Why Is Dundas Street So Weird?

Рет қаралды 124,919

Күн бұрын

There must be a story behind why Dundas Street in Toronto has so many twists and turns, right? Right! Come along with me - it's story time.
00:00 Introduction
01:11 Old Dundas Street
02:21 The origin of Dundas Street
03:11 Ossington Avenue at Queen Street
04:00 Dundas Street and Ossington Avenue
04:56 Heading east toward University Avenue
05:49 Crossing University Avenue
06:19 Heading east from Yonge Street
06:46 The Bend at George Street
07:19 Bridge over the Don River
07:43 Where Dundas Ended - until it didn't
08:27 Extending Dundas Street to the east
09:55 The End Of Dundas Street
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#Toronto #History #DundasStreet

Пікірлер: 360

@sealine8717 2 ай бұрын

This is the kind of surprisingly informative video you would have seen between programs on TVO back in the day. Hope you can keep making them!

@Loyatyispriceless 2 ай бұрын

I use to love tvo kids lol

@andrecarvalho9637 2 ай бұрын

TVO still exists. Actually it's one of my favorite TV channels.

@hannibalb8276 2 ай бұрын

There's still lots of good content on TVO and similar channels, as well. Unfortunately the conservatives are (and have always been) trying to destroy those channels for dumb ideological reasons by cutting their funding over time.

@TheScottbb1 2 ай бұрын

They still have shows like this.

@cthulhulvl35illithid Ай бұрын

@@Loyatyispriceless I too was a TVO kids kid

@sjappiyah4071 2 ай бұрын

Lived on Dundas & Spadina for 6 years, always found it weird how bendy this street is. Thanks for answering my lingering questions lol

@mmmghool 2 ай бұрын

Im so happy the algorythm blessed this video and showed me this channel

@jaimis5377 Ай бұрын

yt algo has been bad lately, but i was thinking the same!

@colourcoco Ай бұрын

Agree! ❤️❤️😊

@mikeychowster 2 ай бұрын

Great Video! Only 2 things to add. 1. Dundas and Bloor are the only 2 streets in Toronto to intersect each other twice (Around Bloor, Dundas and Kipling area and right on TTC's Dundas West Station). 2. As of 2019, the overpass at Dundas and Kipling has been demolished and Dundas was rerouted. Dundas now intersects at Kipling and curves northward east of Kipling into Bloor St W Intersection.

@kidcuti Ай бұрын

i was hoping to learn more about that bloor st relationship in the west

@devan7485 Ай бұрын

smaller streets but markland and millroad intersect twice as well

@kidcuti Ай бұрын

@@devan7485that’s true! Same with Markland and Bloor.

@ALuimes 16 күн бұрын

@@kidcutiBloor took over from Dundas east of Kipling as the main east-west street of Toronto because it ran straight and why Highway 5 left Dundas there to follow it eastwards instead.

@HassanAlibhai 2 ай бұрын

Love the "links in usual places". Allows me to really get context into what you say. Keep up the excellent work.

@notsmoothsteve 2 ай бұрын

And it's quicker than saying the whole spiel about links for every single link in each video :-)

@AnUnseenRuler 2 ай бұрын

Also Love the Edna Boyle gestures 😂

@joshabooth 2 ай бұрын

I really like that a random Kei truck drove past you on old dundas for a moment. It was so out of place to see something like that show up. In all seriousness, this was a really informative video!

@GordonSlamsay 2 ай бұрын

Only trucks I want on the streets these days (and the only truck I want to own)

@joshabooth 2 ай бұрын

@@GordonSlamsay They're really cool. I have a friend who works with vehicle importing and insuring right-hand drive vehicles. I'm considering buying one in the near future!

@GordonSlamsay 2 ай бұрын

@@joshabooth I seen only 2 for sale within the gtha area (a Sambar and a Carry) they just seem so much more practical than whatever sludge the big 4 have crapped out in the last 30 years

@joshabooth 2 ай бұрын

@@GordonSlamsay I absolutely agree. The closest thing to a normal truck I've seen released in the last 15 years is the ford Ranger and even that thing is gigantic. If you're interested in checking out some vehicles, feel free to get in contact with me and I can send you some links to check some out.

