Toronto Streets Book!

Chapter A: FOREWORD

Welcome!

Come, let's have a conversation. Well, I'll be conversing, and you'll be reading/listening, but I'd like to think that we're sitting at a cozy table, fireplace glowing, in the Second Cup Cafe at Mt. Pleasant Road and Eglinton Avenue.

Your thoughts (Whether you are in Berlin, Tokyo, New York City, Montreal, Tel Aviv, Calgary, Seoul, Stockholm, Bogotá, San Francisco, Beijing, Vancouver, Paris, or London.) will be your response to what I'll be relating to you in this book.

It is difficult to categorize this book. It's not a travelogue, nor is it a tourist guide book; it's not a reference book; it's also not really a history book, although there are some fun, historical facts in it.

So let's create a brand-new category (I hope that the publishing world agrees.): FunFormation! That's it: fun and information! This sounds good to me.

Now, let's get on with the fun and information – about Toronto's streets and roads.

First, full disclosure: I . . . Love . . . TORONTO!

There! I’ve said it. I’ve gotten out of the way something that you will discern throughout this book anyway. It’s no secret. Moreover, it’s no secret to you if you’ve ever been to Toronto. It’s only a surprise to people who have not yet been there.

Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Downing Street, The Appian Way, Yellow Brick Road, Wall Street, Yonge Street, Bourbon Street, Castro Street, Easy Street, El Camino Real, Fleet Street, Friedrichstraße, Hollywood & Vine, Las Vegas Boulevard, Lombard Street, Bloor Street, Madison Avenue, Michigan Avenue, Oregon Trail, Avenue Road, Main Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, Rodeo Drive, Santa Fe Trail, Rue Morgue, Sesame Street, Trans-Canada Highway, Varvarka Street, Unter den Linden, Via Sacra.

Streets and Roads can define Cities, -- and Countries.

I’m positive that a reader may know quite a few of the names in the above Streets Paragraph, as I call it. Most are real names, with a couple of whimsical choices thrown in, such as Easy Street and The Yellow Brick Road, just for fun. But you have heard of them? Thought so . . . .

The Appian Way, the famous road in Ancient Rome, was the basis for the equally famous expression: All Roads Lead to Rome. That road helped Rome to dominate militarily, and greatly assisted in the movement of commerce throughout the Roman Empire.

Above: the Appian Way

Wall Street, Fleet Street, Bond Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, Rodeo Drive, Main Street all bring to mind a certain picture, or emotion.

The Appian Way made possible roads we have today, such as the Toronto Highway #401, the busiest highway in North America.

One may think of Easter Bonnets when one hears the name 5th Avenue. Sunset Boulevard leads a person to imagine movie stars, strolling along on a sunny Sunday afternoon, poodles in hand, while the name, 42nd Street, conjures up the visions of Broadway plays and musicals, as does the name Broadway itself.

However, what would you think of, envision, or remember when you hear this group of names: Yonge Street, Bloor Street, Avenue Road, DeGrassi Street, Bathurst Street, Brown’s Line, Spadina Avenue, Kingston Road, or Steeles Avenue?

Does any one of them ring a bell with you? What fond memories come rushing back to your mind at just the thought of any of the above Streets and Roads? Curious?

In this modern age, all roads lead to TORONTO – not to Rome!

Unless you actually live in the Greater Toronto Area (or GTA, as it is more popularly called), or have made extended visits to Toronto recently, you probably would NOT know that these streets and roads are all located somewhere in the beautiful city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Toronto has been nicknamed New York City North, Hollywood North, or Silicon Valley North, among other things, because it is a sprawling, dynamic, media centre, technology hub, that works, is safe, and is clean. Before it was Toronto, it's name was York, and it was also nicknamed Muddy York, and Hog-Town.

It has been called The City that Works. In addition, some expert said that Toronto is New York City, as if run by the Swiss!

Toronto is also the fourth largest city in North America, following only Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles, in that order, with both Chicago and Houston following Toronto. (UPDATE: This happened in the spring of 2013.).

