Toronto

Eglinton & Don Mills

Traffic along Eglinton Avenue at Don Mills Road.

With six lanes of north-south traffic crossing six lanes of east-west traffic, this is one of the busiest intersections in the city. The most famous building at this point is the Ontario Science Centre at the south-west corner. But there are also numerous other office and residential buildings in the immediate area.

Residential and office buildings on the south-east corner of Don Mills and Eglinton.

I started working at the IBM Canada Laboratory in 1981, which, at the time, shared space with the IBM headquarters in a brick building built in the late 1960's. As the Lab grew, the headquarters people moved out and into a new building in Markham. The Lab continued to grow, and rented additional office space in other buildings on Don Mills Road, and again in the IBM manufacturing plant at the north-west corner of Don Mills and Eglinton (built in the 1950's).

But in 2001, after spinning off the Don Mills properties to Celestica, the Lab moved to more modern digs in Markham. Although the new Lab building was bigger and more efficient, it lacked the charm and quirkiness of the original Lab building.

Celestica headquarters, formerly the IBM Canada Laboratory.

Interestingly, the official opening of the new Lab building took place on September 11, 2001. Needless to say, the opening ceremonies were rather subdued.

Celestica plant, formerly IBM Manufacturing.

In the 1980's, the demand for office space in this area started to decline. One building under construction just east of Don Mills Road remained as a bare steel frame for years. However, in the mid 1990's, construction resumed. But instead of an office tower rising on the spot, an LDS church was the result. This modern new church included a much expanded Family History Library to serve the growing genealogical needs of people in the east Toronto area. For people who want to research their family tree, this should be their first stop.

Former Bata headquarters building.