Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Fairbank/Then and Now

The outskirts of Fairbank in 1911. Harvie Ave on the left and Nairn on the right.
Taken from the crest of Hatherley Road.
An approximate current view.
This little house appears to be the same as the one circled in the first photo.
The chimney is the clue.

The Fairbank Fire Hall at Vaughan at Greyton Cres.
Now a little parkette.

6 comments:

  1. I wandered through the area few years ago trying to duplicate the first photo, with limited success. I had a few likely suspects, but the tree canopy that's grown since it was taken makes finding the exact spot difficult; it's fascinating to see how barren these neighbourhoods looked when they were built - sort of like a new subdivision built on former farmers' fields look today, but a bit more patchwork. It would be nice to think that the subdivision will look as filled in and distinctive one day.

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  2. It's not an area that I know too much about. But I did a "Google" walk around in lieu of actually being there. Ron Brown's book Toronto's Lost Villages has a good chapter on the area.

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  3. Ron Brown however refers to it as Fairbanks not Fairbank. I think the fire station would have the correct name.

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  4. I was born in this area and my extended family lived there from about 1910 to the 1950's. We always referred to it as Fairbanks and still do.

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  5. I live here today and all my historical my research (including maps from the City of Toronto archives) indicates that the name is "Fairbank", though when speaking people do often say "Fairbanks".
    http://www.fairbank.gloamingheritage.com/

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  6. My family settled here and it was known as Fairbank, They had chickens and at one time a cow. I've resided in the area all my life and my grand parents to.

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