Queen's Wharf Uncovered

Posted by Sookie
Filed in City
August 4, 2006

queen%27s%20wharf%20fort%20york.jpgI might be the only one who gets excited about this old pile of wood uncovered at Fort York, but if you care about Toronto's history you might too. This summer, construction crews at the foot of Bathurst unearthed a significant part of Toronto's early waterfront. While digging the base of the Malibu condo project an immense interlocking pier began to reveal itself, hinting at the fact that Toronto's waterfront once began some distance back from where it now flows.

Everyday I passed and watched more emerge from the depths, wondering what would happen to it all. It seemed to slow construction for a little while but then one day it had all evaporated, and the construction trucks were back in business, hauling away the dirt. My heart sank. What had become of this major part of TO's history? Don't Torontonians care about their past?

On Canada Day weekend I ended up at Fort York and saw pieces from the pier beneath a tree. Friends thought I was nuts as I ran toward the pile, excitedly explaining the story ot the Queen's Wharf. We found a historian inside who validated my tale, and pointed to the lighthouse that now sits at a streetcar stop on Fleet Street as evidence of the early waterfront, which wasn't without its share of political battle then too. He added that the pile of old wood was indeed a part of the pier that no one had wanted. Much of it was shipped away but they were allowed to take the bunch. Now the question is, what'll they do with it? Have any good ideas? Let blogTO know.

djw on August 4, 2006 at 5:53 PM

It looks like some of the wood ended up here:

http://www.urbantreesalvage.com/

Mark Dowling on August 4, 2006 at 7:45 PM

I think there was a Star article about UTS and the wharf wood last weekend.

marek on August 7, 2006 at 2:44 PM

A friend of mine worked on the project, she's a coordinator at malibu. It was her initial idea to inform people about the find and see if it could be salvaged.
As far as I know the wood was moved to Fort York but not much is known of what will happen to it next.

Sean Gorham on August 10, 2006 at 5:43 AM

I went to fort york with our saw mill and milled all of the timbers that were there. They will be using the timber for a project later this year.

We have salvaged over 60 truck loads of the timber and are milling/drying it to sell. If you are interested please contact us.

www.urbantreesalvage.com

Archie on September 26, 2008 at 6:18 PM

SODI DESIGNS is incorporating timber from the Queens Wharf into their contemporary metal furniture which is available at our store in Victoria, B.C. (Studio 201 Furniture)

Add a Comment

Name: Email: URL:
Comment: