History lesson for the condo crowd
The barracks proved a blessing for hundreds of families during Toronto’s severe postwar housing shortage.
Condo project raises concerns, Feb. 4
There is no mention of the land’s military history in this article.
Purchased by the Ontario Rifle Association in 1891, when rifle marksmanship was in vogue, and our nation’s defence depended on local militia units, that acreage became a hub of activity in training volunteers for Canada’s participation in the Boer War. The country’s first aerodrome was built there in 1915, preparing novice flyers for service in the Royal Air Force.
Under the auspices of the Dept. of National Defence, dozens of tarpapered barracks were constructed on the site’s eastern extremity, housing thousands of soldiers from 1939 until 1945, before the men embarked for Europe.
The barracks proved a blessing for hundreds of families during Toronto’s severe postwar housing shortage. My family was one of those. We lived in Hut 7. Yes, folks, Hut 7. I have fond memories of my chums and I exploring the extended fields of the rifle range, its target dugouts, and high earthen baffles, before the regiments arrived for summer training. We just ignored the wooden signs that warned: “Danger! Unexploded bombs!”
Watching tracer bullets being fired from machine guns was unforgettable.
Development of that waterfront land is long overdue. Today, will these, “20 buildings in the 12- to 40-storey range,” be affordable for families struggling to find housing?
The architects’ rendering looks like a Yuppie haven. But I’m just an old guy who spent most of his boyhood next door, in Hut 7.
GARRY BURKE ORO-MEDONTE, ONT.