Nevertheless, to most people south of the Canadian Border Toronto is as enigmatic as the rest of Canada. Canada was dubbed The Great White North, no doubt by some middle Hemisphere person who thought of that great, huge country as just some monolithic white blob, both in reality, and figuratively.

In actual fact, Canada consists of a wonderful mixture of many persons, from many, many different cultures, living in harmony with each other, and with the First Peoples they found there -- and living without the pressure to conform to the norm, but to just be who they are.

In Canada, melting pots can melt metals. Elsewhere, the melting pot concept can indicate the blending of humans into an artificial, homogenous oneness.

An amazing thought is that if there were NO border, and the lower 48 states were incorporated into Canada, Toronto would become almost as popular as New York City!

OK. For you US folks, let’s say that the border went away, and Toronto was then part of the US. Then the thought would probably morph from Martha, should we take our vacation to Boston or Chicago, this year, to include Toronto as a major destination.

As big and as dynamic as Toronto is, the Border makes it almost invisible to most US citizens. On the same parallel as San Francisco, Toronto has moderate winters, and marvelous summers, with clear, crisp, deep blue skies, minus the humidity of places such as Washington, DC, or the summer fogs of places like San Francisco, Monterey, or Pebble Beach, in California.

In the 1950’s, and early 1960’s, Toronto’s cute little name was Toronto the Good, which actually dates from the 19th century when Toronto's then mayor named it because of its Victorian virtues. Until the mid-1960's, Toronto's population consisted mainly of persons of British descent, and the odd Asian Indian or Caribbean immigrant.

Today, in 2013, Toronto is currently touted as being the most DIVERSE place on Earth!

We’ll take quick look at some details of more than 70 of these byways, trying to determine how they began, how they got their names, and even some fun tidbit or two, whenever we can do that.

Unfortunately, I can’t spend a whole lot of time on each one or this book would be double the size of the Webster’s unabridged dictionary, but I’ll try to help each one come alive in a way that most folks will find enlightening, and/or surprising.

I tried to ensure that I included examples from every part of Toronto, not just the famous or most well known ones. For example, how many persons, even in Toronto, have ever heard of Brown’s Line? Know where it is located? Know where it begins, and where it ends? Is there anything interesting about how it got its name?

We’ll explore it, along with my favourite street name: Avenue Road!

Where did it get its name? Why Avenue Road? What’s up with that?

Moreover, is De Grassi Street a real street or just a name invented for a Canadian TV show? We’ll explore to see if it really exists.

One Toronto road is the genesis of the longest road in the world, beginning at the shores of Lake Ontario, and extending to . . . almost infinity: Yonge Street.

Another is the host street for the longest streetcar ride in the world, a ride that was named as one of the Top 10 Streetcar Rides in the World: Queen Street, east & west.

My goal in writing this book was to provide a fun and informative romp through Toronto’s streets, giving the resident, the visitor, or even folks who have never been there, a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, an evening, or a plane ride.

I am dedicating this book to the residents of the GTA, along with the many visitors to this great city. However, an even greater goal is that people all over the world will get a fuller idea of what makes this place a world MegaCity and a most wonderful place to visit, to explore, in which to live, and to love . . . .

As Canada’s largest city and North America’s fourth largest, with about 60% of all Canadian commerce generated here, being the most diverse place on earth, and one of the top tourist destinations in the world, Toronto stands tall.

Today, we can say that (figuratively, of course . . . .): All Roads Lead to Toronto . . . and Through Toronto.

As a bonus, I have sprinkled in a few of my poems where I thought they might add something to a particular chapter.

I truly hope that you will enjoy our little romp through some of the roadways and byways of Toronto. This book was not meant to be read like a novel, nor like a Travelogue. Each chapter stands on its own, and can be read in any order desired. Why, you could even START with the last chapter, about Yonge Street, if you like: it’s up to you.

Above: A Spectacular View of the Toronto Skyline, from the Toronto Centre Islands Park

So . . . let’s go!

Chapter B: A Toronto Facts OverView

City of Toronto Transportation Services:

Fast Facts, from its WEB Site.

