Scarborough Bluffs Refreshment Room Heritage Property Plaque, 2020
File information | File dimensions | File size | Options |
Original JPG File | 1800 × 1200 pixels (2.16 MP) 15.2 cm × 10.2 cm @ 300 PPI |
1.6 MB | Restricted |
Screen | 1200 × 800 pixels (0.96 MP) 10.2 cm × 6.8 cm @ 300 PPI |
355 KB | Restricted |
Resource ID
8226
Access
Open
Address
171 Midland Avenue, Toronto, ON, M1N 4A4
Date of Creation
2020
Historical Themes
Architectural Heritage, Entertainment and Leisure, Food and Drink, Residential History
Program Category
Historical Plaques
Time Period
1900-1953
Caption
Scarborough Bluffs Refreshment Room Heritage Property Plaque, 2020
Description
This rare surviving example of a residential-style commercial building has stood at the corner of Kingston Road and Midland Avenue for more than 100 years. During the late 19th century, the area around the Scarborough Bluffs became known as Cliffside. The neighbourhood developed into a tourist destination that rapidly increased in popularity when the Toronto Railway Company extended its Kingston Road streetcar line to Midland Avenue in 1901. Businessman Albert Stinson built this two-storey building with a ground-floor refreshment room to capitalize on the rising tourist traffic. It served a variety of drinks, snacks, and light meals to visitors to the Scarborough Bluffs, as well as those passing on Kingston Road, which was the main highway east from Toronto to Scarborough Township and cities beyond. This intersection was already busy with travellers; the Halfway House Inn opened across the street around 1849 to serve stagecoaches. As needs changed, Stinson turned the business into a general store. It sat vacant for many years until it was purchased in 2019 and renovated. Designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, 2008.
Marker lat / long: 43.710875, -79.247977 (WGS84)