F.C. Burroughes Furniture

above: the F.C. Burroughes Furniture store on Queen St., Niagara Falls Ont., Oct.4, 1964.

above: same view, Mar.30, 2010, the same building with Burroughes now long gone; new sewers are being installed out front along Queen St.

above: interior ground-floor view of the former Burroughes Niagara Falls showroom on Queen St. Note the center two-storey open mezzanine.

above: Burroughes Furniture Niagara Ltd. had an outlet at 45 James St. in St.Catharines, as seen in this 1963 invoice for a Kroehler sofa,  made in Stratford, Ont.

Mr. F.C. Burroughes, photo at left, arrived in Canada from England with his parents as a young boy. He apprenticed in the woodworking shops of fine furniture maker Jacques and Hay.













F.C.opened his first shop in 1887 on Queen St. W. in Toronto, a block from Queen and Bathurst St. (Photo of shop is seen below, though I'm not sure of its exact address on Queen. It looks to have been a corner location)

F.C. later bought Potter and Co. which stood at the s-e corner of Queen and Bathurst, then later bought the old Jolliffe stand which had been at 585 Queen St.W. In the mid 1890's F.C. Burroughes owned a house not too far away from Queen and Bathurst, at 21 Henry St. buying it from his brother William, who was a plumber.

In 1907 Mr. F.C. Burroughes incorporated his firm into the 'F.C. Burroughes Furniture Co. Ltd.', and then built his new 7-floor showroom and head-office at 641 Queen St. W. (the building is still there, now renovated, and now the address is 639 Queen St. W.; from 1949 to about 2002 this was the King Sol army surplus place, I remember that store well, having been in it many times - it was huge inside, many floors were vacant, and not very well maintained.)

As F.C. Burroughes' business grew, they soon built a large warehouse behind the Queen St. store, connected with a bridge over the laneway, and in 1910 added an addition to the 'new' store at its east side, along Queen St. (photo above shows the original showroom building at the far right, with the newer addition, seen in the center of photo).

Eventually the firm covered the area from Queen to Richmond St., and also had a large frontage facing onto Bathurst St. as well! (This all must have grown to the south of the hotel which now stands directly on the s-e corner of Queen and Bathurst [the former Big Bop, former Holiday Tavern]; when this building was built, I'm not sure, but the Potter and Co. building on that corner must have been torn down earlier at some point.)

Mr. F.C. Burroughes died in 1917, leaving his sons to run the business: the eldest, B.C. Burroughes, became president of the firm; while C.R. Burroughes became VP.

                                     above: B.C. Burroughes

                                     below: C.R. Burroughes

They launched an expansion of the firm, opening a new location in North Toronto at 2436 Yonge St., and also opened a chain of branches: in Brantford (at 314 Colborne St.); in London Ont., in a new 3-storey showroom (at 303-307 Dundas St.); in St.Catharines (in the 1960's Burroughes Furniture was at 45 James St.), and in Niagara Falls, Ont., covering a good portion of southern Ontario.

The F.C. Burroughes' company presence in Niagara Falls began when they bought the stock of the T.Badger company in 1927, in a 7,350 square-foot building on Queen St.

In 1933 they purchased another building at 554 Queen St. (former location of Northcott's) and re-modeled it into a 15,000 sq. ft. showroom. (see here; here for more photos)

(In 1932, the Kotex Co. was located at 554 Queen St. It is not clear whether Kotex and Northcott's had, at some previous point, both shared the same building at 554 at the same time, perhaps on different floors (?). In 1932, Burroughes was listed as being at 400 Queen St.)

In 1937, Mr. M. McBride was Burroughes' Niagara Falls store manager.

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A Liberal horror story

Love that new (again!) series "V", about those aliens, whose ships suddenly appeared hovering over Earth's cities, and who promise "universal health care" (ohhahaheehahahahahhhh: no shit - this was actually in the script!!!!!!!!!!!!) to us carbon-based lifeforms as an enticement to join their evil collective.

So, at long last the secret has been revealed: McGuinty's Liberals and Obama's Democrats were aliens, as many earthlings suspected, but just couldn't bring themselves to believe.

Why, these Liberals seem just so nice and all... telling us all those sweet things we love to hear, playing to our vulnerabilities, and promising to look after us like Big Brother... um... oh, pardon: like a big brother... yeh, that's better; they couldn't have an ulterior motive could they? Liberals don't, um... feed off of other people, do they?

