Art Wire & Iron Co.

 

Location: Lakeshore Blvd between Carlaw and Leslie

Date photo taken: 1 May 2021

Last week I talked about the dismantling of the eastern-most part of the Gardiner and the public art project that arose from the demolition. If you look carefully at the pillars that are part of the installation, you'll notice that each has a large plaque affixed to it. These are actually stainless steel plates, each etched with an image of local significance. Some of them document the dismantling of the elevated portion of the roadway, while others delve into the more distant history of the area. This particular image shows employees at the Art Wire & Iron Company Limited on Carlaw Avenue, probably in the mid-1940s. The Art Wire & Iron Company set up shop at 3 Carlaw Avenue around 1923, with Charles R. Shipway as proprietor and manager. They specialized in ornamental iron work. The building still stands today and is now the home of Habitat for Humanity's ReStore. The former business name is still visible in ghostly letters on the exterior.

Fun fact: Prior to the Art Wire & Iron Company locating at 3 Carlaw, the site housed a chemical manufacturer, and before that, Fuller Stanbury Co, one of the many pork packers that helped give Toronto its Hogtown nickname.

Gardiner East Dismantling

 

Location: Lakeshore Blvd between Carlaw and Leslie

Date photo taken: 1 May 2021

In 1999 Toronto City Council voted to demolish the eastern-most portion of the Gardiner expressway. This section served no real purpose, having been built to link up to a Scarborough Expressway that was never built. When it was demolished in 2001 the work involved a reinvention of this section of the Lakeshore. It was designed to accommodate more traffic capacity but also included bicycle lanes, landscaping and public art. Artist John McKinnon took the expressway itself as his inspiration, transforming remnants of the structure into a visually striking new installation. In his words: "Probably the most oppressive part of the Gardiner is the overhead deck and with the deck removed the columns take on a life of their own and that is actually the best part. It almost has a kind of marching Stonehenge… sort of almost millennial sense about it. And this kind of thing actually is what gives now the whole piece a distinct character."