I was walking along Queen Street East about a block east of Leslie Street when I saw this mural on the side of a building.
I wondered if it was a local store or something, but when I looked it up online it was much more interesting. It turns out that it is commemorating the racing oval that used to be here - also known as 'Murderdrome'!
Opened by the Duke of Connaught (there's also a Duke of Connaught School a block or so east) in 1914, it was a 1/4 mile wooden track built in an old brick pit and had 60° banked corners.
It held motorbike races, bicycle races, and even cars were on the track. Amazingly, only one person died during a race:
"Ernest Roberts, caretaker of the Motordrome, Greenwood avenue, died in St. Michael’s Hospital yesterday morning. Roberts was hit on May 22 (1915) by Sayer, a motor-paced rider from Bright Beach, while cleaning glass from the track."
Turns out that: "The fans threw bottles and trash at any racer they thought was fixing a race by holding back. Workers regularly dashed to clear broken glass."
Lots of pictures (but no clear ones of the Toronto facility unfortunately) and background of the times and racers here:
https://leslievillehistory.com/devil-wagons-and-the-murderdrome-torontos-motordrome/