This now explains why Dalton McGuinty became so perturbed back in 2003, when he was described (aptly, as it turns out) by the opposition as an evil reptilian kitten eater from outer space. (see here)

Who knew? We should have guessed. Their flickin' punitive carbon attacks were a dead giveaway that these Liberal Democrats were out ta git us! Federal Liberal Stephane Dion wasn't just a figurative space cadet: by the grace of Gaia, it turns out Bumbledore Dion actually WAS a space cadet. Dion's magical Green Shift ray-gun could have made vast amounts of wealth simply vanish, to reappear on the other side of the planet in some Kyodiot's pocket.

We should have confirmed that all of McGuinty's Liberal MPP's are indeed human, by, as the TV series showed, checking to see if each McGuintyite actually has a cranium behind the ear (and obviously, a human brain within...duh).

We already know McGuinty's Liberals are duplicitous, but, now we see that it's entirely possible that their bodies are just as much of an illusion as their policies; and that their only purpose on Earth is to coerce and co-opt us; to tax and enslave us; to make all decisions on our behalf which THEY deem are necessary; and as our self-appointed Masters, to leach off us as they deem fit.

Science fiction, you say?

How else can you explain that the Slithery Liberal Scumbag, Furious George Smitherman - one of the main players in McGuinty's billion-dollar eHealth fiasco - is now conveniently quitting [well, he's resigning from cabinet; the leach will still keep his MPP salary until March] provincial politics to seek his destiny (and expand Liberal influence) as a contender for mayor of Toronto?

Apparently, nothing sticks to this Liberal creature's slithery hide. It's unnatural.

This turd will destroy Toronto, as he has health care in Ontario. Run for your lives - or fight the alien scum. Time to make your stand.

A criminal investigation or public inquiry into Smitherman's role in the eHealth scandal can't happen soon enough.

Toronto Then and Now: CN steam locomotive 6213 leaves CNE (Old Parkdale, part seven)

above: Feb.4, 1914 - looking eastwards along the lakefront, where Lakeshore Blvd. runs today, south of the Exhibition. Lake Ontario and the Toronto Islands can be seen at the right. About 60 years later, Ontario Place would be built out in the water at the far right. In the left distance can be seen many of the buildings that once surrounded the Stanley Barracks, on what are now the CNE grounds. click on photos to enlarge!

above: Stanley Barracks with Lake Ontario and the island in the distance, prior to the construction of Ontario Place, probably taken from the old Shell Tower in the 60's. CN steam locomotive 6213 is seen on display at the far left. This 4-8-4 Canadian National Railway steam locomotive was built in 1942, removed from service in 1959, and was given to the the City of Toronto in 1960. It was on display at the Exhibition Place grounds, sitting at the east side of the Stanley Barracks.

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below: Stanley Barracks, looking from the north-east. Note buildings that continue west into the right rear distance.

above: same view, Apr.30, 2009, now with 6213 at the left and the tugboat Ned Hanlan seen at the far right.

above: Apr.30, 2009 - 6213 with coal tender attached at rear.

above: same view, May 29, 2009 - 6213 has been pulled back from her fenced pad, and separated from her coal-tender, which is now seen sitting at the left.

above: May 29, 2009 -view of vacant pad, looking south.

above: Apr.30, 2009 - looking northwards towards the rear of the coal tender, when the locomotive was still in the fenced pad. In the foreground is seen a wooden rowboat inscribed Ned Hanlan .

above: May 29, 2009 - closer view of 6213 at the right and the coal tender at the left, both sitting on rigs, being prepared for their move to the John Street Roundhouse, near the CN Tower. The locomotive is said to weigh 160 tons! Workers are installing scores of bogey wheels under its steel frame. Note in the foreground, where the square chunks of wood are laying, was where the rowboat Ned Nanlan, seen above, had been. I'm not sure what happened to this boat.

above: May 29, 2009 - view of the rear of 6213, sitting on its blocked frame, as wheels are being inserted under the frame in preparation for its move downtown. Now that the engine and coal tender have been separated, note the coal auger which has now been exposed at the rear of the cab. It took coal from the rear tender and pulled it forward, feeding the firebox up in the engine.

above: May 29, 2009 - 6213 and her coal tender, now separated and sitting side by side on different trailers. The above photos are by R.Bobak.

above: photo from the Jun.11, 2009 Toronto Star showing locomotive 6213 on her trailer, passing by the Automotive Building (at R) on her way to her new resting place downtown at Roundhouse Park (at the base of the CN Tower).

above: The caption only says "old locomotive on exhibit at waterfront, 1908?", but who knows where this little gem actually stood - no more information can be found.?!

