Vale of Avoca (bridge)

Last updated
Vale of Avoca
St Clair Bridge, 1924.png
Vale of Avoca nears completion, November 3, 1924
Coordinates 43°41′21″N79°23′20″W / 43.689160°N 79.388882°W / 43.689160; -79.388882 Coordinates: 43°41′21″N79°23′20″W / 43.689160°N 79.388882°W / 43.689160; -79.388882
Carries5 lanes of St. Clair Avenue
(originally 4 lanes with 2 streetcar tracks)
Crosses Vale of Avoca (ravine)
Locale Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Other name(s)St. Clair Viaduct
Maintained by Toronto Transportation
Characteristics
Design Truss arch bridge
Total length155.1 m (509 ft)
Width19.7 m (65 ft)
Clearance above 27 m (89 ft)
Clearance below Yellow Creek
History
Opened1924 (1924)
Statistics
Daily traffic St. Clair Avenue East
TollNo
Location
Vale of Avoca (bridge)

Vale of Avoca is the name of a large viaduct which carries St. Clair Avenue East over a ravine of the same name, in Toronto, Canada. Located just east of Yonge Street, the current triple arch bridge, also known as the St. Clair Viaduct, was built to connect the well-established community of Deer Park with the developing community of Moore Park in the 1920s. The bridge replaced an older structure and straightened the alignment of St. Clair Avenue in the process.

Contents

A small channelized tributary of the Don River, known as Yellow Creek, weaves beneath the central span. Much of David A. Balfour Park (named for the Toronto city councillor) consists of a nature trail that winds through the Vale of Avoca Ravine; the park also includes a grassy recreational area near an inlet into which Yellow Creek flows.

The bridge and the ravine it crosses is named after a poem by Thomas Moore.

History

The Vale of Avoca bridge under construction in the winter of 1923 Vale of Avoca construction.png
The Vale of Avoca bridge under construction in the winter of 1923

The first bridge over the Vale of Avoca was an iron bridge, built in 1888. The bridge was built by John Thomas Moore in the hopes of encouraging investment in his new subdivision, Moore Park. Under the condition that he build the bridge, the Township of York purchased a strip of land across the valley and leased it to Moore, who was in return given the St. Clair Avenue right-of-way between Avoca Avenue and Inglewood Drive. [1]

On December 16, 1912, Moore Park was annexed into Toronto at the instigation of landowners eager to obtain municipal services. Due to growing safety concerns regarding the old iron bridge, Toronto City Council authorized construction of a new bridge in 1922. Unlike the old bridge, this one would follow the straight alignment of St. Clair Avenue East (renamed in 1914). Two houses were expropriated and demolished, and the new structure built over two years at the cost of $716,653.58 (equivalent to $10.68 million in 2020) It opened to traffic in November or December, 1924. [2]

The old bridge remained open and operational throughout, with traffic detouring around construction on the eastern side. The former structure crossed the valley on an angle, beginning at St. Clair in the east and crossing to Pleasant Boulevard; it followed an electric line already in place. The eastern abutment and several concrete footings are still in place near the rim of the ravine as reminders of the old bridge. [3] After completion of the new structure, the old one was promptly dismantled, and the material used to forge the fence that lines Avoca Avenue along the west side of the ravine. The Yellow Creek stream at the bottom was subsequently channelized to slow erosion. [3]

In 1973, the City of Toronto government officially named the bridge structure and the ravine as The Vale of Avoca, [1] after either the poem by Thomas Moore (after whom John Thomas Moore is named), or the River Avoca river valley in Ireland. [4] The bridge was renovated in 1985. [4]

The events in Margaret Atwood's novel The Blind Assassin begins on the recounting of an car accident at the Vale of Avoca bridge:

Laura had gone through a Danger barrier, then right off the St. Clair Avenue bridge into the ravine far below.

Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin, 2000

Related Research Articles

North Toronto Place in Ontario, Canada

North Toronto is a former town and informal district located in the northern part of the Old Toronto district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Currently occupying a geographically central location within the city of Toronto, the Town of North Toronto was incorporated in 1890, when much of the area was still farmland, and annexed by the old city of Toronto in 1912. The name is still used to refer to the area in general, although Yonge–Eglinton and Midtown Toronto are officially used.

Deer Park, Toronto Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Deer Park is an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, centred on the intersection of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue. Its boundaries are the Vale of Avoca section of Rosedale ravine in the east, Farnham Avenue and Jackes Avenue in the south, Avenue Road and Oriole Parkway in the west, the Beltline Trail in the north on the west side of Yonge Street, and Glen Elm Avenue in the north on the east side of Yonge Street. For the purposes of social policy analysis and research, the Toronto government’s Social Development & Administration division includes Deer Park within the City of Toronto's official "Rosedale-Moore Park" and "Yonge-St.Clair" neighbourhood profiles. The neighbourhood is in Ward 22, represented by Councillor Josh Matlow at Toronto City Council.

