Déjà Vu

If this building looks familar - it should.

See "Demolition By Neglect" for reminder.

Went on another Heritage Toronto Walk yesterday and wouldn't you know it, it started exactly where I was snapping pics the other day.

Turns out this place is not the big disaster waiting to happen that I thought it was.

Casey House (hospice for people with HIV/AIDS) owns it and is getting ready to reno it.

According to our excellent guide, Janice, they are likely to remove the paint to expose the brick, among other refurbishments.

Built in 1875, it was a mixture of architectural styles.

This walk featured "The Mansions Of Jarvis Street".

Before the great thinkers of the mid 20th century demo'd most of Toronto's architectural heritage, Jarvis St was a beautiful, tree lined boulevard of massive stone homes.

Of course, only a few remain.

So across the street from Casey House there is a row of homes that somehow missed the wrecker's ball.

The attention to detail is amazing.

From the looks of these buildings, all were built in the same 1870-90's hallucinogenic phase.

Amazing. And excellent.

Like so many of these homes, so-and-so built it, but died of typhoid or something else before it was completed.

No different with this one.

Now you may have actually been in this fine home - it is The Keg Mansion, at Jarvis and Maitland.

Like a mini castle, complete with turrets.

Like any good papa, he (began to) build this starter home next door for his son, but the son died, too, before it was completed. So another son got it.

Building homes was clearly hazardous to your health.

If you get thirsty a lot, you may also have been in this fine example of High Victorian Gothic.

Because it is the local Mac's Milk.

A couple of early (1905) apartment buildings that are still standing and still in use.

Apartment buildings?!

At the time, in this fine neighbourhood, I'm sure quite scandalous. Renters!

Here they saved this building by erecting the National Ballet School around it.

Hey, whatever it takes.

And only a few remaining examples of smaller, older buildings.

The farther south you went, the smaller the homes became.

Because in the mid 1800's, real money lived in North Toronto, south of Bloor (it wasn't until the late 1800's & early 1900's that North Toronto became Rosedale, Forest Hill, Moor Park, etc. as bridges were built spanning the ravines) with worker bees living closer to the city centre (Queen/King/Front).

So a very interesting walk. Heritage all around you that you never look at.

Especially now that Jarvis is no longer that tree lined, gracious boulevard - but a five lane, mad commuter scramble each day.

Get outta my way!