It looks to be a very small steam locomotive, with a small open-top tender (for coal? wood?) and perhaps it had served as a yard shunter / switcher? 

Also, there is no engineer's cab seen, not sure if originally there had been one or not? 

Also, not sure where the water tank would have been in this setup? Was it above the engine, or maybe part of the tender portion? 

I believe it's likely that there originally was an engineer's cab in that space between the engine and the tender, which likely rotted / rusted away and had been removed by the time the c1908  photo was made. And as for the water, there may have originally been a separate small tank car which was towed behind the tender, which had its own wheels, but which weren't powered.

The engine has two wheels seen per-side at the front (ie it's a 4-wheel bogie at the front), but it doesn't seem to have any rear wheels visible under the engine-portion's rear, so I wonder if the engine and tender were made together as a one-piece-frame unit, so that the rear wheels under the tender would have been the rear wheels supporting the entire unit? 

This might well be an original "Shay" (aka a pre-1908 'sidewinder' ) 'geared-locomotive' industrial engine built by the Lima Locomotive works in Ohio! These Shay original  'sidewinders' had their gears outside of the truck, with the driveshaft (which ran parallel to the tracks)  being  bevel-geared directly to each wheel!

 Also, the 'Shay style' had the rear wheels powered in the same gear drive mode - so what they had created was essentially an all wheel direct drive system for locomotives!

 So, this might explain why there are no 'rear' wheels seen under the engine-portion in the photo, but some kind of rear wheels are visible under the tender.

Maybe this in fact was a one-piece-frame design, carrying the engine, cab, and tender, on a single frame. so that they could get the drive shaft to also power the rear trucks?! 

This compact but powerful type of switcher unit became very popular for heavy duty industrial applications. 

Another company, Willamette, also made a similar version, as did a Michigan company that built a 'Henderson' style Shay.  

Was the photo taken somewhere along the Toronto waterfront area downtown? Or somewhere at the Exhibition grounds?

Also, it appears that the tender has very faded "G. & O. R.R." lettering painted on it - but it's hard to tell? Where was this steam locomotive from?

It's also possible that the faded letters may be "O. & Q. R. R." in which case it could mean this was a steam engine from the "Ontario and Quebec Railway" - a precursor of the Canadian Pacific Railway!!  There are Victorian houses seen at the upper left, which could be in Parkdale in the area of the Dufferin Loop, near Dufferin St. and Springhurst Ave.; if so, the locomotive was maybe sitting just south of the tracks, east of Dufferin St., inside the CNE grounds (prior to the tracks being lowered along here during the grade separation of 1910).

The above old black and white photos are from Toronto Archives.
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See more in this series at Old Parkdale, PART ONE
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Thanks for visiting Right In Niagara!
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Toronto Then and Now: Old Parkdale, part six

Below: This Feb.9, 1911 photo from the Toronto Archives only states that it's in Parkdale on the GTR (Grand Trunk Railroad) tracks. I've often wondered where this photo had been taken from, and now believe it is actually looking westwards from Dufferin St., standing just north of the level-crossing tracks. The Dufferin Loop is at the far right, the Exhibition grounds are to the left.
A house at the corner of Ft. Rouille and Springhurst is the same in both below photos, as are some of the houses visible in the far centre-right distance. In the distance somewhere around Tyndall Ave. there appears to be an interesting house with a large tower.
click on photos to enlarge!

above: Apr.13, 2009 - same view; the same house (on the south-west corner of Springhurst and Fort Rouille) is still there, at far upper right. Dufferin Loop is still at the right. The railroad right of way has been excavated and the tracks have been dropped lower, and the Gardiner now runs south of the tracks. Some of the houses in the right distance are 'newer', while others may have been demolished.

