Yesterday and Today
The changing facades along Wilson
By Tim Lambrinos
(This is a reprint of a story featured in the May, 2020 edition of the Emery Village Voice)
New streets are created as times continue to change.
Expressways are paved and older communities vanish before our eyes. New businesses pop up but sometimes live out their existence only to be deemed obsolete in today’s ever-changing consumer marketplace.
This has been the storyline behind the ongoing transformation cycle at Weston and Wilson over the past 70 years. Along this corridor, there continues to be a series of considerable makeovers, even today.
The long-awaited traffic lights at Matthews Gate and Wilson Avenue were recently installed, but they are neither hooked up nor operational yet.
The Emery Village BIA is doing its part to spruce up the corridor with plans for a makeover at the intersection of Clayson Rd. and Wilson. However, construction plans may have to be delayed due to unexpected circumstances caused by the latest coronavirus crisis.
For local history buffs, a recurring theme of industrialized change began in the area with John Chew’s toll bar in 1848.
The bar was located at the intersection of Weston Road and Wilson, where Chew operated a toll booth during the late 1800s. Another older example of a thriving business that disappeared from the area was the 1930s Booth Brick Factory on Marmora Street.
Other businesses have no longer operated along this stretch of Wilson.
On Weston Road in the 1930s, a gigantic Massey-Harris tractor assembly plant manufactured Mosquito aircraft wings for the war effort.
In April of 1948, the plant was managed by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as a supply depot for the expansion of the Downsview Airbase at Sheppard and Keele. The nationally-run supply depot was located on the east side of Weston Road and south of Hwy 401. It is where Canadian Tire and the Crossroads Plaza exist today. The facility was named the RCAF No. 1 supply depot detachment. However, all storage operations were reassigned to other locations in September 1953. During the remainder of the fifties and early sixties, official training exercises were held for air cadets at the former plant.
Regarding accommodation for area residents, a significant addition to the community known as Humberlea occurred between 1950 and 1954. Seven new streets and a school were added to the subdivision, which was built on the former farmland of the Caulfield Dairy Farm. New residential street names emerged in Walsh Avenue, Blondin Avenue, Yorkdale Crescent, Lovilla Boulevard, Melody Road, Ann Arbour Road, and Jodhpur Avenue.
By 1963, it became apparent that the CPR railway crossing at Wilson Avenue also required a re-design due to ongoing safety concerns. Transportation officials assessed that a vehicle underpass was needed since the existing level crossing had poor sight lines for vehicles emerging off Ann Arbour Road.
In 1964, 10 existing homes on the north side of Walsh Avenue were expropriated to accommodate the new railway underpass, which was completed later that year.
Dr. Joseph Leventhal lived in one of the homes on Walsh Avenue at Ann Arbour Road. Leventhal had built an addition to the rear of his home to run his medical practice. The doctor was known to have rented office space to other business professionals there as well.
After Leventhal’s house was knocked down, he relocated his practice to Wilson and Lexfield Avenue, east of Jane Street.
Three years after this, it became apparent that access to the subdivision was significantly hindered since there was no longer an outlet street (Ann Arbour) connecting to Wilson.
In 1967, two Walsh and two Yorkdale homes were demolished to create a new inlet road named Matthews Gate.
Along Wilson, east of the CPR tracks, there was a chemical factory in operation since 1948.
Reichhold Chemicals Canada was located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Wendell and Wilson. It is a factory specializing in the manufacture of polymer materials, resins, and paint additives.
Since 2007, Reichhold Chemicals moved their operation to Mississauga, and a new business has emerged. Kooy Brothers Equipment now operates at the location and specializes in retail for industrial lawn mowers, commercial grade landscape equipment, snow removal tractors and other construction equipment.
It seems that there will always be change along this distinctive section of Wilson. But now more than ever, it appears that the historical name, known to many as the Blondin Loop, will continue to be only part of local area folklore.
Alas, as with many things that have come and gone, all that’s left behind sometimes are the memories themselves.
It’s not easy to accept that change, prosperity, growth, and progress can be considered positive and important elements of a growing economy. However, these persistent elements of change remain optimistic as they navigate the revolving door of transformation along this section of Wilson Avenue.