@ScrizzDubb 2 ай бұрын

@@joshabooth get a Sambar then get the VW bus front end, would look awesome cruising the GTA!

@johnnytoronto1066 Ай бұрын

THAT WAS GREAT!!!! Thanks from an old guy who grew up in T.O. and knows Dundas very well from one end to the other, including the straight parts west of Six Points. Very informative, and now at last it all makes sense!

@gregory-of-tours 2 ай бұрын

I remember being told as a kid on a tour at Fort York that Dundas curves upwards to the West so that it would be out of canon range from ships on the lake.

@wtspman 2 ай бұрын

I read that the curve northward was to avoid swampy land around what is now Grenadier Pond.

@gadgetgirl02 2 ай бұрын

It's Lakeshore Avenue that was routed that way, not Dundas. It's harder to see now that Lakeshore itself has been rerouted in places, not to mention the lakeshore itself being reshaped, but you can still see it is a certain distance from the shore. It can't be Dundas because 1812 cannons just couldn't shoot that far.

@ALuimes 16 күн бұрын

@@gadgetgirl02 I'm actually surprised Lakeshore never became *the* main road leading west out of Toronto, and is today only two lanes through Oakville and Burlington.

@tomthetitan101 2 ай бұрын

What a gem of a channel, thank you for putting these togather!

@Mmwindowcleaners 2 ай бұрын

I didn't even know about Old Dundas. super cool.

@hamishmarshall4094 2 ай бұрын

On parts of Dundas east of Boulton you can see the houses that used to be on Whitby avenue and are now on Dundas sitting above the grade of the street with the old sidewalk that goes off at an angle from the street. And farther east there are a bunch of garages that face Dundas because it goes down the line of what was once a back alley.

@Stripbolt 2 ай бұрын

There's a bar called Bathurst Local right by the Alexandra Park jog and it has an antique map hanging up showing Dundas in all its pre-realignment glory, along with all the other road network oddities that have gotten ironed out over the years. Lovely thing to look at while having a drink. Would love to see a video exploring how Toronto's street grid came to feature so many absurd jogs and misalignments at every arterial. (Lansdowne/Jameson is the stuff of nightmares, and that's just scratching the surface...) I've always assumed it had to be due to the way the land was parceled out along division roads and developed lot by lot with no cohesive urban plan, and the historical maps I've seen more or less confirm this, but I've never gotten in the weeds enough to learn the full history, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.

@MikeTaylorPhotoArts 2 ай бұрын

I lived on Dundas at Highpark and worked in the Junction there for a good few years. Dundas is a great street with so much variation in community from end to end. Great vid. I'll be back.

@pbandj089 Ай бұрын

I miss the polish bakeries and stuff

@whoisasey Ай бұрын

I love seeing this type of content about Toronto! Keep it up Steve 😃

@HayyuAdam 2 ай бұрын

thank you for including more maps, it makes it so much easier to follow along. you’re videos are becoming more and more enjoyable. i can’t wait for the next ones!!

@notsmoothsteve 2 ай бұрын

Glad you like them!

@hereisspencerR6 2 ай бұрын

Your content quality has improved drastically! Always happy to see one of your videos

@mistermikeyjay 2 ай бұрын

Great content and good, straight forward delivery. This is what a longer episode of 'Structures' would have been like. Thanks again for your work, have a good day.

@maxwell6881 Ай бұрын

Finally, a have you ever wondered video where i actually wondered it.

@JimLambier 2 ай бұрын

As someone who lives in the town of Dundas, I found this very interesting. In particular, the part about the street being stitched together was something that I didn't know. This does seem to be a theme that I noticed when driving to London. The road is frequently named Dundas street but often switches to another name for part of the route.

@ALuimes 16 күн бұрын

The name change to Governors Road is actually in Dundas: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dundas_Street#/media/File:Dundas_St_Governors_Rd_streetsign.jpg One thing I wonder but have never heard mentioned is the where the original route ran through the Niagara Escarpment between Dundas and Waterdown. I guess it might have followed Olympic and York Roads, instead of being rerouted to and breaking at Clappison's Corners.

@gumhoy5054 2 ай бұрын

A straightforward informative video with no obnoxious presentation. I appreciate that a lot.

@djphilipj Ай бұрын

Very well put together video. Thanks for sharing!

