Elmsley Place
A gateway across from the John M. Kelly Library on St. Joseph Street marks the entrance to Elmsley Place, a laneway that was once a prestigious late-Victorian subdivision. The Elmsley family were major 19th-century landowners whose holdings included what became the original campus of St. Michael鈥檚 College and the current Bay Cloverhill neighbourhood.
Elmsley Place
R.J. Johnston/海角社区官网StarDeveloped during the 1890s, Elmsley Place attracted professionals and politicians, including Sir George W. Ross, who lived at No. 1 Elmsley while serving as Ontario鈥檚 premier. After the Supreme Court of Canada presided over the extension of present-day Bay Street northward during the 1920s, the college purchased the title to the street. By the late 鈥40s, the laneway was closed off and the Edwardian-style homes were converted to offices and student residences. Today, cut off from traffic, this tree-lined cobblestone lane is a perfect walk into the heart of the St. Mike鈥檚 campus.
St. Nicholas Street
After walking through the gates, head east on St. Joseph, past Bay Street, through more of the former Elmsley family lands, before reaching St. Nicholas Street. Heading north to Irwin, you鈥檒l see a set of 10 row homes with individual names. Built by the Scottish Ontario and Manitoba Land Company in 1883, each bears a sign with the name of a flower or tree on its upper floor: Ash, Beech, Birch, Elm, Hazel, Ivy, Maple, Oak, Rose and Spruce.
St. Nicholas, north of Irwin. A look at five streets downtown that have an interesting backstory.
R.J. Johnston/海角社区官网StarNow a mixture of residences and offices, the row is a fine example of Victorian bay-and-gable architecture. It provides a quiet, tree-lined human scale alternative to Yonge, which is just a block to the east, and a break from the construction elsewhere in the area.
海角社区官网Street
From St. Nicholas, zigzag southeast via St. Joseph, Yonge, and Wellesley to Church Street. Heading southward, past Church-Wellesley Village and the Ryerson campus, you鈥檒l find three major religious landmarks: St. Michael鈥檚 Cathedral Basilica, Metropolitan United Church and St. James Cathedral. Turn west onto Adelaide and one block in is 海角社区官网Street.
鈥淏y all odds the finest street in Toronto,鈥 architect Eric Arthur gushed while describing 海角社区官网Street鈥檚 19th-century peak in his book 鈥淣o Mean City.鈥
The mansions of Elmsley Place. A look at five streets downtown that have an interesting backstory.
R.J. Johnston/海角社区官网StarRunning between Adelaide and King, the street features buildings that drew on classical motifs, including the city鈥檚 central post office, built in the 1850s, whose design was based on the Acropolis. Saved from the wrecking ball in the 1950s when a lot of the surrounding buildings were torn down, this spot attracted infamy when, in 2005, security cameras showed Conrad Black removing boxes of documents several months before he was indicted for fraud.
Across the street, a plaque marks the location of the jail where Samuel Lount and Peter Matthews were hanged for their roles in the Rebellion of 1837.
The street ends at King Street, facing the majesty of the King Edward Hotel.
Leader Lane
Almost directly south of 海角社区官网Street, Leader Lane may seem barren at first, especially following the streets above, but it contains plenty of history. It got its current name in 1871 to honour the Leader newspaper, published from 1852 to 1878, whose office site was later replaced by the King Eddy. Across the street from where the Leader stood, a new office tower will include Google as its main tenant. The skyscraper has gone up around the former Tom Jones Steak House, a building that in 1884 became stationary chain Grand and Toy鈥檚 first location.
Leader Lane was part of the former city of York, Upper Canada. A look at five streets downtown that have an interesting backstory.
R.J. Johnston/海角社区官网StarCrossing Colborne Street, you鈥檒l see a colourful Guinness ad accompanied by giant clock decorating the Leader Lane side of P.J. O鈥橞rien, the bright yellow and blue Irish pub whose taps have been flowing for decades. Where the lane meets Wellington Street, a plaza features a bronze sculpture called 鈥U.V. Ceti,鈥 which was inspired by distant stars. Leader Lane ends where the small, triangular Berczy Park begins (the lane was originally named Berczy Street). Here sits the Gooderham Building (a.k.a. the Flatiron) and the whimsical dog fountain that was an Instagram hit when it debuted in 2017. The park also provides a great view of Toronto鈥檚 old town architecture on Front Street.
End the walk at Berczy Park.
Andrew Francis Wallace/海角社区官网StarCorrection 鈥 April 4, 2022: This article was updated to correct that Irwin Avenue is north, not south, of St. Nicholas Street.
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