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below: Feb.4, 1914 - looking north from Dominion St. (approx. today's British Columbia Rd.) across field towards the GTR tracks and the rear of houses south of Springhurst Ave. Note the hydro towers, located south of the tracks (where the future Gardiner expressway would later run), bringing in electricity from Niagara. Note the two houses side-views seen at the end of Spencer are the same ones seen today. Note again, interesting house tower seen along or behind Tyndall Ave. (a bit to the left of the hydro tower), as also seen in the photo at the top. Was this tower perhaps on a house which was on Springhurst Ave, between Spencer and Tyndall? Seen to the right of the hydro tower at Tyndall are the rears of houses which front onto the south side of Springhurst, and further in the distance, you can see the front gables of houses which sit on the west side of Tyndall, north of Springhurst.

above: view of the houses at the end of Spencer Ave., as also seen earlier above.

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below: Feb.24, 1913 - again, looking north from the Exhibition grounds at the houses located between Springhurst Ave. and the railway tracks; Tyndall Ave. is at the left, Dufferin is to the right. Note the steam emanating from below at the centre of shot - this is where the new railroad station (located just west of the Dufferin bridge) was built after the GTR tracks were dropped; so steam engines were idling there at the station. Note same two houses just to the right (east) of Tyndall Ave. (on each side behind the hydro tower), these are same two houses seen in the second last above photo, and also in the very first shot above. (Note house in centre far right, which must have been located behind the Government (later Arts Crafts and Hobbies) Building, which would have been built a year earlier, in 1912) The Government Building should be to the right, just out of frame.

above: a wide angle view of the same area as seen Apr.13, 2009. Click to enlarge photos!
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below: Sept.15, 1913 - a positively idyllic entrance to the Exhibition grounds, looking from the west along a treed Dominion St. A bit of the dome on the Arts and Crafts Building is seen at the left, behind the trees.

above: same location, Apr.14, 2009 - hard to believe along here was once that quiet gate to the fairgrounds. The dome (of the now-Medieval Times) is still seen at the left, behind the chestnut tree.

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below: The dome can be seen on the Arts, Crafts and Hobbies building, Sept.7, 1936, looking at the building from the south-east; Dufferin runs north along the right.

above: same view, Apr.13, 2009

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below: ca 1985; looking at the east side of Cowan Ave., south of King St., where the old Cowan Press Shop used to be, with a Lennox (LE2; aka 532) phone number. In the same building, to the left, facing onto King St., a hairstylist was once located on the corner. Photo by R. Bobak

above: same view, Apr.13, 2009, some twenty years later. Our old Cowan Cleaners is gone.

Above b&w photos from Toronto Archives, recent photos by R. Bobak

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below: ca. 1985 - looking at the west side of Springhurst Ave., just south of King St., at the demolition of two houses, both of which faced onto the south side of King St. The house in the foreground was on the south-west corner of King and Springhurst.

All below Photos taken by R. Bobak.

above: same view, Apr.13, 2009

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below: looking at the south-west corner of King St. and Springhurst Ave. The streetcar tracks along King are seen along the bottom.

above: same view, Apr.13, 2009
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below: looking at both houses, on the south side of King St., in an eastward direction towards Springhurst Ave.

below: closer view of the house directly on the south west corner of King and Springhurst.

above: same view, Apr.13, 2009, where the two houses with trees once stood. The same office building (on the south-east corner of King and Springhurst) at the far left, is seen in above three shots. Where the No Frills is now was once a Dominion, with a bowling alley beneath.
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below: another closer view of the south-west corner of King and Springhurst.

below: looking west down King St. , the house under demolition is at the left. In the centre lower right distance is seen the apt. bldng. which is still on the north-west corner of King and Dowling Ave.

above: same view, the same apt. on Dowling is seen at the far right distance.

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below: the rear of the house on the south-west corner of King and Springhurst, taken from Springhurst Ave., looking at its south-east side.

above: looking at the porch on the west side of the house which stood on the south-west corner of King and Springhurst.

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below: looking at the south-side of King St., at the second house west of Springhurst Ave., a laneway was at its west (right) side.

above: same view, Apr.13, 2009; the roof of the same building (see arrow at the centre-right distance, down the laneway) is seen in both shots.
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See more of this series at OLD PARKDALE, PART SEVEN
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Thanks for visiting Right In Niagara!
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Toronto Then and Now: Old Parkdale, part five

below: Jun.28, 1911 - looking east from Dowling Ave., over the Grand Trunk railway as the railroad track right of way is being excavated to a lower grade. To the centre left is seen the temporary Grand Trunk South Parkdale railroad station which sat north of the tracks, on the south side of Springhurst Ave., just west of Jameson Ave., where Springhurst makes its curve turning north up to King St.
The original older station had stood just east of Jameson Ave., between Jameson  and Close Ave. It had to be torn down to allow the grade separation work to proceed. Note the houses seen behind the station at the left; these houses were, and still are, facing onto the north-east side curve of Springhurst Ave. The houses seen to the right, south of the tracks, were demolished in the mid 1950s to make way for an expanded Lakeshore Blvd., and a new Gardiner Expressway.
click on photos to enlarge!

