Tuesday Treasures Around the World

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My Corner of the World

May 2020 - Toronto ON

Since we are still being cautious I thought I would use a video I found about Toronto's Junction Transit History.

Junction Transit Part 2

In part 2 towards the end you can see The Stockyards, where we occasionally shop.



Toronto's reputation as "Hogtown" did not start in the Junction, but it was here that the reputation was forged. Like many industries, the stockyards were attracted to the Junction by the many rail connections that give the neighbourhood its name. In the Junction, you could get goods to and from any part of the country.

The Union Stock Yards (later the Ontario Stock Yards) first opened in 1903 at the southwest corner of Keele and St Clair. They were mostly known for dealing in cattle and hogs, although for many years the stockyards also dealt in horses. Frequently, animals would escape and it was not uncommon for local firefighters to be called in to wrangle a stray cow that had wandered onto a busy street.

The stockyards were a place where live animals were brought to be sold. Their presence, however, soon attracted many meat-packing companies that would buy animals and butcher them. These companies were for many years a major source of jobs in the area, and a major source of unpleasant smells.

The stockyards closed in the early 1990s and in recent years the land has been redeveloped as big-box retail space. The stores include Bulk Barn, Linen Chest, Winners, Home Sense,


Photos taken recently.

At the southwest corner of Dundas Street West and Keele Street can be found this plaque erected by the Junction Business Improvement Area.

Here's what it says:

The intersection of Dundas and Keele streets is the heart of the "West Toronto Junction". Near this site stood the buildings that formed the commercial and administrative core of the Town and City, The Post Office and Customs House which stood on the south west corner of Dundas and Keele; and the multipurpose Town Hall which included both the Police Station and Fire Hall which stood where the current City of Toronto Fire Station 423 (built in 1959) is located.

Still standing today is the original Bank of British North America (1907) immediately to the west of this location, the Thompson Block (1889) on the south-east corner, the Bank of Toronto (1911) on the north-east corner, and the Campbell Block (1888) on the north-west corner which housed local businesses at the ground level including the Molson's Bank and on the upper floors institutions such as the Junction School of Music and The Mechanics Institute (which evolved into the Junction Carnegie Library, now the Annette Branch of the Toronto Public Library).

After the sale of alcohol in the Junction was banned in 1903, theatres became the town's main cultural venues. Two of the earliest still stand today but are no longer used as theatres, the Wonderland (1907) and the Crystal (1909). The Beaver Theatre 1913 seated 800 and introduced the Wurlitzer organ to Toronto audiences. The Mavity (1919) had an upper level with removable seats for dancing and a rooftop garden.

The Junction challenged Toronto itself for industrial development by offering rail sidings, cheap water for steam-driven machinery and tax free status. Transportation links also helped the town to become a retail centre for the farming area west of Toronto. From the beginning, The Junction offered jobs, investment opportunities, fresh air and liberal politics within commuting distance of conservative Toronto. The early spirit of independence and pride lives on to this day in The Junction.


Also mentioned in the video is this lumberyard.

At the Dupont underpass.

Click here for more of these murals.