@Jacorywoohoo 2 ай бұрын

This video was awesome! Love learning more about the city I live in, keep up the great work, Steve. 😊

@siddheshacharekar9516 Ай бұрын

As somebody who's very recently moved to Toronto and wondered why Dundas is so peculiar when walking on it, thank you for making this and satisfying my curiosity. Your video makes me like the city even more!

@ComboBreakerHD 2 ай бұрын

I do not know who you are or why I'm here but you have a very endearing personality. I enjoyed listening to your informative insight, cheers.

@myheartbelongstowhat 2 ай бұрын

Just subscribed! I love how informative and detailed the video is! Great job!

@dutchcanuck7550 2 ай бұрын

Worth a like and subscribe. Thanks for the hard work putting this together.

@TheJohnGway 2 ай бұрын

I really like your video format, simple and to the point.

@wootwootowning 2 ай бұрын

this is actually really informative and interesting about the city im living in. great job!

@wendyweilermusic522 2 ай бұрын

Great video, Steve, really informative! Liked and subscribed....thanks for this!

@Brian20Deco Ай бұрын

That junction of bloor dupont and dundas always messed up my internal compass. Great video.

@chipotleeater 2 ай бұрын

Excellent content. Thank u friend, keep up the good work!

@tatyana9974 Ай бұрын

As a native Dundasian, I take offense to being lumped in with Hamilton, regardless of what the census says. Great video!

@avalons343 2 ай бұрын

I go down Dundas regularly and the questions often crosses my mind. Now I know! haha. Thank you! This was really cool!

@mikaeldinoto 2 ай бұрын

This is a great video. Lots of good info, well presented 👍

@nate8892 2 ай бұрын

Just got this video in my recommended page. I'm glad I clicked. Great video.

@sistav 2 ай бұрын

Amazing and informative video!

@tttwotwelve 2 ай бұрын

YOU ARE A LEGEND!!! please keep it up this made my day

@bigrick3267 Ай бұрын

lived at the corner of Parliament and Dundas all through the 80's and early 90's, went for a drive thru the area last time I was back in Toronto and it's changed a whole lot since then

@xgvto5374 2 ай бұрын

I just wanted to say I really liked this video. You've got a new subscriber in me!

@Roguerebel297 2 ай бұрын

This was great thanks for the info!

@Budzabit 2 ай бұрын

Coincidentally, this popped up on my feed while on a vacation to Toronto. Very informative, and I love the history! If you don't mind me asking, where do you typically get your information/sources from? Keep up the great work!

@leandrae-6269 2 ай бұрын

This was fun to follow with a map. Thank you!

@forkast 2 ай бұрын

great vid! super informative

@zxrcanada 2 ай бұрын

Great video! love hitorical contents like this about Toronto!

@landrecce 2 ай бұрын

Really interesting dude. Well presented!

@coreya2476 2 ай бұрын

Excellent video. Well done!

@LordNelson_369 Ай бұрын

I just started watching your channel! Amazing work you do !!!! Very informative! 👍👍👍I just subscribed!!

@spears104 2 ай бұрын

I really enjoy your videos!

@CanadaLifts Ай бұрын

I just started watching your stuff, love it haha. Dundas street never ends to me as somebody who use to live in Guelph and didn't know the area well.

@Phukugoooglification Ай бұрын

UofMoo 92

@lcslay92 2 ай бұрын

keep up the videos love watching!!

@princessefd 2 ай бұрын

What an interesting topic! Thank you!!!

@AlexColberg 2 ай бұрын

Fascinating. Excellent research work.

@cmair77 2 ай бұрын

Very informative, thank you sir.

@SpaceOfAids 2 ай бұрын

Great video, thanks

@wombattakat Ай бұрын

Regarding weird roads and bridges, the history of Fourth Line in Oakville is actually really interesting too

@alsosean 2 ай бұрын

Super informative video! I’ve travelled Dundas many times and it’s great to learn some of the history behind it’s wonky route. Thanks!

@notsmoothsteve 2 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@alukuhito 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video. I used to live on Roncesvalles Avenue, which merges with Dundas St. West a little south of Bloor where the Dundas West Station is. I always thought it was weird how from Yonge St. heading west towards Roncesvalles, it gradually got more north, then went quite a bit north of Bloor, only to head back south of Bloor further west, near Kipling.

