R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant

You might think that looking at a building that filters the city's water supply from the lake would probably look very functional and maybe austere, but then you wouldn't be looking at Toronto's R.C. Harris Filtration Plant.  Ronald Caldwell Harris, was a one-time commissioner of works and city engineer in Toronto.  We take the purification of our drinking water for granted today, but you know it took decades to achieve this.  Associated with the filtration plant, is a 3-kilometre rock tunnel into the lake, a supply tunnel about 20 metres below street level, that stretches across the city, and several reservoirs.  From the filtration plant you can view the Toronto skyline.  You can get here, just off of the Waterfront trail, a little west of Fallingbrook Drive on Toronto's lake shore south of Queen Street east, you will see the Art Deco (1930's) stylized exterior of the Filtration Plant, which serves a functional purpose and is aesthetically beautiful too. (Note: They are doing some renovations / restructuring to the Plant, so pictures do not show top form.)

R.C. Harris Filtration Plant

So beautiful in fact, its appeared in countless movies and TV shows as well as referred to in the words written by Micahel Ondatjee "Skin of the Lion" (see other references of the book in "Bloor/Castlefrank Subway" in this blog).  There was a time that you could take tours inside the building to see the process in action, but this all stopped after the security changes from the aftermath of September 11 ('9-11').

Looking in .. on the outside

Getting to the plant from the beach below is a bit of a climb up, but I learned that the hard way. I saw an old cement staircase that was suspended on the hill, unattached and inundated with graffiti. I climbed up alone, and realized half way up I was more or less stuck.  Imagine the slope was so steep, I literally rested myself against a deeply rooted tree from head to foot, leaning on a 45 degree angle.  Below me was a good 30 metre drop and above me was another 15, so I took a chance.  At my age I should know better, but as long as I am able, I'll probably still continue to find myself between self induced rock spots and hard places!

The climb up...

I pushed off from the comfort of the tree trunk and fell forward to the dark soiled ground and clawed my way to the closest tree root to hang on too.  Found one and used it (hoping it wouldn't give way), and pulled myself ever closer to the top.  Root after secured tree root, I made it exhausted, dirty and safe.  While dusting myself off, a resident of the house who lived on top looked over at me and I looked out at the view below and said, "well that was uneventful..." to which he replied, 'You know just a few metres down the beach is a walkway to the Harris Plant, it probably would have been a lot easier"...we both laughed.  So now you now.  Even if there are no more tours inside, you can still get up close and personal on the outside.

Heads Up: I spoke to the City Superintendent who oversees the Plant operations, who told me that every year in May they have an open house to the public, which gets booked up quickly.  Keep checking for availabilities if interested in the early summer.

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On a much sadder note: If you happen to visit this portion of the waterfront trail on the beach front, you may find a memorial for two brothers, aged 17 and 22 that drowned  Sunday August 5th in Lake Ontario.  Full Story posted here   

Cresentwood Park / Toronto Hunt Club

Just west of 'Rosetta's Gardens' is the Toronto Hunt Club which purchased the property in 1895.  The property, which extends from Kingston Road to the lake shore hasn't been used in hunting activities since the 1930's when it became a private golf club.

I spoke to the Vice President of the Hunt Club to ask him a few questions about membership and whether I could take some pictures inside.  He told me a basic membership was $39,000 / per year!  He also mentioned that the 'Hunt Club' had put millions of dollars into cleaning up and revamping the lake front and the results were so good, others followed suit as an example.  So we wanted to have a peek at the 'modeled' beaches at the base of the bluffs to see how it looked.  

 We slid down the side of a very steep embankment (south end of Warden Avenue), roughly 30 metres down, followed by a few men who told me to 'take my time'.  It was smooth in some places, with the odd flat landing to rest before continuing.  Obviously going the right way, (as others were doing the same thing), I was pretty scared doing this (and I don't scare easily).  This was a private beach area so this would explain the unusual challenge getting to it.  I wouldn't be coming back up this way because I have already planned my route out to check out the R.C. Harris Filtration Plant west of here.

wha?

Finally at the bottom, we see shoreline, pristine beaches, a few scattered sunbathers, some rock piles, and no wait...what are they wearing? What is everyone not wearing is a better question?  It would seem entering west of Cresentwood Park and into the shoreline that followed, I was overdressed!  Quickly I put away my camera so they wouldn't think I was creeping them!  

looks kinda sad to me

The Vice President at the Hunt Club, must have forgotten to mention this to me....:)
Off note: The pictures for the Toronto Hunt Club will come at a later date.  Busy season (no doubt.. :)

Rosetta McClain Gardens

 Since we seem to be progressively traveling westward on the Waterfront trail these days, I thought I'd post a bit about the Rosetta McClain Gardens located about a kilometre west of the Scarborough Bluffs (Bluffers Park), just south of Kingston Road.  Passing through the wrought iron gates of Rosetta McClain Gardens, you will enter into 40 acres of nostalgic history.    You see, way back in 1904, Thomas McDonald West, owner and operator of the J & J Taylor Company had purchased the 40 acre farm overlooking Scarborough Bluffs.  Thomas and his wife Emma had divided the land among their four children, Joseph McDonald, William Needham, Howard Thomas and Rosetta.

