While many (most?) people seem to avoid the Port Lands I find them fascinating for some reason. Perhaps it is the large undeveloped areas practically in the middle of the city. Or the cool abandoned power plant (the old Hearn Generating Station). Or the trails and the Leslie Street Spit that started out as the city just dumping construction debris into the lake and is now a roughly 5 km long sliver of land extending into Lake Ontario and supporting a huge variety of birds and wildlife.
On this walk I wend down Carlaw Avenue to Commissioners Street, East to Leslie Street, down to the lake and back west via Unwin Avenue, south on Cherry Street, and back east on Villiers Street. Click on any picture to see a big version! Also part of this map.
To start, if you're interesting in information on on the Port Lands, it turns out that Wikipedia has an entry for your reading pleasure: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Lands
First, I walked down Carlow and past this Hydro building (one of hundreds around the city!). This is the Carlaw Toronto Hydro Electric Substation (built 1916)
At the far south end of Carlaw - the Portland Energy Centre (from the other side of the 'turning basin' , which is part of the waterway connecting to Lake Ontario).
Lots of cement trucks! And the beginning of an area of many cement and aggregate companies.
Another cement truck.
Wheel-trans bus garage. To give an idea of size, each line had about 10 buses in it (all within the building).
Assume this is some kind of aggregate and/or cement storage. Beside a Canada Post delivery centre.
The far south end of Leslie Street, looking south where it turns into Tommy Thompson Park (and the Leslie Street Spit).
Looking towards the Portlands Energy Centre (right) and the decommissioned Hearn Generating Station chimney. (Didn't climb this fence and continue).
Some massive trees beside the the old Hearn Generating Station.
The old
Hearn Generating Station with some kind of work going on. There were some events held here in the past (e.g. for Luminato) but it was deemed unsafe in 2018.
On the other side of Unwin Ave (behind me in this picture) is Lake Ontario, with various sailing clubs, and then Cherry Beach soccer fields and Cherry Beach itself.
A crane holding up a dock that it is sitting on? 😀 Birds are nesting on top of each of the poles to either side of the crane.
The "
Cherry Street Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge" (one of two lift bridges on Cherry Street).
The ship channel under the Bascule bridge. Interesting camouflage job on the ship to the right (not that visible in this picture - is that due to distance or camouflage?)
The Docks driving range and former occasional drive-in (can still see the old screen on the left).
Another Hydro Building! "Edwardian Classical Styling" (from 1928). See also
this document.
Old Essroc cement storage silos.
Lots of earthworks going on here in preparation for rerouting the mouth of the Don River. New bridge(s) over what will be the Don.
The end of the Gardiner Expressway that used to head further east. Bit of a sudden drop, but I'm sure there's a stop sign further up the road somewhere.
Another picture from below the end of the former expressway.
More chimneys - in this case the Commissioners Street transfer station incinerator which may still be in use for some waste. Hazardous waste and recycling also handled here.
Just behind this is the Mayfair Lakeshore club so the pollution can't be *too* bad.
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