above: same view, Mar.31, 2009 - Looking east from the original Dowling bridge. The temporary train station had been at centre left, about where the slope now is. A bit of the house roofs on Springhurst Ave. can be seen above the trees. At right, south of the tracks, where the houses once stood, the grade has since been excavated, making way for the Jameson entrance ramp onto the westbound Gardiner. The bridge in the distance is the Jameson Ave. bridge. The original station  had been located just past (just east of) the Jameson bridge,, where the southern tip of today's Close Ave. now is.

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below: Mar.31, 2009 - a view of the same location from a bit further south; the Dowling Ave. bridge rail is in the foreground. The houses on Springhurst can be seen a bit better.

above: Jun.28, 1911 - a closer view (cropped from the third-previous photo above) looking from the west, at the temporary South Parkdale railroad station, located on Springhurst Ave. west of Jameson Ave. Note - again - that this is NOT the original station (which had stood east of Jameson Ave, and was brick; this is the TEMPORARY station which stood WEST  of Jameson Ave. and was wooden.
Many 'experts' keep repeating incorrect information that this photo shows the original south Parkdale station, but this is the temporary station. The houses on Springhurst Ave. (houses which are still there) can be clearly seen standing behind the temporary station. 

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below: ca.1910? - this photo looks at the temporary South Parkdale station from the south, with the houses (which front onto the the north-side of Springhurst Ave.) seen in the background. The archive information which accompanied this photo (#1470) claimed that the station shown in this photo was located on the south side of Springhurst Ave. between Jameson and Close - however, that is incorrect info: the station which had stood between Jameson and Close (in other wards, the one which  had stood just east of Jameson) was the original station. The temporary replacement station was built nearby, on the WEST side of Jameson, so that the original station could be torn down to allow work to begin on the grade excavation. 
The station shown in this photo is clearly not the original station which stood east of Jameson; this is the interim "new" (as the caption on the photos says) station which is shown standing west of Jameson. As the caption also reads, this station was "later discarded" when the new station at Sunnyside (where King St and Queen St. met, at Roncesvalles) was opened. I have yet to find whether that brand new station which was built below the new Dufferin bridge was ever permanently used as a station - were the Dufferin and Sunnyside stations both active at the same time? I remember that GO trains and CN passenger trains had stopped at the Dufferin station during the EX on a seasonal basis.

above: same view, Mar. 31, 2009 - in the foreground is where the Grand Trunk temporary railroad station had once stood. The same houses are still seen along Springhurst in the background.

above: Mar.31, 2009 - a wide angle view of the houses along the north-east curve of Springhurst Ave. which once faced the temporary Grand Trunk railway station across the street from them. The fence at the far right is at the top of the slope which drops down to the tracks. 
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below: Jul.14, 2008 - looking eastward along the curve of Springhurst Ave., which turns northward to the right. To the left, where the trees are, is the where the slope starts heading down to the railroad tracks. The temporary station had stood somewhere at the left, along that grassed area or the parking lot.

above: same view, ca.1980 - After the old station was torn down, and before the little grassed area, seen previously above, was there, for about eighty years houses stood on the west side of Springhurst at the curve, starting almost from the track-slope. For years, in the seventies, a row of these houses stood abandoned and boarded up, as a developer, Meridian, blockbusted the area; there were also abandoned houses facing the east side of Dowling Ave. which made up this large Springhurst/Dowling land assembly. The photo I took above shows the houses on the west side curve of Springhurst being demolished.

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below: same view as earlier, of the same  houses on the west side of Springhurst Ave. under demolition; from a few steps further north.

above: same view, Jul.14, 2008, new homes now sit where the old ones were. The temporary train station had once been in the area off to the left.

