My Toronto — Part 2
Chaplin Estate
After living in historic Parkdale for a while, I moved to a rather dull area in north Toronto. I found an apartment in an older, low rise group of buildings, on a busy main street. Transportation to and from work was right outside the door and I found a great babysitter in the building.
I shared the apartment with a series of completely unsuitable people, the last one who was a lush and got involved with a knife wielding boyfriend. (Needless to say I evicted her.)
While in this location, I decided I need to learn how to drive with a view to getting around more easily. I got my licence after several tries.
After going through a messy divorce/custody battle I had a job change. Around then my lease came up for renewaL and I moved.
My new regular job did not pay that well, and I got a part time job at a fitness place called Vic Tannys. My boss, the tall and striking Gabrielle, suggested I should move in with her. She had a cool one bedroom place in mid-town. I was allotted a screened off section of her living room. Gabrielle was not home very much so I would have the place to myself most of the time. This arrangement would financially benefit both of us, plus it would put me much closer to both my work places, plus it gave me the opportunity to get out of the present area.
Gabrielles’ place was in the Avenue Road and Chaplin Crescent part of Toronto. It was an attractive, older neighbourhood, with plenty of mature trees and easy access to transit! So much more agreeable than the previous place.
By now, I had been gifted a horse (for more on this see “Morningstar”, and was finding that the one hour bus trip to the stable was very time consuming and irritating. It wasn’t just the trip — it was the long waits for the bus, both coming and going.
The boarding stable was located in Richmond Hill and the bus trip was really long, and the bus did not run that often. Richmond Hill was considered to be in the boonies at that time. When I look at the map, I have no idea how I managed this without a car!
I decided it was time I got a car. I got a lovely used Citroen.
I think it might have been a late 1950s model. It was a DS 19 and came with an exciting array of features like a self-leveling suspension, directional headlights, power brakes and power steering (all controlled by the suspension hydraulics). (This fancy suspension hydraulic system is what ultimately doomed it after a careless driver crashed into it, head on.)
Driving in the Citroen was like sitting on a comfy living-room sofa. It was a smooth as silk and as quiet as a mouse. One never felt any road bumps. I loved it. I only had it for 6 months. I still miss it.
After the catastrophic accident that ruined the Citroen, I was back to taking the bus to visit my horse for a short time. Until my day job boss, Sid, told me his son had a 1955 Chevy he was willing to sell for the princely sum of $25.00. It was not a pretty car, but it had a working engine and would get me to and from the stable. The trunk lid had to be tied down, otherwise it would fly open when we went over a bump. The hood was also tied down, because it sometimes flew open on rough roads. None of the signal lights worked, so it was hand signals all the way.
Gabrielle hated it. What would the neighbours think seeing the old junk heap parked outside our nice building?
As it so happened, not long after I got the old Chev, Gabrielle decided to move to New York with her boyfriend and I had to find a new place. This move led me to one of the most colourful places in Toronto I have ever lived. Coming up in Part 3.
Notes on the Avenue road and Chaplin Crescent area.
The Avenue Road and Chaplin Crescent area was mainly residential, with a few small businesses scattered around.
Avenue Road is the western limit of the former town of Yorkville, officially beginning at Bloor Street and ending just north of Highway 401.
At its southern terminus, it runs between two of Toronto’s major hotels, the Park Hyatt (on the northwest corner of Bloor and Avenue Road) and the Four Seasons Hotel. On the northeast corner of the intersection with Bloor is the Church of the Redeemer.
For much of its length the road is fairly residential, with a mix of small businesses, as well as a few large schools and churches.
The Chaplin Estates neighbourhood began with a plan of subdivision, registered by William John Chaplin and his son James D. Chaplin, in 1913. The Chaplin family had been landowners in this area dating back to 1860, when this district was known simply as ‘Eglinton’.
Chaplin Estates was marketed as a high class residential district. The developers included a long list of building restrictions and zoning bylaws, in the sale of each property. There were no semi-detached houses allowed, and stucco exteriors were not to cover more than half the house.
The marketing of the subdivision was handled by the Chaplin Realty Company. Prices ranged from $500 to $9,000 a lot. Most of the lots were sold between 1921 and 1925.
This distinguished neighbourhood has always been one of Toronto’s most exclusive addresses. Chaplin Estates homeowners enjoy convenient access to excellent public and private schools, shopping, parks and recreation, and transit service.
Neighbourhood landmarks include the Belt Line recreational path, Oriole Park Junior public School, Eglinton Way shopping
