Agricultural area.

Details of Site Location: The area originally called Warren Flats, now called Warren Park, at 19 Bralorne Crescent in the Humber flats south of Dundas and east of the Humber River.

PDM:

Boundary History: This 1-acre property ran from the high water mark of the Humber on the west, to Varsity Road on the east, Crosby on the north, and the back lots on Bralorne Crescent on the south.

Current Use of Property: Mixed residential.

Historical Description: One of the last farms in the area was this property, purchased in the 1920s by a Norwegian, Eric Jorgensen Andersen, who built a successful nursery and greenhouse business on this land. He had learned the business from his family, who had a successful nursery/greenhouse operation outside Stockholm, Sweden. He built the farm-house as a miniature of his family home. This house and property adjoined the property of Herman and Karl Marx, who ran a similar business, and the two operations covered 5 acres of Warren Flats. The Andersen house and greenhouses were on higher land than the farm, such that the havoc caused by Hurricane Hazel in 1954 did not affect them. The greenhouses were said to be built to withstand anything, and were made of concrete and scrap metal to a design similar to that used by Gordon Birney – the man who pioneered greenhouse construction. In the 1920s and ’30s, the business flourished and both the Marxes and Andersen were very successful. They grew fruit and nut trees and vegetables of all types, and introduced for the first time in Toronto many exotic house plants. Florist shops throughout Toronto carried their products. Andersen always entered plants and flowers in the Royal Winter Fair competitions and won many prizes. In addition to the greenhouses there was a well down the hill on the lowest part of the property and a windmill on the Marx property. The well ran between 6 and 9 feet in depth and was shored up with logs. Further along the flats there were a number of Chinese market gardeners, who had difficulty in subsisting during the 1930s. They were treated badly by local residents; during the Depression their gardens were marauded, and they were left with very little. Andersen and Marx helped them in various ways: ensuring they got decent prices for their vegetables, employing them whenever possible, and allowing them to sleep in the greenhouses. Some 20 families were supported in this way. Members of the Andersen family recall that Eric Andersen had recounted how in the winter of the early 1920s he had cross-country skied down to the mouth of the Humber and back – a distance of about 20 miles. As well, the family skated on the Humber in winter and swam there in the summer, and fished along the banks all year. In those days, there was all manner of wildlife in the area, including deer, muskrats, pheasants, and foxes. Mr. Andersen kept a log of temperatures from the 1920s through to the 1930s, which indicates a considerable change in the temp¬erature of the area.

Relative Importance: The site is important as part of the city’s agricultural history, and recalls both the difficulties of the Depression and struggle of immigrants.

Planning Implications: A plaque should be placed at the laneway that served as a farm road leading to the Andersen and Marx farms.

Reference Sources: Oral history interview with Andersen family member.