St. Clair Avenue

St. Clair Avenue is a major east-west street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was laid out in the late 18th century by the British as a concession road, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of Bloor Street and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Queen Street.

Moore Park, Toronto Neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Moore Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of Toronto's most affluent neighbourhoods. Toronto Life ranked the Rosedale-Moore Park neighbourhood as the best neighbourhood to live in Toronto. It lies along both sides of St. Clair Avenue East between the Vale of Avoca ravine and Moore Park ravine. The northern boundary is Mount Pleasant Cemetery and the southern the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks.

St. Clair station Toronto subway station

St. Clair is a subway station on Line 1 Yonge–University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The station opened in 1954 as part of the original Yonge Street subway.

Bloor Street Major thoroughfare in Toronto

Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct, Danforth Avenue continues along the same right-of-way. The street, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) long, contains a significant cross-sample of Toronto's ethnic communities. It is also home to Toronto's famous shopping street, the Mink Mile.

Bayview Avenue Major north-south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario

Bayview Avenue is a major north–south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in York Region, Bayview is designated as York Regional Road 34.

Leaside Bridge Bridge in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Leaside Bridge, formerly the East York Leaside Viaduct, and officially commemorated as the Confederation Bridge, spans the Don River in the City of Toronto, Ontario. The Truss bridge carrying Millwood Road was built to connect the then Town of Leaside, including Thorncliffe Park, to the then Township of East York, and was completed on October 29, 1927. The construction time of only 10 months was record breaking at the time.

Toronto Belt Line Railway

The Toronto Belt Line Railway was built during the 1890s in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It consisted of two commuter railway lines to promote and service new suburban neighbourhoods outside of the then city limits. Both lines were laid as loops. The longer Don Loop ran north of the city limits, while the shorter Humber Loop ran west of the city limits. The railway was never profitable and it only ran for two years. Today, as part of a rails-to-trails project, the Beltline Trail lies on the right-of-way of the Don Loop.

Castle Frank Brook

Castle Frank Brook is a buried creek and south-west flowing tributary of the Don River in central and north-western Toronto, Ontario, originating near the intersection of Lawrence Avenue and Dufferin Street.

St. David (provincial electoral district) Provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada

St. David was an Ontario provincial riding that existed from 1926 to 1987. It covered a section of the eastern city of Toronto east of Sherbourne Street and west of the Don River. The riding lasted until 1987 when it was merged with the neighbouring St. George to create a larger district called St. George—St. David.

Mount Pleasant Road Arterial thoroughfare in Toronto, Canada

Mount Pleasant Road is a major arterial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The street extends from Jarvis Street south of Bloor Street north to Glen Echo Drive. The road is unique as one of the few arterial roads in Toronto to be created after the development of the suburbs which it passes through. These include the wealthy Rosedale, Moore Park and Lawrence Park neighbourhoods. The road also passes through the centre of Mount Pleasant Cemetery, after which it takes its name.

Beltline Trail Rail trail in Toronto, Ontario

The Beltline Trail is a 9-kilometre (5.6 mi)-long cycling and walking rail trail in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It consists of three sections, the York Beltline Trail west of Allen Road, the Kay Gardner Beltline Park from the Allen to Mount Pleasant Road, and the Ravine Beltline Trail south of Mount Pleasant Cemetery through the Moore Park Ravine. Built on the former right-of-way of the Toronto Belt Line Railway, the linear park passes through the neighbourhoods of Rosedale, Moore Park, Forest Hill, Chaplin Estates, and Fairbank.

Yellow Creek (Toronto) Stream in Ontario, Canada

Yellow Creek is a partially-buried southeasterly tributary of the Don River in Toronto. It has also been known at different times as Silver Creek, Sylvan Creek, and Rosedale Brook. The former source of Yellow Creek begins near Sheppard West station in the Downsview neighbourhood. Most of the creek and its sources are buried underground in storm sewers until they emerge into Avoca Ravine in the Deer Park neighbourhood and continue their way to the Don River.

Vale of Avoca may refer to:

David A. Balfour Park

David A. Balfour Park is an urban park in the Deer Park neighbourhood of Toronto near the intersection of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue. The park made up of 20.5 hectares of green space consisting of the greenery-covered Rosehill Reservoir and the entirety of the Vale of Avoca with its system of trails.

Mud Creek (Toronto) Stream in Toronto, Canada

Mud Creek, is a mostly buried south-easterly tributary of the Don River in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has also been known at different times as Mount Pleasant Brook and Spring Valley Creek.

References

  1. 1 2 Chartash, David (2001). "Report on the Vale of Avoca - Old History of the Place and Surrounding Area". Deer Park Newsletter. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
  2. Two photos from the Toronto Archives taken on November 3 and December 16 show the paving of the completed structure, and the demolition of the old structure, respectively.
  3. 1 2 Bridge over Vale of Avoca. Deer Park Library. Local history reference; 'Bridges' fonds
  4. 1 2 "St. Clair Viaduct". Lost River Walks Toronto. Retrieved December 27, 2010.