The City of Toronto has:

5,600 km of roads

7,945 km of sidewalks

600 bridges and culverts

Toronto around 1893 (Top), and Present Day (Bottom)

504 pedestrian crosswalks

2,184 traffic signals

399 flashing beacons

4,100 bus shelters

1,000,000 signs

100,000 permits issued annually

112 km of bike lanes

168 km of bike trails

138 km of bike routes

9,000 pieces of street furniture

Toronto: Toronto is the Indian name for Meeting Place.

Toronto: The City that Works.

Toronto Island Park Sign: Please Walk ON the Grass!.

Toronto: The World in ONE Place.

Toronto: The MOST diverse place on EARTH.

Toronto the Good.

Toronto: The Best-Kept Secret in the World (shhhhh, don’t tell anyone).

Chapter C: INTRODUCTION

there was a town of more than 2.7 Million souls, that had clean streets, a very low yearly murder rate (under 50, compared with the murder rates in places such as LA or Chicago (Chicago had more than 500 murders in 2012, with over 350, so far, in October 2013, compared with only 48 for Toronto!)), a beautiful waterfront, many great restaurants of various pricing schemes, almost total harmony amongst its populace of varying & different backgrounds, and a baseball team with two World Series rings – and more, much more.

That can’t be! said the Pleasant Peasant, no town of that size could offer all of this and not be part of some fairy tale.

But the Wise Sage said, I tell you that it is true! Just LOOK NORTH. Look north. There you will find it, gleaming on the shores of the wondrous Lake Ontario, with sparkling gold, blue and silver towers, soaring far into the deep, delicious blue skies. Look north and you will find the answer.

The Pleasant Peasant exclaimed Oh! Do you mean the Twin Cities, of Minneapolis and St. Paul? Could it be Milwaukee? What about Seattle? It is sometimes called The Emerald City, that’s green. Syracuse?

The Wise Sage countered, No, not THAT far north, but north of Bisonland, northeast of Lake Eire, and you’ll find it, this magical place, this place of meeting, this place the Indians would call ‘TORONTO’ (Tore-RAWN-Toe), in Canada’s Riviera.

Consider the following:

What do Robbie the Robot and the City of Toronto have in common?

You know Robbie, don’t you, from the sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, starring Leslie Neilson, Walter Pigeon, and (the luscious) Anne Francis (Neilson & Francis died within 2 months of each other, in November 2010 (Neilson) & January 2011 (Francis))?

The movie introduces Robbie to the Earthlings – and to us – by this dialogue:

Robbie the Robot: [approaches from vehicle, stops and bows]: Welcome to Altair 4, Gentlemen. . . .

Robbie the Robot: I am to transport you to the Residence. . . .

Robbie the Robot: If you do not speak English, I am at your disposal with 187 other languages along with their various dialects and sub-tongues.

Commander John J. Adams: Colloquial English will do fine thank you.

The operative portion of this dialogue is the statement by Robbie that he speaks 187 other languages. Quite impressive you may agree.

It turns out that Toronto and Robbie have this in common!

In an effort to communicate important information to its myriad ethnic mix, the City of Toronto has set up a 311 telephone information line for anyone with questions, or concerns, to access.

And, in how many different languages does it communicate? 51!

It does not actually top Robbie, but don’t forget that Robbie is from this advanced Civilization, and Toronto is just Earthbound Canadian.

In many ways, Toronto is a city like all others. However, in many other ways it is in a League of its Own.

Toronto Winter Street Scene

In this small tome, we will explore some of the cool and fascinating streets that have defined Toronto over the years and that continue to define this great city today, and for the future. We’ll also explore some Toronto history too.

Avenue Road? Bloor Street? Yonge (Young?) Street? Roncesvalles?

What’s up with these names? What is the history of these roadways going back? Is there anything that makes them unique?

Toronto has many, many roads, streets, lanes, and drives running through the City, in mostly a staid, logical, British-based kind of order.

Then there are roads like Chaplin Crescent, Rexdale Blvd., and Oriole Parkway, which slice through the City in a snaky sort of way.

Why? How were they developed?

Look at one of the most fascinating and wonderful cities in the world, and the byways that made – and make