Street names

The other day, my friend Marcia was strolling along Grosvenor Street, when she happened upon a new street sign for a lane way running between Grosvenor and Grenville Streets.

Later on that day, she called to ask me if I knew about the name and why the City of Toronto chose it.
When I Googled the name "St. Vincent Street Toronto" I got a PDF document about 832 Bay Street (the old Addison on Bay Dealership).

As I scrolled further down, there was a review of the book "Toronto A Literary Guide" by someone in New Brunswick. Incidentally, this book won the Toronto Book Award in 2000.

The writer had looked through the book for an author named Willa Cather who spent some time in Toronto around 1910-1920.
Willa apparently stayed with a friend who lived at 38 St. Vincent Street. This short street was annexed by the City into the Terauley Extension, and then later as Bay Street.

So the lane way is named after a street that no longer exists in the downtown core; and it seems that there are a number of streets in this area named after saints, such as St. Joseph, St. Nicholas, and St. Mary.

Upon further reading, I found that a few doors away, in 1894, a man named Dr. Henry Holmes resided briefly. Select the link to see more information, and a picture of this man, who would become America's first serial killer.

The number 16 St Vincent Street became the centre of attention for the City and the local Constabulary, when someone discovered two bodies of little children buried beneath the house.

Holmes's exploits are chronicled in the non-fiction book titled "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Lawson.
This little bit of trivia sounds like a good episode for "Murdoch Mysteries".

The picture of the sign is mine, but the black and whites are courtesy of the Toronto Archives.