Crawford Street Bridge Commemorative Plaque, 2008
| File information | Options |
Original JPG File8400 × 6000 pixels (50.4 MP) 71.1 cm × 50.8 cm @ 300 PPI 6.3 MB |
Restricted |
Resource ID
4901
Access
Open
Address
2 Bellwoods Park
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2008
Historical Themes
Program Category
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Caption
Crawford Street Bridge Commemorative Plaque, 2008
Description
Crawford Street passes through Trinity Bellwoods Park over a graceful triple-span concrete bridge which still exists but is now buried beneath the street. The bridge once crossed a ravine carved by Garrison Creek as it flowed from north of St. Clair Avenue into Lake Ontario near Fort York. Crawford Street was first extended over the ravine on a wooden bridge in 1884. In 1914 and 1915 R.C. Harris Commissioner of Works had the old bridge replaced with one made of concrete. (A visionary Harris was responsible for the Bloor Street Viaduct 1918). The bridge's spans railings and lampposts captured Harris's flair for dramatic public architecture. Both Garrison Creek and the Crawford Street Bridge now lie hidden beneath this park. By the 1880's the creek was so polluted that it was gradually channelled underground into a brick sewer built through here in 1885. Portions of the ravine were then filled in here with earth from subway excavation in the 1960s. The bridge was buried up to its sidewalks and roadbed and its railing and lampposts were removed. In 2004 the original sidewalks and roadbed were entirely rebuilt but the remainder of the bridge rests intact beneath the surface.
Marker lat / long: 43.649165, -79.416969 (WGS84)