Some facts about the three big smokestacks in the area. This stack is connected to a former incinerator, built in 1955. It originally had only three shorter smokestacks. They demolished those smokestacks, but kept the building, and built the much taller smokestack, which still stands today. The incinerator was decommissioned in 1988. The incinerator has been turned into a transfer station. The smokestack was restored in 2019. The top of the smokestack was originally black with red in the middle, instead of the all white now. This smokestack is the shortest one of the three, standing at 137.2 metres or 450 ft. The whole building isn’t abandoned, just the stack. Next, The Hearn Generating Station. This is the tallest of them all. The Hearn was originally built in 1951. It opened exactly on October 26, 1951. It originally burnt coal. Like the incinerator, it did not have the massive smokestack originally, instead, it had 4 smaller smokestacks. Later on, they added a further 4 smokestacks, totalling 8. For some reason, the last three smokestacks to be built were slightly bigger than the last 5. Due to pressure to reduce smog in Toronto, in the 1960s, they spent $9M at the time to build a single smokestack that would at the time be one of the tallest in the world! Standing at 215 metres. The smokestack finished in 1971, and the smaller stacks were demolished, while retaining the original building. The new, much taller smokestack reduced pollution in the area. By around 1971/1972, the station was converted to burn natural gas instead of coal. The generating station was decommissioned in 1983, and has sat abandoned since then. With some companies purchasing it, and gutting it, removing all the generators. The whole building is abandoned, including the stack. Next, Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant. It is the second biggest treatment plant in Canada, after Montreal's Jean-R. Marcotte facility. The plant opened in 1910, before this, sewage from Toronto flowed directly into Lake Ontario, because of this, people would often see the lake with sludge from the sewage, and many other things in the lake. Until 1999, it was known as the Main Treatment Plant. The smokestack stands at 185 metres tall or 607 ft. The second tallest of the three in the area. The stack was used for the plant’s sludge incinerator. It was decommissioned in 1987. The entire treatment plant is still in operation however. The incinerator for sludge was only decommissioned in 1987. Reducing pollution in the area. At the time of construction, the area was pretty far from anyone living. But as time passed, more housing was built around the plant. Many residents of the area wanted the closures of these facilities, as it really polluted the area. Who would want to live next to a whole bunch of pollution and mix of smells? It’s not good for your health! Going back to the Hearn, in 2009, right next to the Hearn, they have built the Portlands Energy Centre. Which is a natural gas plant producing 550 megawatts of power. The city relies on this, as on August 11, 2022, a crane hit a power line, and a power outage hit most of downtown Toronto. It was set to only last for 20 years, and close in 2029. However, there are plans to extend the life of this plant, along with replacing some of the generators to produce more power for less pollution, making it a 600 megawatt plant. Many residents want the plant to close, as it pollutes the area. This plant only has two smokestacks, which are much shorter than the Hearn, incinerator, or even the treatment plant’s smokestacks.
I did a lot of research for this, hope you learned a lot.
(Joking!) The new trees have really accentuated the roads! These streetscape will be great in a few years! Tons of cyclists/walkers today. They are doing a lot of work on the south side of Yellow. And the meadow plantings on the lrt median are looking like a meadow! The planters on the bridge are an anesthetic way to keep suburban drivers from trying to beat traffic to Rebel by using it. Again packed with cyclists and walkers.
