by Kathryn Hunt
What a difference! The photo at top appeared on the front page of last month’s BUZZ: the photo below it is of the same retaining wall and bedrock ledge as it appeared a day later, after workmen dismantled the 180-year-old limestone wall that ran along the east side of Bronson Avenue between Laurier and Slater.
The trees that had been growing through the wall have been cut down and removed, and large sections of the bedrock have also been cut away.
The lower sections, around the corner housing the Nanny Goat Hill community garden, remain, but a metal fence has replaced the sections of the wall that had been taller and more heavily damaged.
The wall had been identified as a safety hazard and its removal was recommended by MacIntosh Perry Consulting Engineers. The original stones of the wall have been stored in a secure location, awaiting a decision about what to do with them.
Councillor Diane Holmes thinks that as a heritage structure (the wall was originally part of the wall around the old Bronson Estate), it should be preserved, and rebuilt in as close to its original form as possible.
Chances are that, even if rebuilt, some changes will be made, particularly in terms of reinforcement and position of the wall on the bedrock supporting it. The stones, while historically significant, are not building grade material by 21st-century standards.
Whatever happens, final decisions on the wall’s return may have to wait until after a proposed redesign of traffic patterns at the north end of Bronson, after the current Bronson Rehabilitation Project is completed.
