Site 2: Montgomery's Inn

1. Montgomery’s Inn sits on the south-east corner of the busy intersection at Islington Avenue and Dundas Street in Etobicoke, on the shore of Mimico Creek. The building was originally the home (and farm) of Thomas Montgomery and his family, in addition to serving as a local tavern, inn, and town meeting site in the mid-1800s. Today it is both a museum, teaching visitors about everyday 19th century life in the region, and one of the few remaining examples of Loyalist/late-Georgian architecture in the city. The Inn is strikingly different from the buildings on the other three corners of the intersection – a gas station, a restaurant, and an apartment building. Many signs greet visitors upon their arrival, providing them with information about the Inn and its upcoming activities. The building is elevated and sits extremely close to the sidewalk and the road, and while there is a stone retaining wall, there is no fence or other indication that the area is off limits or restricted. The Union Jack flies from a tall flagpole at the front of the building, helping maintain the illusion that you are stepping back into the pre-Confederation era. A path runs behind the west side of the building, through a densely-treed park and along the Mimico River. The building is not entirely original, with the building parking lot on the east side of the Inn and an obviously new wooden addition built on the south. Additionally, there are many indications of (somewhat hidden) modern intervention on the property: an air conditioning unit, what looked like some sort of gas pipe, and a plastic storage bin. Two picnic benches have been provided for people to sit and enjoy the scenery while they visit the Inn, with garbage and recycling bins close by for food and drink wrappers.

The sun was almost blinding, so there was no need for any additional lighting; however, I still notice many different artificial light sources when I am there. In addition to the city lampposts that line the roadway, there is a decorative lamppost on the property and two ground lights that point towards the building to illuminate it at night. The traffic in the area is extremely heavy, so the only thing I can hear is cars and their associated noises: music from a loud stereo, beeping, and even a small fender bender that happened right in front of the Inn, just a few metres from where I was standing at the time. Other than the drivers in their cars, the only people in the area were a few pedestrians and city employees.

2. I saw so few people outside of the Inn during my visit, if it wasn’t for several cars in the parking lot, I may have thought it was closed. Yet at the same time, the area in which the Inn is located was extremely busy. The lights at the intersection were being replaced, so there were two police officers directing traffic and about a half dozen city employees working on the new installation. The resulting mid-afternoon Monday traffic was extremely heavy. There is a high school a few hundred metres down the path that runs along the shore of Mimico Creek, and a few minutes into my visit a teenage girl walked up the path and over to the nearby bus stop. A teenage boy took the same route about five minutes later. The occasional pedestrian would walk by on the sidewalk. We all watched as the two people involved in the car accident got out to inspect the damage, and later, when one of the police officers left his post directing traffic to direct the two people involved to the nearest Collision Reporting Centre.

3. The biggest thing that struck me about this location was how empty it was, even though it was right in the middle of an area that otherwise seemed completely chaotic to me. While the surrounding area was entirely filled with motion and movement and noise, other than a few cars in the parking lot there was almost no sign of life at the Inn at all. This actually made me a bit sad, because I imagine the Inn's tavern must have been quite a happening place during its heyday. While the building has been beautifully maintained and restored to its original 19th century state, the life and energy that once existed within its walls will almost certainly never be replicated. I'd also like to think that if I went at a different time, when the work on the traffic lights had been completed and all lanes re-opened, that the area would be much more peaceful. It would be much easier to appreciate how beautiful the property is and how well the building itself has been preserved if the road traffic in the area wasn't so intrusive.

4. Montgomery's Inn is a unique place because not only is it a combination of nature and development, it is also a combination of the country and the city. On both the inside and outside, it is an example of a typical mid-1800s farm home, but the property is completely engulfed by signs of modern urban development. As such, this site brings to mind some of the first pieces we read in class from the SUDR that told the history of the concept of a sustainable city. In many ways the original property would have been following many of the concepts those authors discussed. The family farm provided food not only for the Montgomery family, but also the many visitors and guests the Inn received. What could not be consumed was presumably traded and sold for other necessities. In many ways it was self-sustaining and sustainable, and a nice example of a combination of the city (the inn and tavern) and the countryside (the farm) in one location.

Thanks to the sheer number of cars that passed by during my visit, and exasperated by the car accident that happened practically over my shoulder (and far too close for comfort), I could not help but think of Newman and Kenworthy's piece about traffic calming while reflecting about my visit to the Inn. It was quite amazing to see what some unfunctioning traffic lights and an unavailable left turn lane can do to early afternoon suburban traffic. I could block out the 30-story apartment buildings and rows of strip malls lining the streets, but the traffic was so intrusive on the space that I found it hard to enjoy what was otherwise a beautiful and interesting location.

5. Montgomery’s Inn is supposed to be a piece of "untouched" history, and while much of the building is original (or restored to an original state), its location at such a busy intersection makes it hard to maintain this illusion while standing outside, listening to the cars whizz by. The very thing that makes the building inviting and welcoming - i.e. the lack of obstructions such as fences or dense bushes that generally protect most important buildings from vandals or other unwanted damage - also leaves it exposed to all the modern intrusions that infest the area. For example, the Inn's property is beautifully maintained with many trees and plants and local wildlife on the grounds, and you can enjoy it while you eat your lunch on one of the two picnic benches the Inn has provided for guests. However, if you face the wrong way you will see the gas station or an apartment multiplex - not very natural. And even if you do get the good view, it will be hard to lose yourself in nature when the constant hum of cars is the most dominant sound you will hear.

At the same time, it is not hard to imagine what might have become of this area if the Inn had not been maintained by the family for over a century and then converted into a museum in the mid-1900s. The museum is on a relatively large piece of land (especially compared to other homes in the area) and with the exception of the parking lot to the east and the new addition to the south, the property quite possibly looks very close to what it did when Thomas Montgomery and his family lived there. The farm that once fed his family and guests is long gone, but the property is still full of trees and the creek still runs behind it.

On the other hand, the rest of the surrounding area has been completely built up, and other than a few local parks, there is exponentially more concrete than green space. Presumably, this was not the only family residence or farm in the area during the mid-1800s, but one would have trouble finding any evidence of that today. By preserving Montgomery's Inn and the property on which it is located, the City (and the Montgomery family) has also preserved a small piece of green space for the local residents and visitors in an otherwise entirely urban area. For many area visitors (especially the communities to the south and west of the Inn, which are made up almost entirely of highrise apartment buildings) this site is one of the few places they have to escape their concrete box and restore a sense of environmental equilibrium in their lives.

Finally, Montgomery's Inn also helps people connect with nature through the many educational programs and activities it hosts, helping to remind visitors of a time when most people did have a much stronger connection to the natural environment. Living in the city, we have become completely removed from all of the processes that allow us to enjoy the lifestyle we do today. Meat comes neatly packaged into pre-portioned and selected cuts for us at the grocery store, produce comes plucked from the plant and washed clean of dirt, and almost everything else has at least one ingredient that is impossible to pronounce. I remember visiting Montgomery's Inn on a school fieldtrip as a child many years ago, and we all sat around the kitchen counter and helped prepare a chicken. It was the first time I ever even heard the word "giblets," let alone seen them being used. It was a small thing, but it also helped show that it is always possible to have a better connection with the food we eat.