CABBAGETOWN WALK
Our
knowledgeable guide Peggy Kurtin made the charming streets of Cabbagetown
come to life with her historical anecdotes.
Submitted by Joan Moses
On a
beautiful, sunny but cool day in May – Wednesday the 21st to be exact – a
number of Toronto guides met with long-time resident of Cabbagetown, Peggy
Kurtin, for the most comprehensive tour of this unique neighbourhood one
could imagine.
We walked
east on Wellesley Street, stopping at Laurier Avenue to admire the matching
rows of Queen Anne-style town homes built in 1889 and sporting unusual slate
roof towers and beautiful stained glass windows. We then followed a laneway
to the Wellesley Cottages, a lovely intact row of labourers’ cottages built
in 1886-87. This is always such a delightful surprise for first-time
visitors coming upon this hidden enclave of tiny Gothic cottages, so
perfectly preserved with their cobblestone paving and charming gardens.
Suddenly you realize that you have seen these cottages in any numbers of
paintings by local artists and no wonder. Several well-known people have or
presently live here and have increased their space considerably by
extensive rear additions that are not visible from the street. Digging in
their backyards was a bit of a hazard, however, as bones washed down from
the adjacent St. James Cemetery were a not uncommon find.
A few
minutes later, we turned up Sackville Street where Peggy told us lots of
good stories about former residents. Then we turned left into Alpha Avenue,
another private enclave of small row houses. Again a different style –
2-storey, mansard roof dwellings built in 1887. Although the houses are
only 14 feet wide, many are known to have accommodated two families and at
one time there were 26 young children on this very short street! Since
there was no indoor plumbing, there was a bathtub at the end of the street
for cleaning up the kids whenever necessary.
And so it
went – one wonderful street after another with Peggy telling us about the
work of the Cabbagetown Preservation Association of which she was President
for several years. We learned which were considered to be compatible
restorations and which they had fought as being out of keeping with the
streetscape. Ongoing vigilance is needed to preserve the character of the
area and prevent insensitive redevelopment. Fortunately, Cabbagetown has
established a good relationship with the City’s Urban Planning Department
and Heritage Toronto and most of their submissions are heard with
compassion.
This
lovely house with flowering trees was one of our favourites. It was once
the home of Karen Kain.
Peggy
asked us to help her by indicating to her any gardens that we thought were
worthy of note to be entered into the annual contest for most attractive
gardens. Many suggestions were given to her and we realized that there
seems to be a microclimate in Cabbagetown allowing plants to grow there
that one doesn’t see anywhere else in Toronto. They also seemed to be at
least a week ahead of the rest of the City in spring growth. We walked
into Wellesley Park where Peggy indicated all the forsythia bushes that
had been planted over the years and told us about the annual Forsythia
Festival held there the first Sunday in May. Children parade in costume
and there are lots of treats for everyone.
We were certainly ready for the lunch break as we stumbled wearily into
The Meeting House at Riverdale Farm. Our hostess, Elizabeth Harris,
welcomed us to the buffet lunch made mainly with ingredients grown at the
farm and all homemade including the delicious breads. Over lunch we
learned about activities that take place in this building such as pottery
and weaving classes as well, of course, as community meetings. There is
also a Farmers’ Market that is held every Tuesday from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m.
during the summer and fall.
After
lunch, Laura, a worker at the Farm, acted as our guide to the different
buildings on the Farm and took us into the huge 1850s German barn that had
been moved here years ago from its original site. Its white pine beams
are 12 x 15 inches and 50 feet long. The upper level contained many old
buggies that were being restored and could be used for special events.
Riverdale Park, originally 162 acres on both sides of the Don River, was
purchased from the Scadding Estate in 1856. Protests from local citizens
prevented the park from being added to the nearby cemetery in 1864, as
this was an important recreation site of the community who loved to slide
on the hills in winter and skinny dip in the river during the long, hot
summer.
Daniel Lamb, the local alderman, convinced friends and
business acquaintances to make donations toward a zoo. Riverdale Zoo was
established in the Park in 1894 with two wolves and a few deer. Canadian
and African animals were added over the next few years and 20,000 people
visited the Zoo the first weekend that the lion and elephants were on
display. Riverdale Zoo closed in 1974 and the animals were transferred to
the new Metro Zoo in Scarborough. In 1978, Riverdale Farm opened and many
of its farm animals are older or rare breeds. Local residents stop by for
eggs or to admire the newest “babies” and busloads of school children
often have their first taste of country living here. What other
downtown neighbourhood can boast about being awakened by the crowing of
roosters?
Refreshed,
we continued our tour with the indomitable Peggy to the Necropolis (City
of the Dead) across the street. This non-Church of England cemetery was
purchased in the early 1850s by the City to replace the overcrowded
Potters’ Field at the northwest corner of Bloor and Yonge Streets. The
beautiful gate, with Gothic chapel and gatehouse on either side, makes a
suitably elaborate entrance. Designed by Henry Langley and built in 1872,
they are excellent examples of High Victorian Gothic style. A crematorium
was added at the rear of the chapel in 1933 as well as the front
vestibule. We walked for about an hour and a half amongst the graves and
monuments of many famous Canadians including William Lyon Mackenzie,
George Brown and Ned Hanlan.
We
strolled to the entrance to the Necropolis after a tasty lunch at
Riverdale Farm.
“Tired but
happy”, we thanked Peggy for her most generous gift of time and lore that
she had given us that day and for the increased awareness we all had of
the importance of looking after and enjoying our historic neighbourhoods.
She was very pleased with our responsiveness and our donation to the
Cabbagetown Preservation Association. May they go from strength to
strength! We also were very grateful to Pam Cook for arranging such a
super outing for us even though she was unable to be with us that day.
More
information may be obtained by purchasing “Touring Old Cabbagetown” from
the Cabbagetown Preservation Association ($15).
