Leslieville Historical Society

Leslieville history from the first week of April

Dundas Street extension Toronto Star, April 6, 1920

They only had to wait another 35 years!

New School Names Leslie Gardens Toronto Star, April 4, 1924

Crosswalk overhead signs located on Gerrard at Leslie, looking east – April 11, 1984

Some photos from Gerrard Street East, April 3, 1984

The TTC’s Russell Car Barns and the TRC Car Barns that Burned Down not once, but twice and the TRC Car Barns that Sank into a Swamp

By Joanne Doucette, local historian

Scroll down through this post for a visual history of the TTC Car Barns at Connaught Avenue and Queen Street East. Commonly known as the Connaught Barns, they are officially the Russell Car Barns, probably named after Joseph Russell.

The Toronto Railway Company barns that burned down

Monday’s big fire, car barns Toronto Sunday World, March 31, 1912

Fire at car barns, Don Esplanade – March 26, 1912

Fire, Toronto Railway Stables, Toronto Star, March 26, 1912

New car barns, Toronto World, May 20, 1913

The second fire sealed the deal, creating the Russell Division and car barns.

Second fire at car barns, The Toronto World, Vol. XXXVI, No. 13,197 (December 29, 1916)

Site of Russell Car Barns, Dec. 12, 1921

Russell Yard, looking south – October 26, 1922 These are the old TRC car barns that were demolished by the TTC.

Russell Yard, looking south, 2000, photo by Joanne Doucette

New shops urgently needed, Globe, Feb. 7, 1923

New shops urgently needed, Globe, Feb. 8, 1923

Contracts TTC Russell carhouse, Globe, September 6, 1923

Call for tenders, Toronto Star, March 10, 1924

Demolition of Russell Car House Toronto Star March 11, 1924 — Demolition of Russell Car House, Toronto Star, March 11, 1924

Wrecking Russell car house Toronto Star April 14, 1924

Old Russell Car House at Queen and Connaught torn down, Toronto Transportation Commission Annual Report, Toronto Star April 29, 1924

…the issuing yesterday of a permit to the T.T.C. for the construction of its car barns at Eastern Avenue and Connaught, at a cost of $190,000. Globe, May 1, 1924

Construction, Russell Car House, December 5, 1924

Russell Car Barns, 2000, photo by Joanne Doucette

Leslieville History this week

Our first local “big business”, the industrialization of Leslieville, and more.

George Leslie ad, Canadian Agriculturist, Vol 1, no 4, April 2, 1849

This is one of the earliest ads for George Leslie’s nurseries. He had just moved his business from King and Yonge Streets out to Ashport, as it was then called. The downtown was getting too crowded for a plant nursery! He put his house on rollers and pulled it with a team of horses out here.

George Leslie, The Canadian Agriculturist, Vol 14, no. 7, April 1, 1862

By the time of this ad, the area was being called “Leslie” or “Leslieville”.

Dunlop Tires ad, Toronto Sunday World, March 27, 1910

Leslieville was becoming built up with factories such as Dunlop on Queen Street between the railroad tracks and Booth Avenue. The Jimmie Simpson Community Centre and park fills the site today. By 1910 “Leslieville” was falling out of use although the Toronto Nurseries, George Leslie’s business, still existed.

Another one of the new industries. This one on Carlaw Avewnue was soon to be renamed Rolph Clark Stone, now the printing House Lofts. This is the earliest view of Boston Avenue (background) that I have found.

Ross & Son, Toronto Nurseries, Toronto Sunday World, March 27, 1914

George Leslie’s sons, Knox and George Jr., badly mismanaged the family business and it was taken over by George Sr.’s foreman, John McPherson Ross (1850-1924) until it finally succumbed to the Great Depression of the 1930’s and went bankrupt.

Pratts Make that Lazy Loafer Lay Globe, March 31, 1920

One of the many industries that grew up along Carlaw Avenue, powered by cheap electricity from Niagara Fall’s, thanks to Adam Beck, and protected by a tariff wall that created a “branch plant” economy in Canada.

Diamond State Fibre, Carlaw Avenue, Globe, April 2, 1926

Free trade spelled an end to Carlaw Avenue as an industrial area, leaving a brownfield of empty, neglected factories until a family of forward-thinking South Asian entrepreneurs, the Jains, stepped in. They saw the industrial heritage of the area as an opportunity and rehabilitated buildings for lofts and boutique stores. Others took up their vision and we have a whole new Carlaw today.

Insecticides, lead, cyanide, Canada Paint Co., The Canadian Grocer, March 26, 1930

The other major industrial area in Leslieville was along Eastern Avenue with many much more polluting industries such as the Canada Paint Company on Leslie near Eastern.