[ybao]

Bay St. between Bloor St. and Dundas St. Has anyone every walked along there? It's really depressing. It's a shame that the sidewalks along this stretch are pretty wide, but there's nothing pleasant to see.

 

[AlchemisTO]

We need more streets to link urban fragments together. I think that the Queensway between Park Lawn and Kipling has the best prospects for intensification. Also, Sheppard Avenue East where the subway runs and Bathurst north of Eglinton to Wilson.

 

[doady]

The Bridle Path

 

[Ed007Toronto]

Spent some time yesterday on Dufferin from Eglinton to Yorkdale. Carpet bombing would improve the area tremendously. How stupid they were in not putting the Spadina line under Dufferin.

 

[Archivistower]

I was there, too, from St. Clair to Eglinton. Dufferin is the site of Toronto's most degraded heritage building, which I was delighted to locate behind an alleyway of cars being used for scrap.

I always find the former York has a nowhere feeling. It's so interesting being up there.

 

[spmarshall]

Dufferin is the site of Toronto's most degraded heritage building

What building is this?

I'll add Dufferin. It iss pretty bad from St. Clair up. It makes Wilson look good. Some think the Spadina line should have gone up Bathurst, which is so much better than Dufferin, but Dufferin is further west, and has more redevelopment potential. It would also serve Yorkdale, which was very much intentional with the Spadina expressway/subway plan.

 

[Archivistower]

Here it is. I almost cycled past without noticing it.

 

[gboykovekin]

For one thing, they should really resurface Dufferin; it's completely pock-marked and the curb lane is past gone. I was biking up Dufferin from St. Clair up to Eglinton and across to Yonge in the rain this morning and it was a mess.

 

[jozl]

I would love to see design councils formed to make recommendations for and oversee new developments within several districts of the city. For instance; Spadina, Danforth, Yorkville, Corktown, etc. A City wide panel comprised of members from each district could then oversee development and improvements for the city as a whole. Actually, the TTC could be the web that ties it all together–provided it's "identity" is resuscitated. London's tube is an excellent example of a strong system that not only unifies through transportation but also with strong graphics, significant location markers and general navigational points that are above ground to help tie a very complex city together.

 

[Darkstar416]

Another area in Etobicoke I just thought of that would be ripe for development is that long grass corridor on the north side of Eglinton between Martingrove and Scarlett. I think a series of those 5 - 6 storey condos would be quite suitable, along with the western half of the Eglinton subway line to the airport

Agreed. I could be wrong, but I think it's so wide currently as planners had envisioined it as part (or the start) of the Crosstown Expressway.

 

[Ed007Toronto]

Richview Expressway I think which would have connected to the Crosstown.

 

[building babel]

Archivist:

Tell us about the cute little building, please. What was it used for, and by whom, and when?

 

[Archivistower]

Unfortunately, I don't know much about it, or who lived there. I could make up something relatively easily, though.

 

[adma]

Actually, *where* is it?

 

[Archivistower]

Here's some information I found: The house, at 2073 Dufferin Street (see how I give an exact address when prompted, folks? Hello?) was constructed in 1865 when Dufferin was little more than a dirt path, then known to locals "Dirt Path of the Americas". It was built by farmer-turned-inventory Johann Apfeldwinger, who almost achieved fame with his "Rotary Gas Powered Apparatus for Rendering the Peeling of Apples Simpler" patent (Canadian Patent No. 1869-009). Unfortunately, Apfeldwinger fell ill after a tragic accident involving his son and another invention, his "Device for Enlengthening and Rendering More Fit Sons who Refuse To Arise at a Proper Morning Hour" (Canadian Patent Denied, Venezuelan Patent No. 1873-009), and was never the same. He died in 1880.

At the time of this death, the Apfeldwinger House sat unoccupied for quite a few years before being appropriated by the Canadian Government as a Boer War Training and Command Centre. Later, it served as the home of the North Central York Home for Wayward Girls. Finally, the home was used during the 1950's to hide a little known but significant Bulgarian defector, Vasil Mikhailov, who played a minor but interesting role in the Cold War.

The house is currently occupied by Dwight S. Hansombury, who works in the A&A Garage nearby replacing tire bolts on a contract basis, and his seven german shepards. It is not wise to approach the building in the evening, as "Miller" is often outdoors and can be territorial.

Thank you very much ...