@rulesR4foolz 2 ай бұрын

thanks for this knowledge!

@unimpressedcat2140 2 ай бұрын

Great video. Love learning about my city

@DanielDaria 2 ай бұрын

As a new comer to GTA, thank you for your informative videos!

@notsmoothsteve 2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your support! I'm glad you enjoy my videos.

@wongobongo 2 ай бұрын

I love that depending where you live you can live North of/South of/ East of Dundas St. West all while at the same address

@brotherpaul963 2 ай бұрын

I just found your video and I watched the whole thing. Well Done!!!

@younghokim1994 2 ай бұрын

This is really great!

@robertb3409 2 ай бұрын

I just discovered your video today. Great information on Dundas Street. I grew up near Runymede and Dundas.

@royieg2543 2 ай бұрын

Awesome video, used to live on Dundas west and truly amazing

@jayneyp8683 2 ай бұрын

I love this! I wish you could go more into the detail of what happened to all of the little streets when Dundas extended East of Boulton. So many streets got cut off and or split!! Tiverton is also such a weird little street! The stretch between Pape and Jones etc. Anyway, love this!!

@16th6ToothSon_ 2 ай бұрын

Steve, I don’t know who you are but now I’m subscribed to your channel. I’ll check out for the links in the usual places.

@billhollings6567 2 ай бұрын

Very interesting history! Thanks for publishing it! I have a poster made from a Toronto map from 1854, and it shows many of the small streets and kinks with their original names. Others were simply non-existent or fields at that time. I found it interesting that at that time, King & Queen were clearly laid out as main streets, but the next main street above that was College, then Bloor. Everything in between was just small local streets.

@William.Marsh. 2 ай бұрын

Awesome video!

@julianschady2592 2 ай бұрын

Great video!

@cat-.- Ай бұрын

I appreciate that they keep a single name for a street for as long as possible. Always made me wonder why the dichotomy of St. George and Beverly, College and Carlton, Uni Ave and Avenue Rd, etc. Now I know why!

@flynnfoil 2 ай бұрын

I've only been to Toronto once but I distinctly remember biking down this road while trying to find the Kenny v Spenny house

@PeopleandPlacesTV 2 ай бұрын

Great stuff buddy

@56nickrich 2 ай бұрын

I waited until the last few minutes and you did indeed mention the street I lived on for a quarter century.. Dagmar. The city "expropriated" all the land behind the south properties and built uniform garages for each home. I had a solid concrete fort in the backyard underneath our garage when I grew up!😁👍

@mzimmerman1988 2 ай бұрын

thanks for the video! Any plans to do a video on the Esplanade/St lawrence market area? I had a conversation with a man on the Go train that claimed to be a student of one of the architects involved in the project. He walked me through some of the goals given to the teams that designed the neighbourhood and my own walks seem to verify some of what he said.

@notsmoothsteve 2 ай бұрын

Hmm ... nothing planned in that regard, but thanks for the suggestion - I'll keep it in mind.

@tamsynnlee Ай бұрын

Great info. Thanks for walking the distance aswell. New sub 🇨🇦 🍁

@danielr8566 2 ай бұрын

Longtime Toronto resident and you just blew me away with this video. So interesting! Now, what about when Dundas goes north of Bloor and meanders through the Junction? Just excellent work sir, thank you.

@AlexA-nd3yy 2 ай бұрын

This video is fascinating to me! While I don't live in Toronto now, most of my life I did. I know many of the streets mentioned here. I am particularly looking forward to watching next "The Lost Bridge on Lawrence Avenue" as I can remember before the current Lawrence was put through straight. (Also before the DVP.) Which killed the skill hill there, which I also remember skiing at. Last time I checked (not that many years ago) the poles were still there for the Poma Lift, even though it was decades since they had been used.

