On my latest visit to the Toronto Archives and the Toronto Public Library Archives, I found some very interesting photos of the Toronto sewer system and those who worked on it.
The images date back to the late 1800s and show some of the workers throughout the years as well as the design and materials used on our early sewers.
Take a look at the pics and let us know anything interesting you notice via social media.
1890? – Avenue Road sewer1890? – Avenue Road sewer copy1890? – Avenue Road sewer copy 21890? – Bellmouth, Northwest Branch, Garrison Creek sewer1890? – Garrison Creek sewer, northwest branch1910 – Sewer construction1910? – Davenport Road sewer, brick work1910? – Sewers1925 – Sherbourne Street sewer extension from south1926 – Berkeley Street sewer forms and steel1927 – North Toronto Sewers, Leaside tunnel heading1927 – Sewer construction workers, west heading, contract 43 – Russell – mining invert, 10 feet, 9-inch diameter, 32 pounds air pressure, material clay1927 – Sewers, air lock, contract 18, W. R. Worthington Construction Company1927 – Sewers, excavation of complete sewer showing crown planks supported on bench, 10 foot 9 inch diameter – mining, west heading, contract 43, Russell Construction Company1927 – Sewers, north heading completed – workers, contract 18, Worthington1927 – Sewers, north heading completed – workers, contract 18, Worthington copy1931 – Rosedale Creek Sewer near Ramsden Park1933 – Spadina Rd. sewer, looking northerly, showing cave-in on east side of trench1940? – East Toronto and Midway storm sewer – Coxwell and Ashbridge1940? – East Toronto and Midway storm sewer – Coxwell and Queen1960? – Sewer construction, Eglinton Avenue and Bermondsey Road1975 – After 9-year-old Simon Wilson was reported missing in January, 1975, police officers and volunteers explored Etobicoke’s sewer tunnels and Searched Mimico Creek. No trace of Simon was found1975 – Andy Try, 14, and Peter Ostrowskie, 12, beam a flashlight down a side tunnel inside the network of storm sewers in Rexdale where some people believe missing 9-year-old Simon Wilson may be hiding. Brennan, Pat1984 – Site engineer Eric Pullerits looks up from 27.4 meters below Jarvis St. at Queen’s Quay – where work is in progress on a new $3.7 million – half-mile storm sewer line being built to facilitate water run-off to Lake Ontario – Beaty, Keith1987 – Bonie Bertumen stands in a 12-foot sewer; one of the many running below Metro. The smell stops bothering you; he says; after working there 20 or 30 years – Mike Slaughter
