Crawford Street Bridge

Crawford Street Bridge is one of two known bridges that once spanned over Garrison Creek valley (the actual creek disappeared as brick sewer in 1885 ^[1]) in Toronto, Canada, and buried intact in the 20th century. The bridge shares design features with the larger Prince Edward Viaduct.

The Crawford Bridge was a triple span Arch bridge built in 1914 to 1915 to replace an early wooden bridge (1884) that spanned Garrison Creek in the area known today's as Trinity-Bellwoods^[2]. The bridge's design was influenced by Public Works Commissioner R.C. Harris with a more pleasing structure for the public. The bridge was built to allow residents in the new residential development along Crawford Street to cross over the valley over from north of Lobb Avenue to south of Dundas Street West.

In the 1960s the valley of either sides was filled in with earth dug from building the Bloor subway. It was the last of few bridges that spanned Garrison Creek to be removed, most before the 1940s. The actual bridge was not torn down, but rather buried with only the railings and lampost removed. The city performed maintenance work in 2004 work that narrowed the roadbed and rebuilt sidewalks on both side. Foaming grout was added to fill the voids of the bridge with hope for future restoration of the entire bridge.^[3] Today there are no visible signs of the bridge being present other than plaques and sidewalk markers added in 2008 by the city.

Once rolling landscape, houses and flat Trinity Bellwoods Park now surround the bridge.

See also

Other bridges that used to span Garrison Creek:

• Harbord Street Bridge
• Shaw Street Bridge - a wood bridge over Sully Crescent and Garrison Creek was filled in by the 1920s^[4]

References

External links

• Historicist: Buried Under Bellwoods