Author Archives: Leslieville Historical Society

260 – 326 Carlaw: Brick dust into silver

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 andContinue reading “260 – 326 Carlaw: Brick dust into silver”

The West Side Story: Carlaw

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-usesContinue reading “The West Side Story: Carlaw”

345 Carlaw Avenue: Then and Now

345 Carlaw Avenue sits on a site by a lost creek, probably fished by the Mississauga and other First Nations for millennia. In the nineteenth century it was farmland and then market gardens, and then brick yard. Then in the early 20th Century Carlaw Avenue became the industrial heartland of Toronto’s East End and theContinue reading “345 Carlaw Avenue: Then and Now”