Dundas east of Coxwell

[W. K. Lis]

One thing to note is the filling in of ponds and ravines in the early periods of Toronto. We now have houses that are in actuality sitting on top of ponds, resulting in damp basements or require the use of sump pumps to keep them dry.

When they fill in the ravines back then, it results in lack of parks. Today, in most cases, we leave the ravines in their natural state, getting parks in return. The negative is the sprawling that happens with farm fields being turned over for development is now greater than it used to be.

 

[Palma]

Dundas ended E of Broadview until the mid-50s, when it was plowed under the tracks and all the way through to Kingston Rd...

I wish they would do that to more streets in Toronto that just all of a sudden end

 

[SimonP]

There were small train stations at places like Parkdale, and Broadview. These would have been the fastest ways downtown in 1894. I'm not sure if the trains would be used for daily commuters.

 

[neubilder]

Today, in most cases, we leave the ravines in their natural state, getting parks in return. The negative is the sprawling that happens with farm fields being turned over for development is now greater than it used to be.

To suggest that ravines indirectly lead to sprawl is unproductive if not completely flawed reasoning. (And I realize you are not actually suggesting that ravines should be developed.)

 

[adma]

http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/04/a_brief_history_of_smalls_pond_used_then_abused/

 

[Urban Shocker]

That 1894 map is pretty interesting. Considering that nobody had a car, and electric streetcars were a relatively new invention, Toronto was quite sprawly - I think it had about 200,000 people at that time - which is far less than the number of people occupying that same space today. It looks like Toronto stretched from about Woodbine to Runnymede. That's a 3 hour walk for somebody who's relatively fit, and I don't think many travel options existed that were faster than walking speed back then.

When John Howard bought a large ravine property to build himself a home on, in the days before Victoria was queen, way out there in what is now High Park, it was quite the commute to his office downtown. His idea was to develop the land, so that a series of residential villas for members of the creative community could be built as retreats from the city.