taylor (Argus Corporation and the famous race horse Northern Dancer) fit in? If we could see relationships visually – as silver threads and cords and ropes we would see a multitude of glittering lines tie these people and their families to the long low red brick complex of buildings on the west side of Carlaw from 260 to 290 Carlaw. Many of those silver cords run to the Phillips family who built the Phillips Manufacturing Company on the west side of Carlaw. Others net together to reach over the globe. To find out more you will have to read on!   Brownfields In the mid 1970s the City of Toronto decided not to expand the office core. Instead it encouraged residential and mixed office/housing …

The West Side Story: Carlaw

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Carlaw Avenue is becoming the major north-south artery in Leslieville. It has evolved from impassable country lane to an industrial hub to a brownfield of abandoned factories and rusting equipment to a vibrant neighbourhood. Leslieville has few “high rises” and they are found only on Carlaw Avenue. These condos include new builds and adaptive re-uses of old industrial buildings like The Printing House Lofts and The Wrigley Building. Other old factories now host a wide variety of boutique shops, gyms, studios, art galleries, and even one of the best bakers of birthday cakes in Toronto. In January we will explore the West Side. A Carlaw Avenue Slideshow To give a sense of just how industrial Leslieville, look at this list. WHO WERE THE FACTORIES IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD? JANUARY 1926   76 Canadian John Wood Mfg. Ltd., 81-123 Hanson St. (boiler, tanks etc.) 78 Bastian Morely Ltd. (heating apparatus), 81-125 Hanson St. 80 Canadian Line Materials Ltd. (forgings), 8 Hillingdon Ave. 82 W. H. Farrell Lumber & Fuel Ltd. 86 Harris Coal Co. Ltd., 514 Coxwell …