Neighbours work to get Indian Valley Enclave designated heritage district

Neighbours work to get Indian Valley Enclave designated heritage district. Anya Poesiat, Karyn Koski, Suzanne Powell, and Don Cullen stand in front of 53 Indian Grove, a house now under renovations which was once home to their friends Harry and George Mills, local legends. Koski and her neighbours are on a quest to get their neighbourhood designated a heritage district. Staff photo/ANICE WONG

Underneath the asphalt lies hidden cobblestone that until the 1980s lined the streets of this once gated community now affectionately called the Indian Valley Enclave. Even deeper still are buried creek beds.

Yet Karyn Klaire Koski, who lives at the corner of Indian Valley Crescent and Indian Grove, knew nothing of her neighbourhood's hidden treasures until a right-of-way conflict on her property led her to the City of Toronto Archives where she unearthed anecdote after anecdote about her fabled community.

Now, she and several of her neighbours are on a quest to get their piece of Toronto, nestled between Parkside Drive to the west, Howard Park Avenue to the south, Bloor Street West to the north and encompassing Ridout Street and Indian Trail, designated a heritage district.

Under the Ontario Heritage Act, municipalities can pass bylaws to formally designate properties of cultural heritage value or interest. Formally designating a heritage property is one way to publicly acknowledge its value to a community - "designation helps ensure the conservation of important places for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations," says the Ontario Heritage Toolkit.

The city encourages the local community to participate in the process, according to Toronto Heritage Preservation Services.

Koski is more than happy to oblige. Research is second nature to the television producer and writer. On a walkabout of the neighbourhood, June 3, Koski told of the lower valley's transformation from marshland to dump site. At the turn of the century, The Great Fire of 1904 engulfed the E. and S. Currie Building on the north side of Wellington Street, west of Bay Street and quickly spread north, south and east. An hour after a watchman sounded the alarm, every firefighter in the city was trying to douse the flames.

"The city brought rubble from the Great Fire here," said Koski. "Then, other people caught on and dumped their garbage here too."

Today, several houses are crooked due to collapsed land, she pointed out.

The one-time gated community was conceptualized as an artists' colony by Architect Eden Smith. The area boasts a collection of architecturally eclectic homes, which were built between 1910 and 1920 for some of the city's most notable. Koski's house, for example, is where Professor Elwood S. Moore lived. Moore was a well-recognized geology professor, surveyor and geographical expert. He battled successfully to stop the construction of a lane way that would service all the houses on the south side of Indian Valley Crescent.

However, years after he sold the property, his neighbours regained access. After Moore and his wife moved in 1957, the house became a place for unwed pregnant aboriginal youth and for the mentally and physically challenged. Before being restored to the much loved grand stone and stucco manor it is today, the house had been divided into five units.

Koski's front window looks out onto the house Twain once shared with Canadian music industry heavy-weight John Kim Bell. Many scenes of her docu-drama were filmed there. Just up the street lived architect Raymond Moriyama, who can take credit for such projects as the Scarborough Civic Centre, the Toronto Reference Library and the Bata Shoe Museum, among many others.

Toronto's first Chief of Police John Chisholm, who lived at 41 Indian Grove, committed suicide in High Park in 1958. Local legends, brothers Harry and George Mills lived at 53 Indian Grove, their childhood home, until their deaths in 2008 and 2005 at ages 81 and 77, respectively.

"They were so instrumental in the neighbourhood," said Koski. "They used to have a skating rink in their backyard, which they'd let everyone use. Their house was the hub of the area."

Former Toronto Maple Leaf defenceman and sportscaster Jim McKenny used to live on Ridout Street in the 1970s. His property backed onto the Mills brothers' yard.

"Every winter those guys made an ice rink and opened it up to all the neighbourhood. Our kids were regulars," said McKenny. "Talk about a perfect world.... lit well into the evening, piped in music, and pretty much just outside of our own back door. Now that's neighbourly."

Strong supporters of heritage preservation, the two advocated against the widening of Parkside Drive in the 1950s. In 1978, they went to trial to stop a highrise development and proposed school that would have seen every house in the neighbourhood demolished.

A group of Harry and George's friends and former neighbours gathered for coffee and cake June 9 at Linda Cook's Indian Valley Crescent home to reminisce about the duo that left quite an impression. The Mills family relocated from Germany and settled into 'the big house at the top of the hill' in 1938. The house had an incredible atmosphere, recalled Anya Poesiat, whose family used to rent an apartment nearby at 4 Indian Valley Cres.

"It had treasures upon treasures," she said.

Former schoolmate Don Cullen, who attended Howard Public School with the boys, was so inspired by the Mills' home that he fashioned his coffee house, 'The Bohemian Embassy' after their living room.

"I had been to Harry's and George's and I was captivated by this curious combination of 19th century salon and the Beat generation," said Cullen. "It had a lot of cushions. Harry had an enormous classical recording collection. He had old 78s, a lot of tapes, a lot of CDs. You can imagine what a treasure this was."

The two were avid supporters of the Royal Conservatory of Music and George was an accomplished musician.

The Mills' next door neighbour, Suzanne Powell, who moved onto the street in 1990, said they adopted her and she adopted them.

"They cultivated everyone's talent. They were never at a loss for encouragement for everyone they considered their friend," said Powell.

They were gentlemen, said Poesiat. Every weekend, the two would host Sunday evening dinners for 20-plus people around their dining room table.

"They must have prepared a minimum of 4,000 dinners," said Cullen.

Both were old fashioned, respectful and never blew their own horns, said Poesiat.

"They never wanted to impress people," she said.

Added Powell, "They were from an era gone by."

"They found a way to relate to whatever your interests were. They cultivated their friendships in everyone," said Powell.

The community would like to pay tribute to the duo, perhaps by dedicating the unmarked, city-owned green space on the hill at the corner of Indian Valley Crescent and Indian Grove.

As a way of documenting her move and to pay homage to the Mills' brothers, the home's new owner, Ginger Sorbara, is hosting a photography exhibit entitled '53 Indian Grove,' which is on display until the end of June at the Department Gallery Mainspace, 1389 Dundas St. W.

It's no wonder community members would like to get a heritage designation.

"I'm so enchanted and haunted," said Koski of her neighbourhood. "I feel a connection. I fell in love."

She is not alone.

"Everyone loves this place," said Koski. It's a friendly place, a beautiful place."