Passing By 04.01.07 (Cecil Pt 1)

I grew up in the suburbs.  And loved it.  But ever since moving away from home permanently (i.e., not including stints at unversity and law school), I've only lived in decidedly urban environments.  And loved it.  One of the things that I think many people overlook about downtown Toronto is just how interesting it is from an architectural and social history perspective - if you're looking for the right things.  Downtown isn't always pretty, but I like to think there's a more complicated beauty which can be uncovered.

So here's a look at a street which I happen to walk along fairly often and which possesses the sort of understated charm which requires a bit of attention to discover: Cecil Street.  I won't be able to do it justice in this photo essay, but I'll do my best to get a start on it, as we saunter from Cecil's western end to its eastern terminus (a total of about a four minute walk).  You can see the street on this map, running as it does between Spadina Avenue on the west and Henry Street on the east:

Map of 2 Cecil Street Toronto, ON M5T, CA

Now, Cecil is surrounded by some interesting stuff.  To the west of Cecil, on the other side of Spadina lies Kensington Market.  To the north, on the other side of College St., is the University of Toronto campus, an entirely underappreciated font of amazing architecture in the middle of Toronto.  To the northeast and east is Queen's Park and University Avenue.  To the south and southwest is Toronto's Chinatown.  Actually Cecil probably belongs to Chinatown as well (since the streetsigns bear both English and Chinese script), but it takes inspiration from most of its surroundings and works its own charm.  In any event, Cecil is so unassuming that it gets overlooked - most people from outside the neighbourhood have little, if any, reason to traipse along it. 

One of the reasons I think it's so interesting is that it is bookended by two buildings, which are perfectly centred on the street and, if buildings had eyes, could be seen to be staring each other down.  They are buildings of strikingly different character, and between the two of them Cecil unfolds, and the nature of Cecil and the uses made of it changes several times.  The western bookend of Cecil can be found in this commercial streetscape:

The actual bookend, centred, as I mentioned, almost perfectly with the middle of Cecil Street, is this commercial/residential building on the west side of Spadina:

Note the opening near the top: I don't have faintest clue what it's there for.  It opens onto the roof, which is essentially not accessible.  It's not a window, just a frivolous design element - but frivolity has its own value, I always say.  Spadina at this point, between College and Dundas, is not the most gripping of streets: a frazzled mix of Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, Asian dollar stores, cheap clothing stores, computer outlets, import/export shops, empty units, fly-by-night bargain book sales, and an inordinate number of stores selling flags.  I've never been able to figure out the flag stores.

Anyways.  At the western end of Cecil proper, sitting on the southern corner of Cecil and Spadina, stands a Toronto institution: Grossmans Tavern, which boasts live blues music seven nights a week and this mural:

Across from Grossmans you get a taste of what downtown living can sometimes be like, with a rather handsome building marred by grafitti:

I'm one of those people who is endless fascinated not just by architecture, but by buildings, especially smaller, idiosyncratic ones.  This white one has always freaked me out a little bit:

It's not really connected to any other building, and you never seem to see lights on there.  Lately I've started hearing a band practising in there.

At the far right of the photograph above you can see the corner of a central feature of Cecil Street: the Cecil Community Centre.

What appears to be the history of the Community Centre (as gathered from the outside of the structure) is worth recounting, since it seems to be a concise summation of this entire neighbourhood, as different waves of Canadians have washed across the area.  The Community Centre was originally built in 1890 as a Church of Christ -

At some point, the building was modified to accommodate the Jewish community -

And now it serves Chinese-Canadians -

On the south side of Cecil, across from the Community Centre, is a parking lot; but even there, there's art and humour to be found.

I didn't say it was good humour.

Continuing east, a stretch of attractive row houses begins.

One of the best things about downtown is that, because the building pattern is so organic, the most fascinating things spring up out of nowhere.  F'rinstance, you may think this is just a service alley behind the Community Centre:

In fact, it is Glasgow Street, which is the downtown equivalent of a cul-de-sac, completely inaccessible except from Cecil, and its own mini-neighbourhood tucked away behind what you pass by on the street:

Glasgow even has its own little parkette:

Going back to Cecil (really our only option since, as I mentioned, you can't go from Glasgow to anywhere else (you used to be able to wind your way on foot through an alley to College, but that has been closed off)), the intersection of Cecil and Huron streets offers a glimpse of the different types of buildings and residences to which a downtown neighbourhood is home.  We'll look from the SE to the SW to the NW to the NE corners.

First up, an attractive older house which only recently offered itself up to pedestrians, since it was previously hidden by tall hedges:

Next is a newer multi-unit residential building:

On the northwest corner is a single-family dwelling with a sizeable lawn (relatively rare down here), and built at some point in time between the two prior examples:

Finally, on the northeast corner sits a Hydro substation:

That strip of green you see running between the substation and the street is an attempt to make good on the city motto, visible in the sign below - "Toronto - A City Within a Park".

It doesn't look like much before the flowers have begun to bloom, but little touches like this parkette, with its benches, flowers, greenery and playset for kids, are part of what makes downtown eminently habitable.

That's it for Part 1.  I'll continue with Part 2 shortly, as we move east along Cecil.  In the distance of the shot below, you can see the eastern capstone of Cecil, Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church, about which more next time.

Part 2 will include what I think is the even more interesting part of Cecil Street, with the Steelworkers, the Lyceum, and the mysterious silver stone.  For now, I leave you with pictures of branches.  Just 'cause - I mean who doesn't like bare branches against the sky?

Comments

[Wednesday Keller]

That is actually one my favourite areas of Toronto. From there, Baldwin's Market (oh John's Italian Cafe), Grange Park, through to and including Kensington to Trinity-Bellwoods and the South Annex I love to just wander around checking out all the houses.

Frankly that's the only area of Toronto I want to live in, although growing up in there probably formed some of that :), and I'm glad to see you taking a nice psychogeography walk in there.

Now if only I could afford the ungodly prices, sigh.

[Chris Taylor]

Sort of a "Bob Tarantino does Christopher Hume" routine, eh?

Nice post with good tidbits of neighborhood history. You should do more of these.

[Bob Tarantino]

Nice post with good tidbits of neighborhood history. You should do more of these.

Thanks, man - I'm planning on doing more. Seeing as I've essentially run out of things I feel the need to blog about, I figure taking pictures might be a passable substitute...

[James Bow]

This is actually my home area (I lived on McCaul Street on the other side of the orthodox church). I attended some summer day camp activities at the Cecil community centre back when I was seven, and my best friend used to live on Ross Street.

[Jay Currie]

I used to walk through this area on my way to the UofT from my wonderfully illegal loft at Queen and Bathurst (Richmond actually). It was wonderfully urban 20 years ago and it is delightful to see it has not really changed much.

Nice piece.