A Bit More Detail

A couple of Sundays ago, I went exploring with Jim down in the Nordheimer Ravine, just south of St. Clair West station. We came across some sights of interest, not only the emergency exit used to evacuate subway passengers in the 1995 Russell Hill crash but an additional entrance to St. Clair West station, exiting in the forest on the south side of St. Clair Avenue West. The sight of this apparently fully functional exit, opening out not onto tiles but onto grassy forest floor, was magical.

A staircase runs down the escarpment that marks the ancient shoreline of Glacial Lake Iroquois from Glenholme Avenue and Regal Road down to the Davenport Road that follows the escarpment's contours.

Davenport Road was subject of a 2009 photo essay; the staircases are mentioned in a plaque at the St. Clair streetcar's Glenholme Avenue stop.

At the beginning of the last great Ice Age, 120,000 years ago, Toronto lay beneath an ice-sheet more than 2 kilometres high. As the glacier retreated the meltwater created an inland sea, twice as large as present day Lake Ontario, called Lake Iroquois. The lake created a shore bluff between the Don and Humber Rivers, where the coastal waters of Lake Iroquois had a sharper drop-off. Silt and mud washed back into the lake, and sand and gravel formed a beach and spits.

As Lake Iroquois drained, first to the south and then through the St. Lawrence river, its water levels fell below those of the present time. This smaller body of water was called Lake Admiralty.

As Lake Admiralty rose to become today's Lake Ontario, the land north of the escarpment was open and rough, while to the south, the beginnings of Toronto merited the name "Muddy York".

Visit the 5 staircases along the escarpment for great views of Lake Ontario and the city.

This art gallery page identifies five staircases, running west to east, in the neighbourhoods of "Glenholme, Via Italia, Hillcrest Park, Earlscourt Park [and] Spadina". (The staircase at Spadina is presumably the Baldwin Steps located just below Casa Loma.)

Looking south takes the eye not only down towards Davenport Road but across the city. I wonder what the view must be like in winter without any leaves on the trees.

One good thing about going through my archived photos is that I've come across some gems, like these four shots of the area of St. Clair West and Avenue Road that I took last fall.

Waiting for the St. Clair Streetcar
Originally uploaded by rfmcdpei

The 512 St. Clair streetcar route has been quite controversial of late, with planned replacement and upgrades, including the raising of the track, meeting with substantial public opposition.

Deer Park United Church, 129 St. Clair Avenue West
Originally uploaded by rfmcdpei

Deer Park United Church, located at 129 St. Clair Avenue West just to the east of Avenue Road, recently physically closed due to financial problems. As this points out, it's a shame owing to its architectural distinctiveness and its organ.

The architects for the building, Sharp and Brown of Toronto designed a building in a Late Gothic Revival style. Cruciform in plan, the church was built to accommodate 1,100 worshipers. The first organ, Casavant Opus 508 was installed behind a screen at the back of the chancel in 1913. Several renovations were made beginning in 1931 that made various modifications to the chancel including dividing the organ and choir. When discussions turned to purchasing a new organ in the1960’s, numerous locations for the organ and choir were considered as a way to solve the negative affects some of the previous remodeling work had on the sound of the organ and choir. Eventually it was determined to place the organ in the left transept.

112 St. Clair West in 2008
Originally uploaded by rfmcdpei

Work on the One Twelve St. Clair Avenue West condo complex, visible in embryonic form just behind the pedestrians on the southwest corner of the Avenue Road and St. Clair Avenue West intersection, has proceeded rapidly since last year despite the ongoing financial issues.

Catching the 5 Avenue Road Bus
Originally uploaded by rfmcdpei

I snapped this picture of the 5 Avenue Road North bus last summer just south of St. Clair.