Cabbagetown Heritage Conservation District

 

Location: Sumach at Carlton

Date photo taken: 18 September 2013

To help communities across the province highlight and protect areas within their boundaries that have unique heritage value, the Ontario Heritage Act provides municipalities with the ability to designate Heritage Conservation Districts. While changes are permitted within these spaces they must adhere to certain rules and principles to ensure that the characteristics that make these places special are not lost. Within the City of Toronto this means that anyone in an HCD who wishes to make changes to the street-facing portion of their property needs to apply for a Heritage Permit. Property owners in these areas may be eligible for restoration grants or tax relief to help compensate them for having to adhere to the standards. 

The Cabbagetown Heritage Conservation District is actually comprised of 4 separate designated areas with two more being proposed. Sumach and Carlton, where this sign was snapped, is part of the Cabbagetown North HCD which was designated in 2004. Others include Cabbagetown-Metcalfe (2002), Cabbagetown South (2005) and Cabbagetown Northwest (2007). 

Yonge and Adelaide, 1922

 

Location: pedestrian walkway between Yonge and Victoria, north of King Street

Date photo taken: 11 March 2019

Last year the pedestrian pass through that connects Yonge and Victoria and brushes past Adelaide Courtyard got a lot more interesting. A number of large vintage photographs depicting scenes from the neighbourhood's past were installed mosaic-style along the walkway. This one shows road work being done at the corner of Yonge and Adelaide in 1922. The photograph is part of the William James collection at the City of Toronto which consists of over 5000 photographs taken by members of the William James family. Taken largely between 1900 and 1939 they provide a fascinating look into Toronto's past.

Weston Cenotaph

Location: Little Avenue Memorial Park, Little Avenue near Weston Road
Date photo taken: 22 May 2015

This memorial sits in a pretty little park just off the Humber River valley in the community of Weston. Unveiled in October 1950, it replaced an earlier monument which had fallen into disrepair. Elements from the initial cairn were salvaged and incorporated into the new cenotaph, including stones, the bronze sword, and the original World War 1 plaque. An alteration was subsequently made to add a third plaque, reading simply PEACEKEEPING. 

Text from the plaques:

1914 1918

In memory of those of Weston who made the supreme sacrifice

and in honour of those who served in the great war.

1939  1945

To the glory of God in honour of those who served and to the

glorious memory of those who died in the Second World War

Toronto Club Under Wraps

 

Location: 107 Wellington St. W.

Date photo taken: 20 July 2020

With all that protective wrapping, don't you just wonder what's going on in there? While I wasn't able to find out for sure, it's a pretty safe bet that it's not demolition. The building hidden under there is the Toronto Club, Canada's oldest private club. At first I thought that all of this might be to protect the heritage designated building while the recladding took place on the adjacent tower (note the scaffolding and metalwork running up the building on the left) but comments online indicate that the club might also be working on their brick work. It will be interesting to see what emerges from this temporary cocoon.

If like me, you find wrapped buildings interesting, you might want to check out a photographic series done a few years ago by artist William Mokrynski.