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below: Aug.4, 1910 - looking east from Jameson Ave. at the original Grand Trunk South Parkdale station seen in the left distance, which was located on the south-side of Springhurst Ave. between Jameson and Close Ave. NOTE: to clarify - this station was the original south Parkdale station, and it was located EAST of Jameson Ave. (NOT west of Jameson Ave.) There seem to be few photos in existence of this station. Springhurst Ave. is seen along the left; the level crossing of Jameson Ave. is seen at the bottom; more South Parkdale streets and houses, and Lake Ontario, would be off to the right, behind the tree-row. Note the signalman looking out of his shed at the bottom right, on the south-east side of the tracks along Jameson Ave. The timber planks seen along the bottom are the actual roadway of Jameson Ave. In far left distance can be seen the backs of houses which had fronted onto the west side of Close Ave.; these houses would be demolished in the early 70s to make way for the 22 Close Ave. apartment tower.

above: Mar.31, 2009 - same view, looking east from the Jameson Ave. bridge, which now crosses the lowered tracks. The original station once stood about centre-left, where the slope is - today, that station would be standing in mid air, in the area above the slope and the northern two sets of rails. Springhurst is at the upper left, running parallel to the tracks, behind the trees. In the far distance is the Dunn Ave. bridge, and farther are the domes of buildings at the CNE.

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below: looking westwards towards the Jameson Ave. bridge under construction, as the railway grade separation is underway. The houses seen to the south (at left) have all since been demolished. Springhurst Ave. is seen along the right. Note the Victorian gabled house at the centre-right; it was located on the north-side of Springhurst Ave, a bit west of Jameson.  Also note, that the temporary station was located on the west side of the new bridge (in the center-right distance, behind the bridge), however, it's not clear in this photo whether that station is still there at this point. Also, the original station would have stood at the very far right of the photo, just out of the frame; it would have stood above what is now the sloped cut. 

above: Mar.31, 2009 - same view, looking west towards the Jameson Ave. bridge. The same Victorian houses can still be seen at the centre-right, along Springhurst Ave., (behind the bridge, just to the left of the grey apartment building). Where the houses at the left had once stood, is now a highway.

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below: July 23, 1920 - looking westwards at the Jameson Ave. bridge, now completed; to the left (south) are seen houses at the top of the slope, which are since gone. In the distance around the curve, a bit of the Dowling Ave. bridge can be seen. Springhurst runs along the upper right.

above: same view, Mar.31, 2009 - The Jameson Ave. bridge in the foreground, Dowling Ave. bridge in the distance. The area now seen at the left distance has been excavated for the Gardiner Expressway; in the previous view, there was still a slope there with houses at the top.

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below: Feb.9, 1911 - here is a westward view from Jameson Ave. before the grade separation: note the same Victorian houses along Springhurst Ave., seen at the centre-right. The original train station would have been located just behind the photographer's right shoulder.

above: Mar.30, 2009 - same view, looking west from the Jameson Ave. bridge. The same Victorian houses on Springhurst are seen clearer at the right. In front of them is where the temporary station (seen earlier above) had once been. The Dowling Ave. bridge is in the distance.
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below: Aug.4, 1910 - looking westward along the GTR tracks from Dowling Ave. Note homes by the tracks at right (north)

above: Mar.31, 2009 - same location, looking west across Dowling Ave.; bridge over the tracks is at left. The Gardiner Expressway is seen at the centre left distance.

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below: Mar.14, 1930 - looking east, standing south of the railway tracks, just about where Spencer Ave. and Empress Cres. were. The short tower in the centre foreground (below the tall hydro lines) was where a deep water well was being drilled by the Toronto Water Works.

At the centre distance can clearly be seen the towers and round dome of the Arts and Crafts building at the CNE. At the far left can be seen the new train station which was built below and to the west of the Dufferin St. bridge. Where the hydro towers ran eventually was the path where the Gardiner would be built.

above: Mar. 31, 2009 , same location - the tracks and now-abandoned station are at the left; the domes of the same buildings (now Medieval Times) in the CNE are still in the distance; the water well sits encased in a round concrete bunker at the right.

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below two photos: Mar.14, 1930 - closer views of the fresh water well construction at Spencer Ave. and Empress Cres.:

above: the same capped well, Mar.31, 2009 - now on a slope overlooking the excavated Gardiner, with Lake Ontario in the distance. In the summer this is where tons of kids and their parents would come to watch the nightly fireworks during the CNE. Getting a place on the well was a prized seat for the show.

Older photos in this study from the Toronto City Archives; recent photos are by R. Bobak
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See more in this series at Old Parkdale, PART SIX
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