{"id":221,"date":"2022-11-11T19:42:09","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T19:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jasonwu.online\/?page_id=221"},"modified":"2022-11-12T19:36:32","modified_gmt":"2022-11-12T19:36:32","slug":"garrison-creek","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.jasonwu.online\/two-shores\/garrison-creek\/","title":{"rendered":"Garrison Creek"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Haunting of an Interred River<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Morphology of Urban Form in the Garrison Creek Drainage Basin<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Research and Map by Jason Wu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Urban Design 1031: A History of Toronto Urban Form<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor: George Baird<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fall 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniels Faculty<\/p>\n\n\n\n

University of Toronto<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The dip in Dovercourt Road as you approach 14th<\/sup> Division; the sound of an ever-flushing toilet beneath your feet as you walk down Shaw Street at Hallam; the archaic stone parapet along the north side of Harbord Street separating the sidewalk from\u2026 grass?1<\/sup> All of these are remnants of the Garrison Creek, which formerly flowed through the West End of Toronto and emptied into Lake Ontario at a point just southeast of the Old Fort York. Its drainage basin stretches as far as the Toronto West Railpath in the west and beyond St. Clair Avenue in the north. Today, it is largely channelized and flows into the lake via a system of sewers. Pedestrians can spot medallions marking key points where the creek flowed in the past, as well as a map monument at Stanley Park which superimposes the flow paths of the creek upon the present-day urban fabric of the West End.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, besides these explicit reminders of the lost river, the creek and its tributaries have made their mark on forming the topography of the West End and, by extension, shaping its parks and public spaces, locating its schools and institutions, and creating anomalies in its urban fabric and street grid. The same can be said for the various other creeks which once flows through the Old City of Toronto and are similarly, perhaps hauntingly, hidden in plain sight today. This essay will examine the lasting impression which the Garrison Creek has left behind after its interment in the underground watercourse beneath our parks and streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Garrison Creek and its many tributaries cannot be mapped to exact historical accuracy due to the excessive amount of engineering which Torontonians have applied to the West End landscape in order to permanently erase its path in its urban context. However, the creek has had a phenomenal effect on shaping the amenities and mobility of the West End and, by extension, the culture and collective memory of its residents. With access to historical imagery and with the help of digital tools, we are able to perform some re-tracing of the Garrison Creek\u2019s former appearance and highlight how its historical course has left a lasting impression on this area in the city, just as the many dozen lost Toronto rivers have influenced the morphology and progression of their own parts of town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Essay in entirety to be published at later date.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1<\/sup> Beth Kapusta, \u201cInfrastructure and Parks: The Garrison Creek Community Project,\u201d Canadian Architect<\/em> 39, no. 6 (1994): 22.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Detail of map showing confluence of Christie Reach (northeast portion) and Denison Creek (northwest portion) into Trinitiy Reach (south portion), with demolished significant buildings and homesteads shown in black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown, James and Kim Storey. \u201cBuried Alive: Garrison Creek as a Rediscovered Extended Waterfront.\u201d In Toronto\u2019s Water from Lake Iroquois to Lost Rivers to Low-flow Toilets,<\/em> edited by Wayne Reeves and Christina Palassio, 204-211. Toronto: Coach House Books, 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown, James and Kim Storey. \u201cToronto’s Garrison Creek Watershed: Regeneration of a Hidden Waterway.\u201d New City Magazine<\/em> 15, no. 2-3 (1994): 41.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCrystal Palace.\u201d CNE Heritage<\/em>. Canadian National Exhibition. Accessed November 16, 2021. https:\/\/www.cneheritage.com\/gallery-details-page?image_id=1008&main_category_id=59<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watts, Dick, P.J. Hare and The Toronto Green Community. “Garrison Creek.” Lost Rivers Walks<\/em>. Accessed October 8, 2021. https:\/\/www.lostrivers.ca\/content\/GarrisonCreek.html<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jefferys, Charles W. \u201cMap Showing Position of French Posts at Toronto.\u201d In The Picture Gallery of Canadian History, Vol. 1<\/em>, 218. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1942.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kapusta, Beth. \u201cInfrastructure and Parks: The Garrison Creek Community Project.\u201d Canadian Architect<\/em> 39, no. 6 (1994): 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lundell, Liz. The Estates of Old Toronto<\/em>. Erin, ON: Boston Mills Press, 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moore, Isabel A. \u201cListening for Lost Creeks: Recollecting Absence via Alberto Caeiro and Eirin Moure.\u201d University of Toronto Quarterly<\/em> 83, no. 3 (2014): 705-722.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollock-Ellwand, Nancy. \u201cThe Prolific Interpreter of the Olmsted Vision: Frederick G. Todd, Canada\u2019s First Landscape Architect.\u201d Planning Perspectives<\/em> 34, no. 4 (2017): 191-214.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith, Wendy. \u201cThe Toronto Park Lot Project.\u201d The Toronto Park Lot Project<\/em>. Wendy Smith. Accessed December 17, 2021. https:\/\/parklotproject.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robertson, David A. and Andrew M. Stewart. \u201cThe Garrison Creek Mouth and the Queen\u2019s Wharf: Digging Up 200 Years of Shoreline Development.\u201d In Toronto\u2019s Water from Lake Iroquois to Lost Rivers to Low-flow Toilets,<\/em> edited by Wayne Reeves and Christina Palassio, 146-153. Toronto: Coach House Books, 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosenburg, Elissa. \u201cPublic Work and Public Space: Rethinking the Urban Park.\u201d Journal of Architectural Education<\/em> 50, no. 2 (1996), 89-103.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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List of Referenced Maps and Data<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Argo, John W. Plan to Accompany Report on Garrison Creek Sewer System<\/em> [map]. 1″ = 1000′-0″. Toronto: Gore & Storrie Limited Consulting Engineers, 1956.<\/p>\n\n\n\n