Rosetta died close to Christmas of 1940 and left her husband behind for almost 20 years.  During that time, her husband and brother had made many historical landscape improvements to the property that she loved so much.  In 1959, her husband offered the property to the City of Toronto as parkland in her memory.  In 1977 the land was conveyed the the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and combined with portions of the J.M. and H.T. West property.  Today, Toronto owns 23 acres of the historical landscape as part of its parks system. Of the 23 acres, you will find rock fountains, arranged as such to allow you touch the the cascading water, textured paths, scent gardens, raised planters, and of course unique gardens.  

On this particular day, there were wedding photographs being taken using the lush floral arrangements as backdrops.  On the far southern point of the gardens you will see a beautiful view of the Scarborough bluffs from a clear vantage that will allow your imagination to slip back into a time when the family had owned a farm on the grounds.  It must have been such an amazing place to live.

Scarborough Bluffs Park (Waterfront Trail)

Entering Bluffers from Brimley Road south

One of the first views while descending into Scarborough Bluffs Park (the "Bluffs") from Brimley Road, will be the awesome view of Lake Ontario as well as the colourful masts of the Yachts below lined row by row.  The Bluffs is an escarpment in Toronto, Ontario which forms most of the eastern portion of Waterfront Trail. At one point the escarpment is as high as 65 metres (215ft) and spans more than 14 kilometres (8.5 miles).  There are views from the escarpment that look as though you aren't in Toronto anymore, but rather some rugged coast land in England or Scotland.  I imagine this is where Elizabeth Simcoe (wife of John Graves Simcoe) was inspired to name the area 'Scarborough' after 'Scarborough, England'  when they settled in Toronto in 1793.  

View from east end of Bluffs

It's a geological wonder.   The escarpment formed the old shoreline of Glacial Lake Iroquois which appeared after the last ice age.  When you are up close to the escarpment you can see it looks like clay which has been baked and cracked.  In fact parts of the 'alluvial deposits" which are sediments that have been reshaped by the water,  had settled westward to form the Toronto Islands that exist now. 

Dunkers Flow Balancing System

Different areas of Bluffers Park

Was fortunate enough to catch a 'birds eye' view of a Blue Heron on the far northwest shore of Bluffers Park.  I believe this is where they nest.  Around the nesting area of the wildlife here there are long docks that are locked and gated off.  There is a purpose for this particular area because it is a stormwater treatment system that was specifically designed and invented by Karl Dunkers of Sweden.  The purpose is to reduce the harmful effects of polluted runoff that flows from the City's storm sewers before it enters Lake Ontario.  If you want to read up on the design it is called the "Dunker's Flow Balancing System" 

Alluvial deposits

Bluffers Park  has a Restaurant, Yachting Clubs, Boat ramps, a Public beach and Picnic facilities and on any given pleasant day, you will most likely see gatherings of people, having picnics, sailing, or hiking through the many trails north of the lake closer to the bluffs, where there is an overgrowth of wildflowers and hidden coves.

Keep in mind though there are plenty of access points along the escarpment where there are no barriers, and erosion does occur along the edges and certain conditions like rain or snow can make the clay-like sandstone extremely slippery when wet.  Common sense takes precedence over curiosity here.  Especially since there are so many vantage points along the bluffs for great views without risking your life to do it :)

Guildwood Park / Guild Inn

I wasn't hungry on Saturday when the Taste of Danforth opened its streets up.  Hundreds of soak-drenched folks were enjoying the multicultural food and music festival while they temporarily took over the streets of Greektown.   

From somewhere around Jones Avenue to Broadview on Danforth in Toronto , the Tastes of Danforth festival runs until August 12th, where there are plenty of souvlakis and burgers, food stalls, and cooking demos are happening.  


But....I wasn't hungry :)  Instead, I Explored Toronto and a little rain never hurt anyone anyways, and in my thirst for more historical sites, the famous Guild Inn came to mind.

East of the Scarborough Bluffs is the quirky Guild Inn, an Arts & Crafts style mansion dating back from 1914 set among quiet lakefront park lands.  It was an artist's colony formed during the Depression: the garden has a collection of sculptures, Ionic columns and gargoyles rescued from condemned city buildings during the 50s.  


The Guild Inn or rather the estate was bought in 1932 by Rosa and Spencer Clarke who established it as the Guild of All Arts.  It was a rent free colony where more than 100 artists and artisans lived there creating sculptures, weaving , painting  woodworking and ceramics.  More and more visitors came to see their work and eventually guest rooms and dining rooms were added to the Inn.  

During the second war, the Guild was turned over to the Government and it was used by the Women's Royal Navy Service as a training naval base.  It was also used as a hospital for a while too.  

But eventually in 1947, the art colony was once again given back to the the Clarks and more and more acres were added to the property, but in the 50s the property taxes became so high, they sold off a lot of their land to developers.  This land now houses gorgeous homes and is known as Guildwood Village.  

Sadly, today the Guild Inn is a skeleton of its previous glory days, with danger and keep-out signs, asbestos and mould warnings inside.  Although the Inn is closed the Park is used and maintained by the City of Toronto, and people come to use the structures for weddings shoots and private functions.  I'm hoping that someday another Inn will be built and it will once again come back to its former glory, with its breathtaking views of the bluffs and Lake Ontario how could it possibly lose. 


 If you want to check out more of my pictures from the Guild Inn Click Here