@DwainRichardson Ай бұрын

Dundas Street is definitely bendy. Quite a lot of information in such a short video. Thank you for sharing your findings with us! (-:

@maddy7704 2 ай бұрын

Great vid Steve, love the specific Toronto history. The informational content is superb. However, when you're talking about a specific subject, it would help to show a bit more of it! For example, when you're talking about Old Dundas street, the one third of the subject is being blocked by your body. The vlog style is engaging and visually interesting, but an establishing shot of the important streets would give the viewer a better sense of place and feel better to watch. I think you're pretty close to indie youtube greatness, and if you added a few tweaks you could fully immerse the viewer in the subject you're talking about. Thanks for reading (if you're reading, that is, lol)

@notsmoothsteve 2 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@AeroAndZero 2 ай бұрын

1:24 love the timing of that vehicle crossing the river!

@teenagestacker6063 2 ай бұрын

An interesting video would be about the Wychwood Park neighbourhood, interesting history, beautiful place in Toronto, which could be expanded to the local area around it and how it's always used for movies!

@mloik1 2 ай бұрын

Very interesting Steve.

@Jstkillntime 2 ай бұрын

Stumbled across your videos and just enjoying them, well done.

@hellionsentinel 2 ай бұрын

Very informative

@bobstuart2638 2 ай бұрын

I'm still satisfied with the theory that Dundas follows the trail of a drunken Moose.

@kittymamayyz 2 ай бұрын

Not sure how this came up on my feed, but I'm glad it did. Fantastic video! I also love the dry sense of humour: "Now here are 2000 words..." I chuckled at that. Nice one Steve! New subscriber!!! 😊

@TheOfficialWoof Ай бұрын

Amazing work like always Steve. p.s whats your cat's name

@notsmoothsteve Ай бұрын

The cat in my avatar was Tuxx. Sadly, she developed cancer and passed away earlier this year. My new cat is very shy but maybe once she comes out of her shell she may agree to be in a video. Time will tell!

@CanadianRamen Ай бұрын

Brings back memories of my childhood

@andreasissons7766 2 ай бұрын

Great history of the street. I drive along Dundas in the east end all the time because I enjoy the meandering.

@sheldrake1111 2 ай бұрын

Very interesting video

@mikerobidoux3032 2 ай бұрын

It is, isn't it

@KarstenJohansson 2 ай бұрын

Gerrard is also a little bit weird (Although not quite as much). There is even a part at the edge of Little India that you have to leave Gerrard in order to keep following it from a few blocks north. I never really thought about the history of these streets. This video was pretty awesome.

@kzzkfiles 2 ай бұрын

loved this

@teleguy2650 2 ай бұрын

Dundas St "route" was originally a native trail which followed the shoreline of glacial Lake Iroquois. In many locations along Dundas, the shoreline slope can still be seen on the south side of Dundas.

@ShellShocks14 Ай бұрын

“this, is now, bloor street” was the CRAZIEST plot twist i wasnt ready for

@ALuimes 16 күн бұрын

I think the video was wrong as I believe Bloor always was Bloor, because if the Humber was crossable there in the early 19th Century, there'd be no reason for Dundas to swing farther north. The Bloor bridge over the Humber was built in the 20th Century to connect the two separate halves of The Kingsway and only later became Bloor. And Governors Road runs between Dundas and Paris.

@MichaelFever Ай бұрын

I'm from the Town oF Dundas. So you're saying the town was named after the road? The road (highway 5) travels all the way to the area but you need to make a left at Sydenham road to get to Dundas. What is interesting is that on the other side of Dundas is highway 99, which is Governor's road which takes you all the way to Brant (St. George) as does Highway 5. I've always been curious about the lore of Dundas and would like to know more! Thank you for this video.

@ALuimes 16 күн бұрын

Dundas doesn't follow Highway 5 west of 6. Dundas breaks at Hwy. 6 and resumes to the south in Dundas, where it changes to Governors Road: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dundas_Street#/media/File:Dundas_St_Governors_Rd_streetsign.jpg

@InADarkTavern 2 ай бұрын

My favourite KZfaqr

@taylorcoutts9681 Ай бұрын

I love these

@thomasburns6289 2 ай бұрын

Great video

@polishprince7219 Ай бұрын

very interesting video! If you haven't done one already, can you do a video on the changes to Toronto's shoreline and how and why there was so much infill.

@notsmoothsteve Ай бұрын

I do have a video on how Toronto's shoreline has moved since the end of the last ice age, including changes humans have made to it - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qLOEgJOU3reZYaM.html