Kept On Walking...

.....this time down to the Evergreen Brickworks.

Former home of the Don Valley Brickworks.  The source for bricks that contributed to most of Toronto's emerging skyline in the late 19th Century.

And it almost never came in to being.

Three brothers, John, William and George Taylor, in the pulp and paper business opened up a pulp mill in the Don Valley.  They were having trouble digging holes for fence posts - too much clay.

Took the clay to a brickmaker and he said, you've struck gold.  Or at least excellent clay.

Nowadays, people would cry to the government for help or to subsidize their pulp mill.

Nope - these guys changed profession and became brickmakers.

   

Anyway.....that's not what this walk was about, but a good poke a lazy layouts nonetheless.  [Ed. note: Takes one to know one.]

Now it has been transformed into a large scale environmental community.

With lots of cool artwork.  

The first picture's artwork of a Black Eyed Susan was created using recycled eavestroughing.

Above are ice bergs, uhhh.....floating in air.

My favourite is a three story high "mural" of the Oak Ridges Moraine watershed and rivers of the GTA.

[They have built a bunch of other stuff infront of this by now - see below - so had to use a stock photo from them.]

Lots of artwork even tucked in here.

So back to the main picture, the green Don Valley in the centre, the Humber River Valley to the left and the Rouge Valley (Canada's first national, urban park) to the right with various, smaller creeks in between.

The green marking the river valleys are actual plants growing out of the framework.

Even the lost rivers of Toronto, of which there are many - with many of them still active, but buried - are etched in grey on this mural.  As are all major transportation routes.

Our tour guide told us that as they were excavating the quarry, they came across old animal bones.

They determined that they were beaver bones, and that they were ~10,000 years old. And that those busy beavers were the size of black bears back then. 

Hence the above artwork; a beaver almost as large as a tree.

Ooooo, that's scary......

 I don't remember what this is, but it was really cool!

 

Artwork was everywhere!

Oops....wrong side.

 

I said, artwork was everywhere!  

Of course, being good greenies, they collect all their rainwater and reuse it.

And decorate it.

 

The artists got quite clever with hiding their art as well. 

And of course, other people thought they were quite clever as well, hiding their dog's artwork.

Oh...I remembered what the other picture was....a picture of the original quarry.  It was a long way down to the bottom.

The quarry has essentially being reclaimed, refilled and now has been made into a series of ponds and wetlands.

A cool little spot, tucked into the Don Valley.